Bi Spaces
Dr Helen Bowes-Catton on spaces that validate bi-ness, being a “career bisexual”, and needing more anti-racism in bi+ organisations.
Dr Helen Bowes-Catton has been researching bisexuality in the UK since 2004 and completed her PhD on bisexual peoples’ experiences of being bi at bi events, and in everyday life. She is a lecturer at Open University, and has written extensively about bi+ issues.
Why are you interested in research on bisexualilty?
Because I'm bi, and because
I've always been interested in how language/discourse affects the stories we can tell and how we make sense of the world.
What is your research about?
I do qualitative research on bi people's subjective experiences of space, looking at how bi subjectivity and space are mutually co-constituted through space, time and motion.
I am currently publishing outputs from a ten-year research project on bisexual people's spatialised experiences of subjectivity. Sited at the intersection of micro-sociology, critical social psychology and cultural geography, this work contributes to the field of sexuality studies by using creative methods (such as Lego and Plasticine modelling and photo-diaries) and hermeneutic phenomenological analysis to develop an experiential approach to bisexual subjectivity, and to present a critical analysis of the ways in which it is constituted in different social spaces.
Can you tell me a bit about your public engagement work?
I was the chair of BiUK, the national network for bisexuality research. My work with BiUK included co-authoring The Bisexuality Report (2012) and a set of guidelines for social scientific research on bisexuality, co-organising its biennial conference in 2012, and meeting with the Government Equalities Office to discuss policy issues affecting bisexual people.
What are the most interesting facts that you have learned about bisexuality from your research?
I'm fascinated by the ways in which bi people describe feeling constrained in heteronormative spaces and relaxed/expanded in spaces where their bi-ness is recognised and validated.
3 things you wish everyone knew about bisexuality?
Like other sexualities, it's a concept with a particular history and politics
It's super-bad for people to have their identities invalidated
Bi people are the biggest constituency of the LGBT+ movement
How do you define bisexuality?
Being sexually/romantically/emotionally attracted to more than one gender.
What do you think are the most pressing concerns within the bisexual community in 2020?
Organised bi communities urgently need to engage with anti-racism and support other marginalised communities.
What bi research would you like people to know about?
I'm very proud to have worked on The Bisexuality Report. I would point everyone to work being done by Bis Of Colour in the UK, and to Purple Prose, and to Surya Monro's 2015 book on bisexuality.
Are you bi?
Yep!
Does being bisexual change how you approach your research or work?
Yes! every part of me influences the way I approach my work and research.
Can you tell me a bit about your experience?
When did you know you were bi? Early 20s.
Do your friends and family know you are bi? Yep.
Do your colleagues know you are bi? Yep, kind of a 'career bisexual' at this point!
When did you come out as bi? 1999/2000
Was there any particular reason you came out as bi? Fell in love with a girl.
Follow Dr Helen Bowes-Catton on Twitter to learn more about her work.