Bisexuals may get their day in Berkeley PRIDE

Berkeley councilman Kriss Worthington stands with his his bike on Grant Street, next to a house that has cars in the front yard. A new car tax is being proposed in Berkeley for residents who own multiple cars. Event on 2/20/04 in Berkeley. Darryl Bush / The Chronicle less Berkeley councilman Kriss Worthington stands with his his bike on Grant Street, next to a house that has cars in the front yard. A new car tax is being proposed in Berkeley for residents who own multiple cars. ... more Photo: Darryl Bush, SFC Photo: Darryl Bush, SFC Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Bisexuals may get their day in Berkeley 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

If one Pride celebration isn't enough for you, pack up your party hat and come to Berkeley.

Berkeley on Tuesday could become what appears to be the first city in the country to proclaim a Bisexual Pride Day, separate from the LGBT events that light up the calendar every June across the globe.

Bisexual Pride Day, if it's approved by the City Council, would be celebrated Sept. 23 in conjunction with Bisexual Pride events in Los Angeles, Boston and other cities. But, so far Berkeley - which has no official celebrations planned - is the only city to consider officially recognizing a separate day for bisexuals.

City Councilman Kriss Worthington, who proposed the idea, said he hopes the public will organize parties, forums, barbecues or other events.

"Bisexuals can experience prejudice from both directions," he said. "Increasing bisexual visibility is a way of saying, yes, they do exist, and they deserve our support and acceptance."

Bisexuals have complained for years that they're shunned by the LGBT mainstream, that they're considered fence-sitters or that they're not a legitimate part of the gay movement because they may occasionally be in relationships with the opposite sex.

"They think we have 'straight privilege,' and we hide in that," said Martin Rawlings-Fein, a director of the Bay Area Bisexual Network, a nonprofit educational and cultural group. "We get pushed to the side in the LGBT community and told we don't exist, that we're actually gay or lesbian and just not totally 'out.' "

In reality, more than 50 percent of the LGBT community considers itself bisexual to some degree, and sexuality for most people falls on a spectrum, Rawlings-Fein and others said.

Another myth is that bisexuals are polyamorous, he said. Just like people in any group, bisexuals can date many people or be in long-term monogamous relationships, he said.

But because of the political nature of LGBT movement, bisexuals don't have an easy niche, said Brendan Behan, executive director of San Francisco Pride.

"Berkeley's doing a great thing," he said. "Unfortunately, even in our own community, bisexuals can be invisible. I've seen bisexuals outright dismissed because of their sexuality."

The move to create separate recognition for bisexuals should be a wake-up call to the LGBT community to broaden its perception of relationships, whether they're gay, straight or something in between, he said.

For example, many assume that two men together are gay, or a man and a woman together are straight. In reality, human relationships are endlessly nuanced and rarely easy to pigeonhole, he said.

"We no longer live in an age when we can make assumptions about someone's sexuality or gender," he said. "You can't classify people based on what you perceive."

Gays and lesbians, just like heterosexuals, need to reconsider what they consider normal, he said.

Nancy Carleton, a former Berkeley zoning board chair and a bisexual, said Berkeley's move is symbolic but hugely important.

Bisexuals aren't any more special than other groups, but they're not well understood, she said.

"Certain parts of the LGBT community get lots and lots of attention, and certain parts just get lumped in," she said. "We're just a tag-on on the longer list."

Anything that brings visibility is helpful, she said.

"The more we can learn about each other, the more tolerance grows," she said. "This gives the LGBT community a little spark."