Happy Bisexual Day!

September 23rd is Celebrate Bisexuality Day, which I observed by ordering a plate of chicken wings at Hooters (I loooooove those chicken wings!), the AfterElton blog observed by offering up their “eight favourite bisexuals ever” and pop star Mika observed by coming out as bi, in the least surprising announcement since Clay Aiken:

But I tease because I love — good for him! It’s a fine thing when celebrities step up and tell the truth and, judging from the comments over on Queerty yesterday, he’s upset more than a few narrow-minded gays.

I get why it’s still a controversial subject. As gay men, we come out to our friends and family in painful, awkward conversations, explaining to them and the wider homophobic culture that we’re were born this way, that it’s not a “phase” or a “preference” or a “choice.” Then along come the bisexuals, acting all enlightened and higher-evolved and saying gender doesn’t matter, they can choose whoever. Oh, thanks a heap.

In a culture that likes tidy categories, the bisexuals confuse everyone, even Amy Poehler in last week’s delightful “gay penguin wedding” episode of ‘Parks and Recreation’:

What I love most about these bisexual “debates” is that it’s a debate at all. Hearing otherwise perfectly sensible gay men claim that bisexuals don’t exist is hilarious — talking about them as if they were unicorns or leprechauns or black Tory party members — but sorry, “bi-now-gay-later” ranters: bisexuals are here, they’re queer, get used to it!

Besides, a world in which people couldn’t appreciate Megan Fox and the new Dieux de Stade calendar would be just no fun.

A former editor of the late, lamented fab magazine, Scott has been writing for Xtra since 2007 on a variety of topics in news pieces, interviews, blogs, reviews and humour pieces. He lives on the Danforth with his boyfriend of 12 years, a manic Jack Russell Terrier, a well-stocked mini-bar and a shelf of toy Daleks.

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