Gay Life Volume 33, Number 14

I am part of the prob­lem. In my seven months as editor of Gay Life, our commu­nity center’s newspaper, I have ignored the bisex­ual community. We con­sciously balance gay and lesbian topics of interest, and represent the transgen­der community in every issue, but I’ve fallen into the evidently prevalent prac­tice of lumping bisexuals in with every­one else.

As diverse as we are, we have a tenden­cy to compartmentalize ourselves, plac­ing each subdivision of the LGBTQA community into a separate box. But bisexuals, by definition, straddle at least two, sometimes three, of these subdivi­sions. Does their ability to transcend labels threaten our own sexuality, in addition to our assumptions about the sexuality of others? Could our tendency to ignore bisexuals reveal something about our own insecurities? There are no easy or set answers, but examining areas that make us uncomfortable can help us learn and grow.

Gay Life strives to represent every facet of our community, and I invite you—the community—to let us know whenever you see an opportunity for us to improve. In the meantime, please enjoy our feature stories on bisexual­ity. And let us know what you think by commenting online, or writing me di­rectly at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Maggie Beetz, Editor