My favorite sex-artist duo, Twincest, were at it again this week, this time with a live performance at the Femina Potens art gallery on Thursday night. The performance involved them drawing and then drinking shots of each others’ blood, bookended by some very sweet kissing and touching. And the cherry on top was that the whole thing was being filmed for a show on IFC, hosted by — OMG — Dave Navarro!

You don’t have to ask me twice to come to a Twincest show, but I’ve been a huge Dave Navarro fan for years, so this was like heaven. If heaven included scantily-clad queers squatting on a cold floor while their blood flows into tiny vials. I don’t know about you, but I think my heaven probably would…

Twincest is not for the faint-of-heart. Their shows are intense, with a brutal physicality that only could only come from two people unafraid of the magic of being vulnerable. I was honored to be a voyeur.

Posted in BDSM, Film, Arts, & Entertainment, Friends, LGBT, People of Color, Pleasure | No Comments »

Wow, the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) named me a bisexual leader in the US!! It happened just this past week, on Bi Pride Day (aka National Celebrate Bisexuality Day), September 23rd. I was totally surprised — and honored. Check it out, I’m a leader! http://www.thetaskforce.org/blog/20080923-sue-hyde-bisexuality-day?tr=y&auid=4049230

Also, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation produced this cool tally of the numbers of bisexuals on TV: http://www.glaad.org/eye/ontv/2008/broadcast.php. Sadly, there are no bi men on the list. What’s that about? I know plenty of bisexual men, many of whom would probably love to be on TV — or at least watch TV shows featuring others like them…

Posted in Bisexuals/ Bi Activism, Community Organizations, Culture & Media, Film, Arts, & Entertainment, LGBT | No Comments »

Wingspan is the LGBT center of southern Arizona, and it is helmed by Executive Director Jason Cianciotto, a great guy who used to work at the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force. We met when I worked on Bisexual Health, the book published by the Task Force’s Policy Institute.

Wingspan is currently celebrating its 20th anniversary and is in fundraising mode. So, whether you’re in Arizona or not, if you’ve got some spare funds, please consider making a donation. For more details, visit their website at www.wingspan.org.

Posted in Community Organizations, Friends, LGBT | No Comments »

Basketball player Zach Puchtel came out last year, but the news finally seems to be getting attention now. Check out one of the original articles about him announcing his bisexuality: http://www.minnesotamonitor.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=2667.
I’m not sure why the media has been slow to pick up on this story, but I’m glad more are taking notice. Kudos to Zach for coming out, loud and proud!

Posted in Bisexuals/ Bi Activism, Culture & Media | No Comments »

I want to let you know about an exciting event coming up in Boston in just a couple of weeks. As you probably know, September 23rd is National Celebrate Bisexuality Day. (You don’t have to be bisexual to celebrate, by the way.) And, in honor of the occasion, the Bisexual Resource Center, which is a Boston-based nonprofit organization, is hosting a bi film night, featuring films from my partner’s company, Altcinema Films!

You may not know this, but Altcinema has a _high percentage_ of bisexual films. (And by “bisexual films” I mean: films that were either directed by bisexuals or are about bisexuals, or both.) Altcinema distributes the films that my partner makes, and it distributes the work of other filmmakers, too. Four short films from Altcinema are going to be shown at the bi film event, so, if you’re in Boston, check ‘em out.

Here are the details:
Date: Wed, Sept 17th (NOTE: this is not the actual NCBD date. They start celebrating early in Boston!)
Location: The Brattle Theatre, 40 Brattle Street, Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA
Time: 9:30 pm
Cost: $10
Altcinema films showing that night: Street Haunting (directed by my partner, about Virginia Woolf); On My Skin (directed by moi, about a transgender man of color and his family); Shady Bi (a comedy about bi ladies); Whatever Suits You (a documentary by and about a transwoman)
Other details: There are other films showing, in addition to the Altcinema films. This event is open to everyone, bi and bi-ally alike. And, this event is part of a regular series called CineMental, a monthly queer media night organized by Aliza Shapiro; see http://www.truthserum.org/ for details.

I hope you can make it, especially since I can’t be there (sad). Let me know how it goes!

Posted in Bisexuals/ Bi Activism, Community Organizations, Culture & Media, Film, Arts, & Entertainment, Friends, LGBT, People of Color, Transgender, Women | No Comments »

The Center for Sex and Culture turned it out last night! They hosted a show called Original Sin, which was curated by Wendy Delorme and Billie Sweet — and it was the place to be. There was spoken word, burlesque, stripping, singing, dancing, experimental film, and a gorgeous and lovely vibe created by all the talented artists who took the stage. It’s a show like this that makes me proud and grateful to live in San Francisco.

If you haven’t heard of the Center for Sex and Culture, visit their website. Donate to them, send them love, and, when you’re in SF, visit the space and take in a performance. You’ll be glad you did!

Posted in Community Organizations, Culture & Media, Film, Arts, & Entertainment, Friends, Pleasure, Transgender, Women | No Comments »

No journal entry today — busy getting ready for school. More next week…

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Money is not something I usually talk about on this blog, but, as an MBA candidate at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, it’s a topic I spend much of my time thinking and learning about. I subscribe to a number of business/ finance magazines — and, in fact, a couple of my subscriptions are running out, but the magazines are on my Amazon WishList, so if any kind reader would like to help me maintain my subscriptions, I would be super-grateful!

One of my favorite finance magazines is the to-the-point titled Money. And it was in a recent issue of Money magazine that I learned about a couple of websites that could be very helpful for anyone out there looking for ways to save their hard-earned dollars. Check out these links:

http://www.shopittome.com — This is a site for shoppers who want major discounts on clothes from top brands/ designers (and who doesn’t?!). I signed up today, and I already got the scoop on a Theory pencil skirt that’s to die for.

http://www.GetRichSlowly.org — This is a cool blog with all kinds of tips on how to do what the blog title says: get rich slowly. And, actually, it’s not so much about getting rich, slowly or otherwise, as it is about developing smart saving and spending habits.

Saving money might not feel sexy, but it’s a lot hotter than being swamped by debt. Plus, pencil skirts are definitely sexy…

Posted in Academia, Uncategorized, Women | No Comments »

School’s starting again soon, and what better time to think about diversifying the LGBTQ educational programming on your local campus! If you’re a studenty, faculty, or staff member at a university, and you’re interested in bringing more bisexual and trans ed to your school, here are a couple of things that I can help you with.

The first is that I frequently lecture on bisexual health at college campuses across the country. I’d be happy to come to your school! Lectures are based on the book I co-authored, Bisexual Health (2007, National Gay & Lesbian Task Force). Bisexually-identified people make up half of the LGB population, and suffer from the poorest health of people of any orientation. I talk about the myths and realities that bisexuals face when it comes to physical, mental, and sexual health; the way that biphobia impacts and intersects with health; and what we can do to improve things for bisexuals and others.

The second thing to know is that my partner, Kami Chisholm, PhD, runs Altcinema Films, an amazing film production and distribution company. She focuses on representing the work of LGBT artists — with an emphasis on the B and the T — and the work of artists of color. Altcinema short films by or about bisexuals include: On My Skin, Shady Bi, Whatever Suits You, and Street Haunting. Altcinema short films by or about transgender people include: On My Skin, Godspeed, and Whatever Suits You. Kami also travels to universities around the country, giving lectures with her films. She’s lectured at Cornell, Rutgers, UC Berkeley, UC Santa Cruz, and San Francisco State University, among other schools — and she would be delighted to come speak at your school, too!

You can email amy@amyandre.com to learn more, order a film, or book either of us for an event.

Posted in Academia, Bisexuals/ Bi Activism, Culture & Media, Film, Arts, & Entertainment, Health, LGBT, People of Color, Sexuality Education, Transgender | No Comments »

From my friends at the Transgender Law Center:

The Transgender Law Center needs your help distributing this essential survey.
Your voice is needed, so we can move forward as a unified community. We need you in order to create crucial positive change for our community. The survey data that is collected here will be analyzed and reported in a new publication, “Good Jobs Now California” to educate policymakers about the needs and realities of transgender people. It is essential to the transgender community that we be properly represented.
We would appreciate your partnership in our efforts to reach as many transgender identified Californians as possible. This survey is meant to be taken by a diverse variety of individuals within the transgender community. This will give us a fair assessment of the economic health of transgender folks in California. Our 2006 survey, “Good Jobs Now SF”, helped to secure over $1 million of investments in transgender workforce development programs in the City of San Francisco and was referenced during the historic hearing on Transgender Employment Discrimination in Washington, DC in June. Our hope is that we can replicate this program on a statewide level.

Help your community!
Forward this to as many lists, friends and allies as possible.
To ensure wide distribution and accurate representation, please send the survey link to any local resources and e-mail lists you can. Please announce the survey at any local transgender group meetings and encourage people to pass on the information!
TAKE THE SURVEY NOW!!!!

Survey and printable PDFs can be found on:
• www.transgenderlawcenter.org
Online English version:
• http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=Y0uplviwbkoT9xl3MSFTew_3d_3d
Online Spanish version:
• http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=WG6AfkVUVzX6gkiKNMr5EQ_3d_3d

Completed surveys can be mailed to the Transgender Law Center. We are happy to reimburse postage for returning the surveys. Please inform us of this if needed.
We are happy to send you a copy of the report and would be able to provide you with the raw data from your community so that you can use it for your own planning efforts. Please contact us with any questions or concerns.
Thank you again for your help with the California survey, and for working to better meet the needs of the transgender community.

Transgender Law Center
870 Market Street, Suite 823, San Francisco, CA 94102
(Phone) 415- 865-0176 (Fax) 877-847-1278
www.transgenderlawcenter.org

Posted in Community Organizations, LGBT, Transgender | No Comments »