Listen up gang. This one is important.

You see this woman there? That is Loraine Hutchins - bisexual activist, author, educator, feminist, and BAMF of the highest order. She has been a bisexual activist LONGER THAN MOST OF US HAVE BEEN ALIVE.

That picture of her with the bike? Oh I’ll let Loraine tell it – “I rode my bi bicycle whose license plate was Byke in the 1986 DC Pride parade as the first ever bisexual contingent of one. I dressed as Wonder Woman, it’s a long story …”

I’ve learned that most of Loraine’s best stories are long stories. And she has a lot of great ones.

In 1991 Loraine co-authored Bi Any Other Name with Lani Kaahumanu. This book revolutionized the LGBTQ world by giving bisexual people a chance to speak up about their own lives instead of being spoken about. Loraine personally conducted interviews with bisexual men dying of AIDS to make sure their voices and experiences would be preserved and included. In 25 years the book has never been out of print. It has become a beloved classic.

I met Loraine because she is hella active on facebook, constantly sharing information on various social justice causes, educating, and mentoring other bisexual activists. Myself included. Loraine has been enormously helpful and supportive of the work we do here. Words cannot express my awe for what she has done for me. She has always been willing to answer any question I throw at her about Bi Any Other Name, bisexual history, and even how to navigate the complex and thorny world of bisexual activism. She has been active in so many behind the scenes things as well.

So many of us here on tumblr are finding our community and our history and our culture and our voices here, in large part because we stand on the shoulders of giants like Loraine.



And behind every great woman is another woman who is helping her make sure shit gets done, and that is what Loraine’s partner Nancy has done for years behind the scenes. Or as they say: “Loraine and Nancy have shared a home and various business partnerships for the last 7 years and Nancy has often served as Loraine’s personal assistant, being the wind beneath her wings, in all the ways that’s meant.”

However Nancy has recently received a terminal diagnosis and Loraine needs our help to pay for her ongoing hospice care.

And they are falling short of their $12,000 goal. By like a lot. Which personally fills me with sadness and rage.

Right now this blog has over 12,600 followers. I want you all to ask yourselves if you can afford to give Loraine even just $1 as a thank you for everything she has done for us here at bisexual-books, as an expression of gratitude for every person who has ever found themselves in the pages of Bi Any Other Name, and as an expression of love for a life lived in service to her community.

If you can’t, I want to know if you can signal boost this to every corner of the internet you know. Pound pavement people. Please please please. Loraine deserves that and more.

- Sarah