Bi+ Canadian History
Gabryelle Iaconetti (she/her and they/them) is a graduate student in the Department of History at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec who researches bisexual activist and community histories in Canada.
Gabryelle Iaconetti (she/her and they/them) is a graduate student in the Department of History at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec. She has recently completed her master’s degree and will be starting her doctoral studies in September 2023. She has a background in archival studies from McGill University and has been involved in bisexual history research since commencing her graduate studies in 2021.
What is the nature of your work?
I research bisexual activist and community histories in Canada, having mainly focused on Toronto for my master’s degree. This research has manifested in learning about bisexual support groups and organizations that were established in the 1980s and 1990s, many of which are still in operation.
A major component of my research was beginning to build an oral history archive derived from my interviews with Toronto-based bisexual activists from this era.
I want to further expand this research to include suburban areas, as well as bisexual activists’ intersections with race, class and gender, as I pursue my doctorate.
3 things you wish everyone knew about bisexuality?
Bisexual people are not any less queer than gays or lesbians.
Being bisexual is not transphobic or trans-exclusionary.
Bisexual people have our own history and politics that deserve attention and consideration in order to more fully understand the diversity of queer experiences in history.
Why are you interested in research on bisexuality+?
I am interested in understanding queer people’s life experiences, activism and community building beyond the sexuality and gender binary. As a bisexual person interested in Canadian queer history, it is disheartening to not see myself and such a large demographic of the LGBTQ+ community represented in historical accounts of queer activism in Canada. This motivated me to locate histories of bisexual activism in late twentieth century Canada.
What is the most interesting thing you have learned about bisexuality+ from your research?
One very cool thing was discovering that there was a bisexual women’s zine that was published in Toronto, and that bisexual activists in the city were allied with the transgender population. There existed a bisexual culture in Toronto that activists wanted to nourish which had community care at its heart. Seeing the close friendships formed among activists, and people’s motivations for attending bisexual support group meetings, are reminders of how affect and feelings can greatly influence queer activism and community formation.
Are you bi?
Yes, proudly!
Does being bisexual+ change how you approach your research or work? How so?
Being a bisexual researcher has made me consider who might be left out of the queer historical record. This has helped me approach my research with inclusive intentions, and to consider how other marginalized identities related to race, class and gender also affect people’s bisexual experiences.
Learn more about Gabryelle Iaconetti here.