It Ain't Over 'Til The Bisexual Speaks

The following was Lan’s speech delivered on April 25, 1993, at the March On Washington for Lesbian, Gay, and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation. Lani was one of 18 people, and the only out bisexual, chosen to speak at the March. The last speaker of the day on the afternoon stage, Lani was told to cut her speech at the last minute due to time constraints. We present here her original text in full. Aloha, my name is Lani Ka’ahumanu, and it ain’t over ’til the bisexual speaks … I am a token, and a symbol. Today there is no difference. I am the token out bisexual asked to speak, and I am a symbol of how powerful the bisexual pride movement is and how far we have come. I came here in 1979 for the March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. I returned in 1987 for the March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. I stand here today on the stage of the 1993 March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Equal Rights and Liberation. In 1987 I wrote an article on bisexuality for the Civil Disobedience Handbook titled, “Are we visible yet?” Bisexual activists organized on the local, regional, and national levels to make this March a reality. Are bisexuals visible yet? Are bisexuals organized yet? Are bisexuals accountable yet? You bet your sweet ass we are! Bisexuals are here, and we’re queer. Bisexual pride speaks to the truth of behavior and identity. No simple either/or divisions fluid—ambiguous—subversive bisexual pride challenges both the heterosexual and the homosexual assumption. Society is based on the denial of diversity, on the denial of complexity. Like multiculturalism, mixed heritage and bi-racial relationships, both the bisexual and transgender movements expose and politicize the middle ground. Each show there is no separation, that each and everyone of us is part of a fluid social, sexual, and gender dynamic. Each signals a change, a fundamental change in the way our society is organized. Remember today. Remember we are family, and like a large extended family, we don’t always agree, don’t always see eye to eye. However, as a family under attack we must recognize the importance of what each and every one of us brings to our movement. There is strength in our numbers and diversity. We are every race, class, culture, age, ability, religion, gender identity, and sexual orientation. Recognition of bisexual orientation and transgender issues presents a challenge to assumptions not previously explored within the politics of gay liberation. What will it take for the gayristocracy to realize that bisexual, lesbian, transgender, and gay people are in this together, and together we can and will move the agenda forward. But this will not happen until public recognition of our common issues is made, and a sincere effort to confront biphobia and transphobia is made by the established gay and lesbian leadership in this country. The broader movement for our civil rights and liberation is being held back. Who gains when we ostracize whole parts of our family? Who gains from exclusionary politics? Certainly not us … Being treated as if I am less oppressed than thou is not only insulting, it feeds right in to the hands of the right wing fundamentalists who see all of us as queer. What is the difficulty in seeing how my struggle as a mixed race bisexual woman of color is intimately related to the bigger struggle for lesbian and gay rights, the rights of people of color and the rights of all women? What is the problem? This is not a competition. I will not play by rules that pit me against any oppressed group. Has the gayristocracy bought so far in to the either/or structure, invested so much in being the opposite of heterosexual that they cannot remove themselves that they can’t imagine being free of the whole oppressive heterosexist system that keeps us all down? Bisexual, gay, lesbian, and transgender people who are out of the closet, who are not passing for anything other than who and what we are all have our necks and our lives on the line. All our visibility is a sign of revolt. Bisexuals are here to challenge the bigots who have denied lesbian, gay, and bisexual people basic civil rights in Colorado. ¹ Yes, Amendment 2 includes bisexual orientation. Yes, the religous right recognizes bisexuals as a threat to “so called” family values. Bisexuals are here to protest the military ban against lesbians, gays, and bisexuals. Yes, the Department of Defense defines bisexuals separately as a reason to be dishonorably discharged. And yes, out bisexuals are not allowed to be foster or adoptive parents, And yes, we lose our jobs, our children, get beaten and killed for loving women and for loving men. Bisexuals are queer, just as queer as queer can be. Each of us here today represents many people who could not make the trip. Our civil rights and liberation movement has reached critical mass. Remember today. Remember that we are more powerful than all the hate, ignorance, and violence directed at us. Remember what a profound difference our visibility makes upon the world in which we live. The momentum of this day can carry us well into the 21st century if we come out wherever and whenever we can. Remember assimilation is a lie. It is spiritual erasure. I want to challenge those lesbian and gay leaders who have come out to me privately over the years as bisexual to take the next step, come out now. What is the sexual liberation movement about if not about the freedom to love whom we choose? I want to encourage bisexuals in the lesbian, gay, and heterosexual communities to come out now. Remember there is nothing wrong with love. Defend the freedom to express it. We cannot be stopped. We are everywhere. We are bisexual, lesbian, gay, and transgender people. We will not rest until we are all free, We will not rest until our basic human rights are protected under federal law, We will not rest until our relationships and families are not just tolerated, but recognized, respected, and valued, We will not rest until we have a national health care system, We will not rest until there are cures for AIDS and cancer. We deserve nothing less. Remember we have every right to be in the world exactly as we are. Celebrate that simply and fiercely. I love you. Mahalo and aloha.