Two more back-issues of BCN are now in our web archive. Issues 13 and 14, from November 1996 and January 1997 respectively, are now here on our website. They are here. That means that now all the editions from the 1990s are online for you to read back through – issues 1 to 40 and our pilot edition “Issue Zero” which included a ballot paper for readers to decide what the name of the magazine / newsletter should be. In those days BCN was a photocopied black-and-white bulletin and it slowly evolved to the full-colour magazine today. The post Another two issues in the archive! first appeared on Bi ..read more

The American Library Association (ALA) has released its annual list of the Top 10 Most Challenged Books for 2023 and the State of America’s Libraries Report, which highlights the ways libraries and library workers have taken action to address community needs with innovative and critical services, as well as the challenges brought on by censorship attempts. The number of titles targeted for censorship surged 65 percent in 2023 compared to 2022, reaching the highest levels ever documented by ALA. “In looking at the titles of the most challenged books from last year, it’s obvious that the pr ..read more

Trades union Unison has announced its annual bi network conference. It will be held on 12 July from 2-4pm at their Northern regional office, in Newcastle upon Tyne. They note the meeting is open to members of Unison who feel they fit anywhere under the big bi umbrella: “At Unison, we work with inclusive, umbrella definitions of bisexual and at Unison’s LGBT+ conference in 2019, we voted to become a bi+ network. Our bi+ network is for members who are pansexual, omnisexual, bi romantic, asexual, demisexual, questioning and/or bi-curious to name a few.” The union is one of the Labour Party’s bank ..read more

Actor Chance Permodo, who was on the cover of BCN issue 154, has died aged 27. He lost his life in a motorcycle accident. He played the role of Ambrose in The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, where he can still be celebrated if you have that streaming service. Ambrose was a young bisexual warlock whose dating life was frustrated by being under magical house arrest, and much of his character was based on the cat in the Sabrina The Teenage Witch series from the 1980s. More recently he played Andre Anderson in Prime Video’s Gen V spin-off show set in the The Boys universe. The post Chance Permodo ..read more

We mostly cover the “big stuff” in BCN – like bi events, changes to law that particularly affect bi people, new research and so forth. But a lot of bi news is not “real news” but gossip or social media comments from people in the public eye. Those don’t change laws but they do, albeit not as often as we might like, change hearts and minds. Or give us public statements we can really relate to and that help educate others. Renee Rapp came out as bi in 2022 but now identifies as lesbian. Yahoonews reported on her frustration at fans not taking this seriously. She tweeted, “If I say I’m a lesbian ..read more

Our Spring 2024 edition is out now – chunkier than usual and with all our regulars like bi research news, bis on TV, bi celeb news and more. It’s heading out in the mail to subscribers now. Sign up to get it too. Remember while back issues are on the website, the latest edition is only in print. Browse our back issue archives.   The post Spring Issue Out Now first appeared on Bi Community News ..read more

The first same-sex weddings in England and Wales happened on 29 March 2014. Since then around 150,000 have taken place: the last census (2021) reported 268,522 married same-sex spouses in England and Wales, and more have taken place since with the figures not released. 2020, of course, is rather a statistical outlier in all of this. In comparison to other recent years, far fewer people were married. However that year’s figures reflect some social differences in mixed- and same- sex marriages. For those marrying for the first time, the same-sex couples were older than opposite-sex couples. Neve ..read more

Thailand looks set to join the list of countries that have same-sex marriage. A bill to legalise it, and bring forward adoption rights for same-sex couples, has passed the lower house of parliament there by 400 votes to 15. This followed a set of debates in December. That is a fairly unassailable majority, but the measure still needs to pass the Senate and be signed into law by King Rama X. It would join Nepal and Taiwan as the third country in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage. It could be the 38th country to recognise same-sex marriage nationwide, depending how quickly those remaining stage ..read more

The United States of America’s new funding bill includes a clause banning the flying of Pride flags on US embassies abroad. The measure, forced through by Republican politicians, was their only anti-LGBT measure to make it into the final draft. President Biden’s press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, commented “President Biden believes it was inappropriate to abuse the process that is essential to keep the government open by including this policy targeting LGBTQI+ Americans. We fought this policy and will work with Congress to repeal it.” The wording may not be as bold as Republicans thought tho ..read more

Another state ban on so-called ‘conversion therapy’ has passed in Australia – covering sexual orientation and gender. The New South Wales parliament outlawed the coercive practice by 22 votes to 4 in a debate which ran until 6.30am. It means the state joins Victoria and Australia Central Territory in having a state ban, with South Australia and Tasmania are also to debate similar moves. “This is a historic step in the journey for LGBTQA+ people in this state and the first major reform for our community in almost a decade,” commented Equality Australia CEO Anna Brown.   The post Conversion ..read more