Flagging the Positive

A short poem for Bi Visibility Day 2025

Hullo my lovely readers

A content note for references to romantic and sexual attraction and orientations.

An early (and scheduled) letter this week because, as the subtitle says, it’s Bisexual Visibility Day.

(Or bisexu-wheel in my case, but I’ve used that pun in posts on my previous blog, so it didn’t make the title this year.)

Having written recently (if vaguely) about some of the fraught connotations around flags, it feels a relief to focus on and reinforce some of the positive.

To that end, here is a short poem to mark today, followed by some brief thoughts on it and a digital drawing of the Bi Pride flag – to which in many ways I’ve become even more attached this year. (Literally!)

Flagging the Positive

Expansive love
Fits like a glove
Not either/or
But both and more
Flagging me down
To say we want you around
Yes, you too, whilst demi and trans;
Don’t you know that’s what “expansive” means?

The third and fourth lines reference expansive definitions of bisexuality that go beyond gender binaries with which it is often stereotypically (and inaccurately) associated. Similarly, the seventh and eighth lines reference the fact that I am also non-binary trans and demisexual (on the asexual spectrum); identities of which bisexuality is explicitly welcoming and inclusive.

(Demisexuality – which I’ll write more about when I can find the courage – refers to needing an emotional bond with others before experiencing sexual attraction towards them. Some demi people might refer to themselves as demisexual and biromantic, differentiating between sexual and romantic attraction, but when I have experienced sexual attraction it has been towards multiple genders.

So, for me, bisexual, biromantic and demisexual all apply and feel comfortingly validating in combination. Just like being non-binary and bisexual feel like they fit well together. My approach to labels [as you might remember from my poem for International Non-Binary People’s Day] is that they have given me language and helped me understand myself better. Also, whilst I’m well aware that “love” and “attraction” aren’t synonymous for everyone, for me the former is a prerequisite for the latter and I couldn’t resist the rhyming possibilities with “glove”.)

[Image description: An image drawn by Jessi on the virtual blank canvas of WeaveSilk.com. In the centre of the frame, on a black background, three horizontal streaks of light represent the colours and stripes of the Bisexual Pride Flag; dark pink, dark purple and dark blue. / End image description]

Thanks so much for reading, take care of yourselves and one another, and love and solidarity until next time,

Jx