Bisexuality and Bi+ Visibility Day

The Council adopted a decision recognizing and celebrating September 23, 2025, as International Celebrate Bisexuality Day and Bi+ Visibility Day within the City of Boston.

This annual observance, first celebrated in 1999, honors the lives, identities, and experiences of bisexual+ people whereas elevating consciousness of the stigma, inequities, and challenges confronted by the bi+ group. The day was based by activists Wendy Curry, Michael Page, and Gigi Raven Wilbur, and was first marked on September 23, 1999, on the International Lesbian and Gay Association Conference in Johannesburg, South Africa. This 12 months marks the twenty sixth anniversary of the custom, which has since gained international recognition.

The decision acknowledges the broader historical past of bisexual recognition, together with San Francisco’s 1990 proclamation of Bisexual Pride Day and the efforts of BiWeb USA in internet hosting the primary National Bisexual Conference. The Council emphasised the significance of utilizing inclusive language comparable to “bi+” to replicate the variety of identities — together with pansexual, fluid, queer, polysexual, and others — that fall beneath the bisexual+ umbrella.

Despite making up greater than half of the LGBTQ+ inhabitants, bisexual+ people stay considerably much less prone to come out to buddies or household on account of stigma and misunderstanding. Many face erasure, discrimination, and invalidation, together with assumptions primarily based on their companions or relationships. A 2024 research cited within the decision discovered that greater than 80 p.c of bi+ people reported discrimination from inside the LGBTQIA+ group itself.

The Council famous that such experiences of exclusion contribute to decreased participation in LGBTQIA+ areas and fewer alternatives for bi+ management, which additional reinforces dangerous misperceptions about bisexual+ individuals. Health disparities had been additionally highlighted, with bisexual+ people dealing with elevated dangers of poor well being outcomes, together with psychological well being challenges, in addition to larger charges of bullying and violence, particularly amongst bi+ youth.

These challenges are amplified for these with intersectional identities. The decision notes that greater than 40 p.c of LGBTQ+ individuals of shade establish as bisexual, and about half of transgender people describe their orientation as bisexual or queer.

By recognizing September 23 as International Celebrate Bisexuality Day and Bi+ Visibility Day, the Boston City Council affirms its dedication to dismantling stigma, selling well being fairness, and supporting the security, rights, and dignity of Boston’s bisexual+ residents.

In adopting this decision, the Council calls on authorities businesses, private and non-private establishments, colleges, and companies to take significant steps towards dismantling bisexual+ stigma, advancing well being fairness, and fostering inclusion, security, and dignity for all of Boston’s bisexual+ residents.