Bisexual Health Awareness Month
by Jessica Tovar Bobadilla, Communications Intern, San Francisco State University
Last month we celebrated Bisexual Health Awareness Month (#BiHealthMonth), a social media campaign created by the Bisexual Resource Center, that raises awareness every March about the social, financial, and health inequalities faced by the bisexual community. Bisexual Health Awareness Month promotes the visibility of bisexuality, advocates for inclusive resources, and encourages our communities to advocate for bisexual people’s well-being. This year’s #BiHealthMonth theme is equity, which calls for us to work to meet our diverse bisexual community’s needs and eliminate all discrimination against bisexual people of color, transgender bisexual folks, and disabled members of the bisexual community.
Bisexual Health Awareness Month is crucial because bisexual people are the largest self-identifying group within the LGBTQ+ community but are severely underrepresented. This lack of representation leaves many bisexual folks feeling alienated from both queer and straight communities and can cause them to experience significantly higher rates of poor physical and mental health than their gay and straight peers, as well as exclude them from accessing vital resources. These health disparities are compounded if a bisexual individual is also transgender and/or a person of color. This is why movements such as #BiHealthMonth are so crucial.
#BiHealthMonth helps communities connect bisexual folks with bisexual-specific and inclusive resources, programs, and services that best serve their physical and mental health needs. At its core, Bisexual Health Awareness Month serves as an opportunity to advocate for the holistic well-being of all bisexual people.
Supporting queer-specific health clinics is a great way to advocate for the health of the bisexual community. In honor of Bisexual Health Awareness month, we’d like to highlight one such health clinic in our community: The Oakland LGBTQ+ Center's Glenn Burke Wellness Clinic (GBWC).
The Oakland LGBTQ+ Center named their new clinic after Glenn Burke, who was a black Oakland native and the first openly gay baseball player to play in the Major Leagues. The Glenn Burke Clinic offers a variety of services and programs tailored to the LGBTQ+ community such as HIV/STI testing, PEP and PrEP, as well as access to free condoms and lube. GBWC is an all-inclusive and accepting safe space for all sexual orientations, gender identities, races, and ages. As an LGBTQ+ specific community center, bisexual people can feel comfortable gaining access to mental health and general wellness assistance at the GBWC, without fear of stigma. The Center also provides domestic violence support, mental health support, addiction/treatment support, housing assistance, and food assistance.
Click here to schedule an appointment with a Wellness Coordinator or to learn more about the services at the Glenn Burke Wellness Clinic. You can find other information about the Oakland LGBTQ+ Center’s services here.
The Oakland LGBTQ+ Center is currently seeking volunteers who are dedicated to their mission and the community. In particular, they need support tabling on Saturdays at Lake Merritt to spread the word about the Oakland Center’s services. If you feel called to play an important role in advocating for the health of bisexual folks, click here!
Learn more about @BRC_Central’s #BiHealthMonth at www.bihealthmonth.org.