BiNet USA
Encyclopedia
BiNet USA is a national bisexual/pansexual civil rights
and advocacy organization in the United States
. It was founded to formalize communication between U.S. bisexual groups founded in the decades after the birth of the modern LGBT rights movement
.
As an umbrella organization and a voice for bisexual, pansexual and fluid people in the United States, BiNet USA's mission is to facilitate the development of a cohesive network of bisexual communities, promote bisexual visibility, collect and distribute educational information regarding bisexuality and encourage participation and organizing on local and national levels.
Tracing its roots back to the 1987 march on Washington, the group further coalesced in 1990 when BiPol convened the first National Bisexual Conference in San Francisco. At that time a conference track was dedicated to creating a national organization. The following summer the North American Bisexual Network was formalized in Seattle. Later its name would change to BiNet USA to coincide with the group becoming a nonprofit organization.
In its first decade BiNet USA worked on a variety of campaigns, national policy initiatives and hosted/co-hosted a number Conferences. Moving into its second decade, BiNet USA, like many other US charitable organizations
, was hit hard when funding dried up in the wake of the 9/11 attacks
on the US mainland in September 2001. It was forced to lay off its paid staff and roll back its plans for new office space.
Faced with these new economic and logistical realities, BiNet USA begins to focus more of its efforts on Internet activism
using the Internet as an organizing tool for community growth. It uses an "800" phone number
, its Website
, a MySpace Page
, Facebook Group
and its very active ListServ
, established using Yahoo Groups to facilitate communication between various and disparate bisexual, pansexual and fluid communities and activists nationwide.
In 2005, after a period of progress marked by growing acceptance in both the larger LGBT & straight communities http://www.robynochs.com/writing/bisexual_movement.html http://www.nyabn.org/Pages/WhoWeR/OurHistory.html, the bisexual community suddenly came under a new attack http://www.bialogue.org/Pages/Actions/DoUXist05/LikeUnicorns.html promulgated by the publication of a study entitled “Sexual Arousal Patterns of Bisexual Men” by the controversial researcher J. Michael Bailey
. This study allegedly "proved" that bisexual people did not exist. With little critical examination, various media celebrities and outlets jumped on the band-wagon http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=2573 and claimed to have "solved" the "problem of bisexuality" by declaring it to be non-existent.
Working with other established LGBT institutions such as the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force GLAAD, the Bisexual Resource Center
as well as newer ones such as Bialogue
, BiNet USA moved to co-ordinate a national response to this threat to the well-being of the bisexual community. It has now revitalized and updated its 'Rapid-Response Spokesperson Team' and now monitors and responds quickly to media portrayals of the bisexual community.
Starting in 2008 under the leadership of its then president Wendy Curry
, who is herself a software engineer
, BiNet USA greatly expanded its use of Internet activism taking advantage of the flowering of a variety of Social networking venues including the popular Live Journal Blogging tool, Myspace
and Facebook products.
In September 2009, BiNet USA expanded its board of directors, making Gary B. North the new president. http://binetusa.blogspot.com/2009/09/binet-usa-expands-board-of-directors.html
In October 2009, BiNet USA endorsed the National Equality March
and helped organize a contingent of several bisexual groups that participated in the march. http://binetusa.blogspot.com/2009/09/national-equality-march.html
in Florida
and is headquartered in the Washington DC suburb of Arlington
, Virginia
. Decision making is by consensus by the Board of Directors with the advise and consent of the members of the Standing Committees and the various Regional Representatives.
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
and advocacy organization in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It was founded to formalize communication between U.S. bisexual groups founded in the decades after the birth of the modern LGBT rights movement
LGBT social movements
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender social movements share inter-related goals of social acceptance of sexual and gender minorities. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and their allies have a long history of campaigning for what is generally called LGBT rights, also called gay...
.
As an umbrella organization and a voice for bisexual, pansexual and fluid people in the United States, BiNet USA's mission is to facilitate the development of a cohesive network of bisexual communities, promote bisexual visibility, collect and distribute educational information regarding bisexuality and encourage participation and organizing on local and national levels.
Campaigns
- 2008: Under the slogan "Vote Against Hate in 2008" partnered with Rock the VoteRock the VoteRock the Vote is a non-profit organization in the United States of America whose mission is to engage and build the political power of young people....
to successfully reach out to and register people from its constituent communities and encourage participation in the American electoral process. - 1993: Played a key role in the successful national campaign to include "Bi" in the March on Washington for Gay, Lesbian and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation
- Organizes an Ally Campaign, educating and holding ally organizations accountable for their actions (1998)
- After the 1991 bisexual anthologyAnthologyAn anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
Bi Any Other Name: Bisexual People Speak OutBi Any Other Name: Bisexual People Speak OutBi Any Other Name: Bisexual People Speak Out, an anthology edited by Loraine Hutchins and Lani Ka'ahumanu, is one of the seminal books in the history of the modern bisexual rights movement...
was forced to compete in the Lambda Literary AwardLambda Literary AwardLambda Literary Awards are awarded yearly by the US-based Lambda Literary Foundation to published works which celebrate or explore LGBT themes. Categories include Humor, Romance and Biography. To qualify, a book must have been published in the United States in the year current to the award...
s under the category Lesbian Anthology, BiNet USA led the Bisexual CommunityBisexual communityBisexual community is a term used to describe members of the LGBT community who identify as bisexual, pansexual, "fluid", and queer-identified, as well as their allies...
a multi year campaign eventually resulting in the addition of a Bisexual category, starting with the 2006 Awards.
Policy initiatives
- Bisexual Health Initiative (2007): participated in the development of the report Bisexual health: An introduction and model practices for HIV/STI prevention programming in conjunction with the National Gay and Lesbian Task ForceNational Gay and Lesbian Task ForceThe National Gay and Lesbian Task Force builds the political power of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community from the ground up. The Task Force is the country’s premier social justice organization fighting to improve the lives of LGBT people, and working to create positive, lasting...
and Fenway Community HealthFenway HealthFenway Health, originally called Fenway Community Health Center, is an LGBT health care, research and advocacy organization. It has had a number of homes over the years, including its current Ansin Building home at 1340 Boylston Street in Boston, which opened its doors in 2009...
, including the Bisexual Health Timeline. - Bisexual Rural Initiative (1996): Initiative to reach out and determine specific needs of bisexuals in rural areas.
- Bisexual Youth Initiative (1995): a survey was developed and sent out to organizations nationwide serving GLBTQ youth. The survey report was published and sent to agencies, offering assistance in improving services.
Conferences (partial list)
- with the Bisexual Resource CenterBisexual Resource CenterBisexual Resource Center is a 501 non-profit educational organization that has served the bisexual community since 1985. Originally known as the East Coast Bisexual Network, the BRC is headquartered in Boston MA and provides education about bisexual and progressive issues and support for bisexual...
and the Washington, DC-based Alliance of Multicultural Bisexuals co-sponsor the largest US bisexual conference to date with over 600 people in attendance. (1993) - Hosts the First National Institute on Bisexuality and HIV/AIDS (1998)
- with the Lambda Literary FoundationLambda Literary FoundationThe Lambda Literary Foundation is the largest LGBT literary organization in the world. The foundation's mission is to nurture, celebrate, and preserve Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender literature through three programs that honor excellence, promote visibility and encourage development of...
and New York City'sNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Services CenterLesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Services CenterThe Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center is a nonprofit organization serving the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender population of New York City and nearby communities.- History :...
co-sponsor of the "Big Bi Book Weekend" including "Bi Lines: A Celebration of Bisexual Writing in Reading, Music and Culture" a fund-raising event to benefit the Bi Writers Association (2007) - Co-sponsor of the Transcending Boundaries ConferenceTranscending Boundaries ConferenceThe Transcending Boundaries Conference , is a Northeast American conference for bisexual/fluid/pansexual, transgender/genderqueer, intersex and polyamorous people and their friends, families and allies.-History:...
(2005) (2006) - with the Bisexual Foundation et al. co-sponsor of the International Conference on BisexualityInternational Conference on BisexualityThe International Conference on Bisexuality , also known as the International BiCon is a periodic gathering of bisexual activists and academics from around the world....
(1994) (1998) (2004) (2006) when held in the United States. A member of the standing committee that is currently planning the 10th ICB to be held on the campus of the University of Rhode IslandUniversity of Rhode IslandThe University of Rhode Island is the principal public research university in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. Its main campus is located in Kingston. Additional campuses include the Feinstein Campus in Providence, the Narragansett Bay Campus in Narragansett, and the W. Alton Jones Campus in West...
, Kingston, Rhode IslandKingston, Rhode IslandKingston is a village and a census-designated place in the town of South Kingstown, Rhode Island, United States, and the site of the main campus of the University of Rhode Island. Much of the village center is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Kingston Village Historic...
, USA in July 2008.
History and structure
In its first decade BiNet USA worked on a variety of campaigns, national policy initiatives and hosted/co-hosted a number Conferences. Moving into its second decade, BiNet USA, like many other US charitable organizations
Foundation (charity)
A foundation is a legal categorization of nonprofit organizations that will typically either donate funds and support to other organizations, or provide the source of funding for its own charitable purposes....
, was hit hard when funding dried up in the wake of the 9/11 attacks
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
on the US mainland in September 2001. It was forced to lay off its paid staff and roll back its plans for new office space.
Faced with these new economic and logistical realities, BiNet USA begins to focus more of its efforts on Internet activism
Internet activism
Internet activism is the use of electronic communication technologies such as e-mail, the World Wide Web, and podcasts for various forms of activism to enable faster communications by citizen movements and the delivery of local information to a large audience...
using the Internet as an organizing tool for community growth. It uses an "800" phone number
Toll-free telephone number
A toll-free, Freecall, Freephone, 800, 0800 or 1-800 number is a special telephone number which is free to the calling party, and instead the telephone carrier charges the called party the cost of the call...
, its Website
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
, a MySpace Page
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
, Facebook Group
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
and its very active ListServ
Electronic mailing list
An electronic mailing list is a special usage of email that allows for widespread distribution of information to many Internet users. It is similar to a traditional mailing list — a list of names and addresses — as might be kept by an organization for sending publications to...
, established using Yahoo Groups to facilitate communication between various and disparate bisexual, pansexual and fluid communities and activists nationwide.
In 2005, after a period of progress marked by growing acceptance in both the larger LGBT & straight communities http://www.robynochs.com/writing/bisexual_movement.html http://www.nyabn.org/Pages/WhoWeR/OurHistory.html, the bisexual community suddenly came under a new attack http://www.bialogue.org/Pages/Actions/DoUXist05/LikeUnicorns.html promulgated by the publication of a study entitled “Sexual Arousal Patterns of Bisexual Men” by the controversial researcher J. Michael Bailey
J. Michael Bailey
John Michael Bailey is an American psychologist and professor at Northwestern University. He is best known among scientists for his work on the etiology of sexual orientation, from which he concluded that homosexuality is substantially inherited...
. This study allegedly "proved" that bisexual people did not exist. With little critical examination, various media celebrities and outlets jumped on the band-wagon http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=2573 and claimed to have "solved" the "problem of bisexuality" by declaring it to be non-existent.
Working with other established LGBT institutions such as the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force GLAAD, the Bisexual Resource Center
Bisexual Resource Center
Bisexual Resource Center is a 501 non-profit educational organization that has served the bisexual community since 1985. Originally known as the East Coast Bisexual Network, the BRC is headquartered in Boston MA and provides education about bisexual and progressive issues and support for bisexual...
as well as newer ones such as Bialogue
Bialogue
Bialogue, a portmanteau of the words bisexual and dialogue, is an American activist/political group that started in New York City, working on issues of local, national & international interest to the bisexual, fluid, pansexual, queer-identified communities and their allies...
, BiNet USA moved to co-ordinate a national response to this threat to the well-being of the bisexual community. It has now revitalized and updated its 'Rapid-Response Spokesperson Team' and now monitors and responds quickly to media portrayals of the bisexual community.
Starting in 2008 under the leadership of its then president Wendy Curry
Wendy Curry
Wendy Curry is an American bisexual rights activist and animal rescue advocate.- Career and civil rights work :She is currently the President of BiNet USA, the American national bisexual civil rights organization, a position she assumed in 2006. Previously she had previously served as the...
, who is herself a software engineer
Software engineer
A software engineer is an engineer who applies the principles of software engineering to the design, development, testing, and evaluation of the software and systems that make computers or anything containing software, such as computer chips, work.- Overview :...
, BiNet USA greatly expanded its use of Internet activism taking advantage of the flowering of a variety of Social networking venues including the popular Live Journal Blogging tool, Myspace
Myspace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
and Facebook products.
In September 2009, BiNet USA expanded its board of directors, making Gary B. North the new president. http://binetusa.blogspot.com/2009/09/binet-usa-expands-board-of-directors.html
In October 2009, BiNet USA endorsed the National Equality March
National Equality March
The National Equality March was a national political rally that occurred October 11, 2009 in Washington, D.C.. It called for equal protection for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in all matters governed by civil law in all 50 states and the District of Columbia...
and helped organize a contingent of several bisexual groups that participated in the march. http://binetusa.blogspot.com/2009/09/national-equality-march.html
Structure
BiNet USA is chartered as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizationNonprofit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
and is headquartered in the Washington DC suburb of Arlington
Arlington County, Virginia
Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The land that became Arlington was originally donated by Virginia to the United States government to form part of the new federal capital district. On February 27, 1801, the United States Congress organized the area as a subdivision of...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. Decision making is by consensus by the Board of Directors with the advise and consent of the members of the Standing Committees and the various Regional Representatives.
Current leadership
- Gary B. NorthGary North (journalist)Gary B. North, is an American writer and activist. He is a newspaper editor, former president of the Los Angeles Newspaper Guild/Southern California Media Guild , and a founder of BiNet USA as well as the Conflict Resolution Service and CredibilityWatch.org. He is currently the president of the...
, President - Faith Cheltenham, Vice President http://thefayth.blogspot.com
- Estraven Andrews, Secretary
- Matt Goodman, Treasurer
- Luigi Ferrer, Board Member
See also
- Bisexual communityBisexual communityBisexual community is a term used to describe members of the LGBT community who identify as bisexual, pansexual, "fluid", and queer-identified, as well as their allies...
- American Institute of BisexualityAmerican Institute of BisexualityThe American Institute of Bisexuality, Inc., also referred to as AIB, is a charity founded on July 23, 1998 by sex researcher, psychiatrist and bisexual rights activist Fritz Klein M.D. to promote research and education about bisexuality....
- Bisexual Resource CenterBisexual Resource CenterBisexual Resource Center is a 501 non-profit educational organization that has served the bisexual community since 1985. Originally known as the East Coast Bisexual Network, the BRC is headquartered in Boston MA and provides education about bisexual and progressive issues and support for bisexual...
- Creating Change Conference
External links
- BiNet USA — official website
- BiNet USA News and Opinions
- Feministing.com article on Wendy Curry
- Curried Spam (LiveJournal) articles by current BiNet USA president Wendy Curry