A day of its own for the B
Bisexual people were invisible for a long time. In 1999 three activists gave them a day of their own, thanks to Freddie Mercury.
On 23 September 1999, a small group of activists celebrated for the first time a day that had not existed until then: Celebrate Bisexuality Day. The setting was South Africa. The day was first officially marked at the conference of the International Lesbian and Gay Association in Johannesburg.
Behind the idea were three people from the USA: Wendy Curry from Maine, Michael Page from Florida, who had also designed the bi flag in pink, purple and blue, and Gigi Raven Wilbur from Texas. They were tired of bisexual people falling between all the stools. In the heterosexual world they were seen as a curiosity, in parts of the gay and lesbian movement as indecisive. Wilbur put the problem in a nutshell: anyone who saw a couple holding hands would immediately put them in a box, straight or gay. There was no room for anything in between.
The choice of date was almost incidental. Curry later recalled that they had been sitting together at a bi gathering, venting their frustration, until someone suggested simply throwing a party. They all adored Freddie Mercury. Because the Queen singer's birthday was in September, they chose that month. The day itself is Wilbur's birthday.
The party became a tradition. Today 23 September is known worldwide as Bi Visibility Day, with readings, meetings and town halls lit up in the colours of the bi flag. Since 2014, a whole week of action has even led up to it.
How much weight the day now carries became clear fourteen years after the first celebration. On 23 September 2013, the White House under Barack Obama invited bisexual activists to a meeting of their own for the first time ever. More than thirty of them spoke with government officials about health, violence and discrimination. The date was no coincidence.