West Hollywood to Host America’s First Large-Scale Bisexual Pride Event This Weekend
In recognition of Bisexual Visibility Day (Sept. 23), the incorporated city of West Hollywood will hold what’s being called “the first full-fledged Bisexual Pride Celebration held by any city in the U.S.” this weekend. The Bisexual Pride L.A. event will take place on Saturday, Sept. 22. But what it’ll look like, and why do we even need one to begin with?
Let’s take a closer look.
Details of this weekend’s Bisexual Pride L.A. event
According to the Bisexual Pride L.A. event page on Facebook, the event will begin at 1:30 p.m., held at the West Hollywood Park Auditorium. The free event kicks off with a rally, followed by an hour-long “Bi Visibility Walk” around the gayborhood. (Or should we say neigh-BI-hood?) After that, at 3 p.m., there will be a party followed by a 6 p.m. after-party.
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The party is set to feature pop musician Torrey Mercer performing her song “Boys/Girls” (check the music video below), Filipina American immigrant spoken word artist Irene Suico Soriano and Kai Hazelwood, the 2018 Artist in Residence for L.A.’s Cultural Affairs Department, who will host a “Story Time Silent Disco” — basically a lounge where individual attendees can use their headphones and smartphones to listen to bi people sharing recorded stories of their lived experiences.
Here’s the video for Torrey Mercer’s “Boys/Girls”:
The Bisexual Pride L.A. event will be hosted by the city of West Hollywood, the L.A. chapter of the Human Rights Campaign and amBi, a bisexual social network.
Why do we need a Bisexual Pride event?
As our bisexual columnist Zachary Zane once mentioned, bisexual visibility is important because even though bisexual people technically outnumber gays and lesbians, bi people are often afraid to come out for a variety of reasons, including discrimination from gay and lesbian people.
As a result, many bi people are told they’re confused or “really gay” rather than accepted for who they are.
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Another result is that bi people face more health problems than gay people. They’re also depicted less often on TV, which serves to erase them from society’s view altogether.
Thus, the Bisexual Pride L.A. event will help show that bi people exist and have every reason to proclaim their sexual identity with pride. Don’t you think?
