Where do bisexual people go to meet and learn more about their sexual identity? (Picture: Getty Images/Metro.co.uk)

March is Bisexual Health Awareness Month but don’t expect bi issues to be widely discussed.

Only 0.3% of funds given to gay and lesbian support programs go towards bisexual projects, according to the Movement Advancement Project.

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And the number of people defining themselves as bisexual has risen by 45% in the last three years, making it the largest subgroup in the LGBT community.

As a consequence, an ever-expanding bisexual community is looking to find its place in London.


So this week, bisexual activist Lewis Oakley has called on London’s new Night Czar and LGBT activist, Amy Lamé, to remember the bisexual men and women on her mission to turn the capital into a thriving 24-hour city.

Bisexual activist Lewis Oakley (Picture: Andrew J Eastwood)

Many people assume that gay venues are a refuge for all LGBT people but that’s not always the case, claimed Lewis.



He said: ‘I’ve been to gay clubs in the past where I’ve been told to stop kissing my girlfriend by both staff and fellow clubbers.

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‘It’s a sad reality that for many bisexuals, LGBT venues are just another place to receive discrimination.’

Lewis’s experiences are mirrored by research from Equality Index which found 66% of Bisexuals only feel ‘a little’ or ‘not at all’ part of a LGBT community.

With many stating that biphobia and bi erasure limit their full inclusion.

Very little little money is invested in providing services for the bi community (Picture: Getty Images)

So just what does the capital currently offer to those who don’t identify as gay or straight?

London Bisexuals Meetup Group:

Meeting on the 4th Thursday of each month in various bars across the city with occasional random events.

Bi Coffee:

A monthly meet up group held on the first Saturday of every month.

Bi Underground:

A regular monthly event on the 2nd Tuesday of each month. This monthly social based in The Blue Posts pub aims to provide a friendly and relaxed meeting space for bisexuals and their friends.

Bi people are subject to biphobia in LGBT spaces (Picture: Getty Images)

Lewis said: ‘Whilst these groups do what they can, it is a sorry state of affairs that for all the diversity and multiculturalism that London professes to have, it boasts no official venue space for bisexual people.

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‘We don’t really have what gay people had, which is venues to come together. For decades now gay men have been coming together, meeting others like them, discussing their issues and finding support in bars and clubs across the world.

‘Many bisexual people don’t get to socialise with others like them which means they rarely get to discuss their issues with people who understand. It also means we haven’t had the chance to band together and take on prejudice like other LGBT subgroups have. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a room with even ten other bisexual men.’

Biphobia

Bisexual men experience psychological distress at nearly twice the rate of other LGBT sub groups, with the highest amounts of biphobia experienced within LGBT and NHS services.

A report in 2011 found Bisexual men were 50% more likely to live in poverty than gay men and The Bisexuality Report concluded that bisexual men are 6.3 times more likely to commit suicide than heterosexual people.



Bi nightlife

Lewis hopes London’s Night Czar Amy Lamé will remember the bisexual community in her mission to save London’s flagging night life.

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In the last decade, London has lost 40% of its music venues and 50% of its nightclubs. LGBT venues in particular have been closing at an extraordinary rate. Amy has previously commented that ‘LGBT spaces are priceless and we have to preserve them.’

With current figures from YouGov revealing 43% of young people don’t identify as gay or straight is it time we finally take bisexuals seriously, look for ways to bring them together and help them build a supportive community?

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For more about Lewis and his work, click here.

What is Bisexual Health Awareness Month? Bisexual Health Awareness Month is in its fourth consecutive year by The Bisexual Resource Center. BHAM aims to raise awareness of health disparities within the bisexual community and promote resources that are available. This year, the campaign will also look to improve bi awareness in schools and workplaces. And the spaces available for bi people to meet and learn more. For more information, click here.

Metro.co.uk approached Amy Lamé for comment.