Bi'Cause
French bi/pansexuality association
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bi'Cause is a French bisexual and pansexual advocacy group. It was the first bisexuality focussed organisation in France.
| Formation | May 27, 1997 |
|---|---|
| Type | Bisexuality awareness organisation |
| Headquarters | LGBTQI+ Center of Paris and Île-de-France |
Publication | Bi'llet + Pan'carte |
| Affiliations | Inter-LGBT[1] Assault and Discrimination Support Network |
| Website | bicause |
History
In 1995, a group of four bisexual women left a lesbian discussion circle after being rejected.[2][3][4] They began hosting discussion groups around biphobia and bisexual rights in the LGBTQI+ Center of Paris and Île-de-France, a LGBTQ+ resource centre in Paris.
A newsletter called Bi'Cause was first published in 1996 by the group.[2][5]
In May 1997, Bi'Cause was transformed into a think tank, advocacy group and legal association, to create a space for discussion. At the time, it was the only solely bisexual advocacy group in France.[6]
The same year, it participated in EuroPride in Paris and in 1998 they participated in their first Paris Pride.[2] They also participated in the sixth BiCon, an annual gathering of the bisexual community in England. Since 2006, Bi'Cause have also attended ExisTrans (later ExisTransInter), a trans and intersex awareness march.[7]
In 2001, they organised and hosted the first Bisexuality Forum in Paris, organised with the Swiss LGBTQ+ rights group, VoGay. Sociologist Daniel Welzer-Lang was one of the keynote speakers.[7]
Since 2009, Bi'Cause has lead the celebrations Celebrate Bisexuality Day on September 23.[8]
In 2015, Bi'Cause began working with Toulouse-based Bisexual advocacy group Être bi ou ne pas être bi (To bi or not to bi), one of the very few other bisexuality rights groups in the country.[9]
On its twentieth anniversary, Bi'Cause expanded its areas of advocacy to include pansexual people.[9] They also rejoined the Assault and Discrimination Support Network (RAVAD), an organisation dedicated to providing assistance to individuals of the LGBTQ+ community who have faced discrimination and violence.[10]
Activities
Publications
From 1997 until 2008, Bi'Cause distributed the Bi'Cause and later Bi'Cause News newsletter. The publication was transformed into a monthly online newsletter called Le Bi'llet. In 2017, its name was lengthened into Bi'llet + Pan'carte to represent the organisation's move to represent pansexuals.[11]
In 2021, for Pansexual Visibility Day on May 24, they produced the film, along with Inter-LGBT, Pan : pas une mode (Pan: not a fashion), directed by Dylan El Kara. The film looks at the stereotypes, prejudices and discrimination surrounding pansexuality.[12][13]
They have launched two online surveys on Biphobia in collaboration with SOS Homophobie, MAG jeunes gais, lesbiennes, bi et trans and ACT UP-Paris. The first from 2012 until 2015.[14][3] The second from 2017 until 2021.[9][15]
Events
Bi'Cause often hosts discussion groups and workshops. They also have scheduled debates and meetings with specific themes or people.[16]