Bisexuality awareness month at Dal

A definition is written on each card. Some define sex positions while others explain broader terms – queer, transsexuality, gender, bisexuality.

Jude Ashburn picks up the bisexuality card, and reads from it:

“Someone who is attracted to both men and women. It must be nice to have so much selection because the world is your oyster, but regardless of gender be sure to be safe!”

This lighthearted definition, happened upon by chance, illustrates a much deeper problem, according to Ashburn.

In their opinion, bisexuality is about “people who are romantically, potentially sexually, attracted to members of their same gender and other genders.”

The wide array of opinions and definitions surrounding bisexuality are topical right now, as September is Bisexuality Awareness Month.

Ashburn’s role as outreach coordinator at the South House, a sexual and gender resource centre and a levied society of the Dalhousie Student Union (DSU), makes them a key figure in promoting bisexuality awareness.

Bisexuality Awareness Month provides a chance for people to fight their own prejudices against bisexuality, as well as to recognize prejudices many people are not aware that they have.

One of the main focuses for South House during this month is working with the DSU’s Equity & Accessibility Office to help counter biphobia, a fear or aversion towards bisexuality.

“There’s a lot of biphobia in this culture. It comes down to any sort of sexuality outside of a mono, heterosexuality being stigmatized,” says Ashburn. People who deny biphobia are pretty much just denying bisexuality.

In order to start making changes, Ashburn suggests students come and visit South House to learn more about gender issues that can be confusing.

“We have a well-stocked resource library on sex and gender issues,” says Ashburn. ”There’s a lot of bisexual folks out there who are telling us a lot of things and we just need to listen.”

In Halifax, there is a wide range of groups that challenge biphobia, as well as aim to educate about bisexuality. Ashburn lists the Youth Project, King’s Pride and DalOUT among these.

Ashburn insists we must not only challenge our own phobias, but also question ideas we often take for granted.

“Don’t assume anyone’s identity, anyone’s pronoun, anyone’s position in the community,” they say. “Don’t assume based on how someone looks how they identify. Keep learning and challenge yourself to multiply what sexuality and gender means to you.”