I’m very proud to announce: starting this week, I’m the new Executive Director of San Francisco Pride! Here’s the press release from Pride about my position:

New Executive Director

As you might guess, I’m going to be extremely busy from this point on. My blog used to get updated frequently, but slowed down to a weekly update due to work/ school a few years ago. Well, now it’s going to get even slower. In fact, after 5+ years, it’s going on hiatus.

The content will still be here, but if you want to know what’s new with me, please come visit me on the Pride website! And, if you’re in San Francisco, please come to Pride!

Two final links before I call it a day. First, thanks to my friend Ernesto Quintero at Bishop & Knight for the nod, regarding some work that I did with him before I got this new job: http://bishopandknight.com/blog/?p=48.

And here’s a sweet message from GLAAD about my new job. Thanks, GLAAD!

And thanks all you readers for keeping up with my blog for all these years!

With Pride,
Amy

Who’s going to the upcoming National Equality March? I won’t be able to make it, but I can’t wait to hear how it goes! It’s taking place on National Coming Out Day, which seems fitting. If you go, I hope you have a wonderful time.
P.S. While in DC, check out a great cafe/ bookstore called Busboys & Poets. You’ll be glad you did!

GLAAD and the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force both celebrated Bi Pride Day (aka Celebrate Bisexuality Day) this year, in full force. The big day was this past Wednesday (happy belated bi day, to my bi readers!). GLAAD even published a couple of pieces that I wrote for them, on their blog. Check it out:

Q & A with Bisexual Activist Amy Andre

What Celebrate Bisexuality Day Means to Me

There are also essays by a bunch of other bi folks, including this great one by Amanda Morgan, the GLAAD Fellow who orchestrated a lot of GLAAD’s festivities that day:

Reflections on Bi Visibility and Coming Out

Here’s a snippet from the first one, which was a Q & A between Amanda and me:

“Question: You’ve frequently been a resource for the media on bisexual health as well as LGBT health disparities. Last month, you participated in the Bi Health Summit in Chicago. What can you tell us about the way bisexual health is treated in the media? As a spokesperson, have you noticed a change over time in the type(s) of questions you get asked or the circumstances in which you are sought out to speak on these issues?

Answer: I think the media has a long way to go in creating accurate portrayals of bisexual health. For example, the average article that touches on anything bisexual is usually along the lines of: ‘Do they exist? This expert says yes, but this one says no. Hmm. Who has the stronger evidence? I’ll conclude that it seems that they do exist, but not much more is known.’

Of course, anyone who wants to debate the fact of my existence – or my right to call myself bi – disgusts me. But the underlying idea, that this is the most we can say about bisexuals (’yes, there are some people who identify as bi’) is equally appalling. It wastes an opportunity to educate about bisexual health, which, in my biased opinion, is what we need to be talking about.”…

Continue reading here.

Run, don’t walk, to check out my friend KS Stevens’ play, Butch Mamas! It’s being performed in New York’s Bowery district — and P.S. there’s an amazing chocolatier right down the street from the theatre, if you want a little pre-show cocoa. I highly recommend both.

Butch Mamas is a comedy about, well, butch mamas. Or, more specifically, butches who either are or want to get pregnant. I came in expecting to laugh — which I did plenty of, by the way — but came away feeling very moved. The play is poignant, sensitive, and very touching. It’s also very “now”, in that it capture a lot of cutting-edge elements of queer culture, (but without feeling muddled in any way).

It’s performed, written, and directed by a majority women of color cast and crew, and it was great to see WOC making it happen. The actors are a mix of Equity and non-Equity, and includes a PhD in the bunch. (I love to watch smart people on stage!)

Biracial and bisexual identities are treated respectfully and matter-of-factly, which was a relief to me personally, because that’s all too often not the case. Of course, I wouldn’t have expected anything less from my friend KS, who both wrote and produced the play, as she always has her finger on the pulse of the rich diversity within our community.

Okay, so here are the deets. Go see it, enjoy, and tell your friends:
Location: The Wow Cafe Theatre (which, by the way, is not a cafe; they do have a bar with alcohol, though, fyi), 59-61 East 4th St (between 2nd and Bowery), New York NY 10003.
Dates: September 24, 25 and 26, 2009
Time: 8 pm, and there is an intermission
Cost: $16 at the door

Here’s an article about a recent conference in Chicago. As I mentioned on this blog, I participated in the conference, which was a summit on bisexual health; I moderated a panel. While I was in Chicago, I also attended the LGBTI Health Summit, which took place immediately after the Bisexual Health Summit (and was organized by some of the same folks).

http://chicagofreepress.com/node/3812

Here’s a snip from the piece, titled Bi Health Summit Highlights Health Disparities:

“The day began with an overview of the current research on bisexual health. Research shows that bisexual people—who make up about half of those who identify as GLB—face huge health disparities.

According to bisexual health researchers Cheryl Dobinson and Stewart Landers, compared to both gays, lesbians and heterosexuals, bisexuals report higher rates of alcohol and tobacco use, substance abuse, depression and anxiety, suicidal thoughts, physical and sexual abuse and self harm, among other issues. For example, bisexual women are six times more likely than heterosexuals to consider suicide, whereas lesbians are four times more likely. Bisexual men are seven times more likely than heterosexuals to consider suicide, compared to gay men, who are four times more likely.

Dobinson and others said that stigma and biphobia certainly play a large role in why this population is impacted by certain health disparities at even higher rates than gays and lesbians.”

continue reading here

My friend Kyle Schickner of FenceSitter Films is looking for support for his next project, a series of 5-minute webisodes called “Rose By Any Other Name…”!

Kyle tells me, “It’s a comedy about a lesbian who falls in love with a man having to look at her life and slowly comes to terms with being bisexual. We follow her as she slowly comes out all over again to friends (who are not thrilled) and family (who are!).”

He’s planning to debut the series in October, which is National Coming Out Month — nice tie-in.

I think it would be amazing to have a show that portrays this type of coming out story. It’s one we almost never get to see in the media, and yet one that is very common. A lot of people will be able to relate. And the fact that it’s a comedy is even better!

If you have the means to support “Rose By Any Other Name…”, please go to FenceSitter Films, or email Kyle.

I published an article on Bilerico earlier this week. Check it out here. Titling it “The Week of Bi-Bi’s,” I wrote about my recent observations on biracial and bisexual representations in movies and on tv. Seems like there’s a lot of bi-bi going on lately, and I thought I would put in my two cents.

Here’s a snip:
“I’ve noticed a lot of LGBT content in unlikely places in the media lately. Earlier this week, Lindsay Lohan was a guest judge on Project Runway, and she was, to my knowledge, the first out female judge they’ve had on the show. She commented that one of the dresses looked “sexy” on the model wearing it, and I realized she’s probably been the only judge ever on the show who actually has sex with women and is therefore speaking from a very personal perspective. (I think the other judges, who are straight women and gay men, are qualified to describe dresses as sexy, which they often do; the difference is that they don’t desire women, and are therefore just using the term somewhat benignly, based on what they think is culturally sexy, but not necessarily what they themselves consider sexy.) It was a hot moment, and I was delighted to see Lindsay Lohan on the show, to interject that woman-desiring-woman viewpoint…”

Read the rest here.

My friend Mike Szymanski wrote an interesting article here about District 9 and The Time Traveler’s Wife. I just saw both of the movies he’s describing — and loved one of them, can you guess which one?

Have you seen either of these films? Email me and let me know what you thought…

Or a week… A couple of weeks ago, I thought I wouldn’t be able to make it to the LGBTI Health Summit or to the Bi Health Summit, both of which are happening this week in Chicago! But, thanks to some hard-working conference organizers (thanks Julie, Ed, Stewart, and Cat!) and by the grace of my frequent flyer miles (thanks American!), I am now not only going to one but to both Summits. And I’m volunteering at them. And I’m moderating a panel at the Bi Health Summit! If you know anything about me, you know that I (co-) wrote the book on bi health (literally — it’s called Bisexual Health, published by the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force), so I’m really looking forward to be a part of this historic event.

Or a year… Four years and one day ago, I started this blog, as a way to share info with you about all the communities that touch my life. Over the years, it’s become a lot more than that. Blogging at AmyAndre.com has been much more of a dialogue than a monologue, as friends and acquaintances who read this blog routinely send me information that interests them — and me — so that I can pass it on to the rest of you. Thanks for being part of the blog experience with me, and here’s to four more years!

If you haven’t already, check out my Speaking Engagements page. I have an MA in sexuality studies and give talks about:

* the psychology of human sexuality,
* anatomy and pleasure,
* safer sex for LGBT folks, and
* bisexual health,
among lots of other sex topics!

I lecture at tons of universities and colleges. So if you’re a student, professor, administrator, or alum, and you want me to come speak at your school, I have great news: I’m now booking my speaking dates for the Fall semester!

Email me at amy at amyandre dot com for details or to schedule an event.