Continued ...
Origin of Bisexual & Transgender Inclusion
Why Were Bisexuals & Transgender People Included in L G B T?
Bisexuals were not included into G & L before 1989.
Before then they were told either to go away & come back when they make up their minds to be ?gay? (lesbian) or to go away & never come back at alI!
I rode in a Long Beach, California Pride Parade in 1988.
Marchers were yelling, ?2, 4, 6, 8? 1 in 8, We?re not all straight!?
No one knew how many L & G people there were, and everyone wanted to believe that in major cities that they were 1 in 10 (10%)1 in 8 (12.5%) or even 1 in 6 (16.67%).
A study was done around that time, but the results were disheartening. They could not find any data to show that gay men were any more than 3% of all men and lesbians 1% of women.
Sociologists who study the nature of political power, would say that it is difficult for any minority group to demand a share of power through representation when such a group is less than 10%. Populations in the U.S. of persons of African, Hispanic and Asian heritage have reached that 10% threshold nationally and therefore have a substantial stake in participation in power and authority, particularly in city councils and legislative bodies of 5 to 9 members where 10% could mean at least one seat.
But a 1%- 3% share is not enough to get a piece of most power pies.
20 years after Stonewall, the community was in the midst of the early AIDS epidemic that would take its toll on a generation of gay men.
There seemed to be no way to increase numbers beyond the 3%, until the community began to look at dis-included people, and the largest of possibilities was bisexual. But how many bisexuals were there and how many would be willing to return to a community where they had not been made welcome?
A recent study suggests that bisexuals slightly outnumber gays and lesbians in the adult population (1.8% to 1.7%), so that in theory, if you could bring bisexuals back, then you could perhaps double the percentage of L+ G + B. The inclusion of bisexuals was a begrudged one, with not much of a welcome mat and bisexuals receiving a third class status of three , and no one wanted them to mention any heterosexual relationships. The Gay Softball League in 1977 allowed heterosexual players on their teams, but bisexual players were allowed and counted as ?straight? toward a quota limit on straight players even in 2011.
And bisexuals were still being seen as a major AIDS vector that brought AIDS as a ?gay men?s disease? and had it cross over to women and later to heterosexual men.
But by 1994, it would appear that even at an optimum inclusion level that the ?verified? (countable) GLB population was not more then 3.5%, still not enough to demand a seat at the table.
I am sure that sincere people? gays, lesbians and bisexuals were looking for a way to get the numbers up and turned to the most rooted yet ostracized group in the community, drag queens. Drag queens were seen as both the highlight and the bane of community pride celebrations.. But they were also often the partners of so many gay men- and many of them were devoted to charity, fundraising and community service at a time when the community was in crisis.
Continued in next post ...
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