Below is a very incomplete list of books which might be of interest to bisexuals
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Bi: Notes for a Bisexual Revolution by Shiri Eisner
takes a long overdue, comprehensive look at bisexual politics—from the issues surrounding biphobia/monosexism, feminism, and transgenderism to the practice of labeling those who identify as bi as either “too bisexual” (promiscuous and incapable of fidelity) or “not bisexual enough” (not actively engaging romantically or sexually with people of at least two different genders). In this forward-thinking and eye-opening book, feminist bisexual and genderqueer activist Shiri Eisner takes readers on a journey through the many aspects of the meanings and politics of bisexuality, specifically highlighting how bisexuality can open up new and exciting ways of challenging social convention.
Bi Any Other Name: Bisexual People Speak Out edited by Loraine Hutchins & Lani Kaahumanu
No matter what “kind” of bisexual you are, read this book and you will find validation in it somewhere. This is the best book I have ever read on bisexuality. I didn’t relate to all of the people, but related to many of them. I was also surprised at the number of people who came out as gay first, then later realized they were actually bisexual and had to come out all over again! I never knew it happened that way until I read this book. I have a lot of admiration for the editors, getting so much into this book, so many different voices. Definitely required reading!!!
The Bisexual Option, Second Edition by Fritz Klein
The Bisexual Option explores bisexuality, explains the bisexual, and explodes myths surrounding this large “unseen” segment of the population. Now in its second edition, this intriguing book gives an overview of bisexuality. As there is still no book that covers the subject like this one, it is must reading for establishing a contemporary view of bisexuality and those committed to a bisexual lifestyle. Fritz Klein, an experienced psychiatrist and expert in bisexuality and sexual orientation,explains the concept and the variables of sexual orientation and where bisexuality fits.
Getting Bi: Voices of Bisexuals Around the World, Second Edition edited by Robyn Ochs & Sarah Rowley
is the broadest single collection of bisexual literature available today. Getting Bi collects 220 essays from around the world that explore bisexual identity. Topics include coming out, relationships, politics, community, and more. The book also addresses the intersection of bisexuality with race, class, ethnicity, gender identity, disability and national identity. Authors from 42 countries discuss bisexuality from personal perspectives and their own cultural contexts providing insight into societal views on bisexuality from countries ranging from Colombia to China.
Bi Men: Coming Out Every Which Way edited by Ron Jackson Suresha & Pete Chvany
A moving and pioneering celebration of the male bisexual self that addresses biphobia in our society
In today’s sexual world, both straight and gay and lesbian communities still often refuse to accept the reality of bisexuality. Bi Men: Coming Out Every Which Way confronts head-on the limiting views that bisexuality is a transitional phase of sexual evolution or a simple refusal to accept being either homosexual or straight. This pioneering collection of moving personal essays by bisexual men and those who love them explores what it means to be bisexual in today’s monosexually oriented society.
The millennial shift in sexual perspectives draws more and more men to come out as being attracted to both women and men. Bisexual and bi-curious men will find comfort and camaraderie in these stories about coming out, its impact on family and marriage, evolving perspectives on bisexuals within the LGBT community, and the building of acceptance and affirmation for bisexuality and polyamory.
The nearly three dozen essays in Bi Men: Coming Out Every Which Way are told in the honest words of bisexuals, confirming the validity of their place in the world while illustrating that there are more bi men than anyone ever realized. These diverse and pioneering men’s stories reveal a long-disguised and unconventional truth—that bisexuality is a valid lifestyle that does not threaten either sexual camp. Each contributor to this collection affirms the innate fluidity of self, sexuality, family, and community, and proclaims that sexuality is truly diverse in its predispositions and creativity.
Blessed Bi Spirit: Bisexual People of Faith edited by Debra Kolodny
Reflecting a wide spectrum of religious tradition and spiritual paths–including Buddhist, Hindu, Pagan, 12-step, Christian and Jewish–over 30 contributors speak about the intersections of their faith practice and their bisexuality.
Bisexuality: Making the Invisible Visible in Faith Communities by Contributor: Debra Kolodny (author of Blessed Bi Spirit: Bisexual People of Faith)
Is your faith community open to people whose sexuality does not fit into the categories of gay/lesbian or straight? Does your faith community have access to resources about bisexuality and bisexual people? This guidebook is designed to help congregations understand bisexuality and to encourage faith communities to “make the invisible visible.” Our hope is that religious leaders and congregations will use this guidebook to inspire theological reflection and action in their faith communities. This guidebook is written to address the broad spectrum of American congregations. It is our hope that the information it contains will be relevant or adaptable to Jewish, Christian, Unitarian Universalist, and Islamic faith communities. Bisexuality is often invisible in lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) organizations, society as a whole, and in faith communities and denominations. Although many mainline denominations and congregations have made great strides in welcoming and affirming lesbian and gay people, and some have even begun to respond to the specific needs and concerns of transgender people, the “B” in the LGBT acronym is still largely ignored. Helping faith communities embrace bisexual persons and reflect theologically on bisexuality brings gifts to congregations and to the practice of faith. When a congregation welcomes and recognizes people of all sexual orientations and gender identities, it contributes to a positive image of religion among people who may have rejected religion as intolerant or irrelevant. Such congregations become safe spaces for youth who are exploring their sexuality and have questions. In addition, embracing bisexual persons makes it possible for those persons to be open about their identity and helps create a more open atmosphere in the faith community, encouraging authenticity and community among members. Congregations that embrace bisexual persons can also help heal the suffering caused by the invisibility of bisexual people in society.
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Aging: Research and Clinical Perspectives edited by Douglas Kimmel, Tara Rose, & Steven David
brings together cutting-edge research, practical information, and innovative thinking regarding the characteristics and processes of aging among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals. Written by experts in the field, the book covers a range of subjects and provides a comprehensive knowledge base for practitioners, students, and researchers.
Contributors address topics such as sexuality, relationships, legal issues, retirement planning, physical and mental health, substance abuse, community needs, gay and lesbian grandparents, and a model agency dedicated to delivering services to the senior LGBT population. Their writing takes a gay-affirmative approach that focuses on resilience, coping, and successful adaptation to aging and is sensitive to the importance of historical oppression in the lives of older members of sexual minorities. The authors also pay close attention to ethnic and cultural issues and identify where further research is needed.
The Bisexual’s Guide to the Universe: Quips, Tips, and Lists for Those Who Go Both Ways by Nicole Kristal & Mike Szymanski
Double your chances for a date this weekend with the ultimate handbook. Organized by experience level, this no-holds-barred, irreverent guide is for anyone—bisexual, queer, pansexual, or none of the above—who wants the best of both worlds. Increase your Bi-Q now!
Bisexuality and the Eroticism of Everyday Life by Marjorie Garber
“Bisexuality is about three centuries overdue . . . nevertheless, here it is: a learned, witty study of how our curious culture has managed to get everything wrong about sex.” -Gore Vidal
Becoming Visible: Counseling Bisexuals Across the Lifespan by Beth Firestein
Becoming Visible offers cutting-edge psychological perspectives on bisexual and queer identities and the cultural and mental health issues facing bisexual, lesbian, gay, queer, and questioning individuals and their partners. Essential for any professional seeking to provide “best practice” services to this population, Becoming Visible addresses the therapeutic needs of bisexuals at every stage of the life cycle.
This volume explores why some people resist identity labels and what bisexual men and women consider exemplary and harmful in their therapeutic experiences. It also helps practitioners distinguish between the stresses brought on by being part of a sexual minority and the clinical symptoms that indicate serious mental health issues. It includes research on ethnic minority bisexuals, youth, elders, gender-variant individuals, and bisexuals engaging in alternative lifestyles and sexual practices such as polyamory and BDSM.
Edited by a psychologist who specializes in sexual-orientation and gender-identity issues and with contributions from scholars and professionals from multiple disciplines, the book embraces perspectives from the empirical to the phenomenological, and outlines both scientific and practice-based approaches to the subject while carefully considering the psychological, cultural, and spiritual dimensions of the issues confronting bisexual men and women.
Becoming Visible is a crucial step in the improved mental health and well-being of bisexuals, transgender individuals, and other sexual minorities. This book offers a path toward awareness and compassion for those who seek to understand, treat, and empower this under served and frequently misunderstood group of mental health clients.
Queerer Theory: Notes and Reflections From a Male-Identified Bisexual by Patrick Richards Fink
A compilation of articles on bisexuality from the perspective of a cismale bisexual. Topics include coming out, queer theory, myths about bisexuality, labeling within the LGBT community, and feminism.
Excluded: Making Feminist and Queer Movements More Inclusive by
While many feminist and queer movements are designed to challenge sexism, they often simultaneously police gender and sexuality—sometimes just as fiercely as the straight, male-centric mainstream does. Among LGBTQ activists, there is a long history of lesbians and gay men dismissing bisexuals, transgender people, and other gender and sexual minorities. In each case, exclusion is based on the premise that certain ways of being gendered or sexual are more legitimate, natural, or righteous than others.
As a trans woman, bisexual, and femme activist, Julia Serano has spent much of the last ten years challenging various forms of exclusion within feminist and queer/LGBTQ movements. In Excluded, she chronicles many of these instances of exclusion and argues that marginalizing others often stems from a handful of assumptions that are routinely made about gender and sexuality. These false assumptions infect theories, activism, organizations, and communities—and worse, they enable people to vigorously protest certain forms of sexism while simultaneously ignoring and even perpetuating others. Serano advocates for a new approach to fighting sexism that avoids these pitfalls and offers new ways of thinking about gender, sexuality, and sexism that foster inclusivity rather than exclusivity.
The B Word : Bisexuality in Contemporary Film and Television by Maria San Filippo
Often disguised in public discourse by terms like “gay,” “homoerotic,” “homosocial,” or “queer,” bisexuality is strangely absent from queer studies and virtually untreated in film and media criticism. Maria San Filippo aims to explore the central role bisexuality plays in contemporary screen culture, establishing its importance in representation, marketing, and spectatorship. By examining a variety of media genres including art cinema, sexploitation cinema and vampire films, “bromances,” and series television, San Filippo discovers “missed moments” where bisexual readings of these texts reveal a more malleable notion of subjectivity and eroticism. San Filippo’s work moves beyond the subject of heteronormativity and responds to “compulsory monosexuality,” where it’s not necessarily a couple’s gender that is at issue, but rather that an individual chooses one or the other. The B Word transcends dominant relational formation (gay, straight, or otherwise) and brings a discursive voice to the field of queer and film studies.
Manning Up: Transsexual Men on Finding Brotherhood, Family and Themselves by
Although not bi specific, many of the contributors identify as bi. Including author Michael Woodward.
Twenty-eight men who transitioned from female to male discuss their roles as male community members: fathers, sons, brothers, husbands, boyfriends, friends, and mentors. Not since Max Wolf Valerio’s The Testosterone Files and Jamison Green’s Becoming a Visible Man has nonfiction seen such thorough and sensitive explorations of manhood, masculinity, and male embodiment—and never in a collection with such a diversity of voices. Contributors offer an incredible range of cultural, class, ethnic, spiritual, and generational backgrounds. Their work addresses topics including birthing and raising children, gay male sexuality, facing racism, and finding solace in deeply held religious beliefs. Contributors include established writers such as Valerio, Aaron Devor (author of FTM: Female-to-Male Transsexuals in Society), and Ryan Sallans (author of Second Son), as well as exciting new authors.
So, what are we missing? Tell us which bi books changed your life in the comments and we’ll add them to the list.