Bi Women Quarterly

''Bi Women Quarterly'' (''BWQ'') is a grassroots publication that works in affiliation with the Boston Bisexual Women's Network in Boston, Massachusetts. Started in September 1983, it is the oldest running publication for bisexual women.

The goal of the publication is to amplify the voices of women who fall under the bisexual+ umbrella. ''Bi Women Quarterly'' uses the term bisexual+, coined by GLAAD, in order to encompass identities including but not limited to bisexual, pansexual, polysexual, omnisexual, fluid, and queer. ''BWQ'''s definition of womanhood includes transgender women, nonbinary/genderqueer individuals, cisgender women, and other woman-aligned identities.

Bisexual activist Robyn Ochs is the publication's editor.

Publication History

''Bi Women's Quarterly'' started as the newsletter of the Boston Bisexual Women's Network. Now a standalone publication, it is still produced by the same network. ''Bi Women Quarterly'' is published four times each year, and accepts a variety of submission types including fiction writing, nonfiction writing, poetry, news articles, book reviews, letters to the editor, and visual art. The publication is "staffed entirely by volunteers," and is stationed in Jamaica Plain, a neighborhood in the city of Boston.

Archives

Current editor Robyn Ochs donated "the only complete collection" of ''BWQ'' to Harvard University's Schlesinger Library in order to ensure the preservation and digitization of the publication. This digitized collection holds every iteration of ''BWQ'' from 1983 to 2010 in an online format.

Earlier publications of ''BWQ'' often include sections with redacted names and contact information, in order to protect the privacy of individuals. Thus, many of the publication's original contributors and editors' names are not known. This group of individuals, originally eight in number, connected through a meeting on bisexuality conducted at the Cambridge Women's Center. Ranging in age from 23 to 36, these women labeled themselves the BiVocals, and took pride in the diversity of lifestyle and experience among them.

Members of the BiVocals teamed up with other bisexual, lesbian, and women's groups, in order to create the Boston Bisexual Women's Network. The purpose of this network was to synthesize the already existing resources for bisexual women in the area; the BBWN as an organization helped to cultivate support groups, consciousness-raising meetings, educational resources, and resources for political action. The first goal of this group was to create a visible space for bisexuals in Boston's Lesbian/Gay Pride March 1983.

Publication and content

Each issue of ''Bi Women Quarterly'' is curated from a selection of submissions based on previously released prompts. These prompts serve as points of inspiration for writers, artists, and creatives that identify as women under the bisexual+ umbrella. Examples of prompts include coming out stories, bisexuality and disability, mental health, and visibility. Many of these prompts serve as a call to action for bisexual+ women from a variety of backgrounds, in order to display the diverse and intersectional experiences and opinions that exist within the bisexual+ community.

Advice Column

''Bi Women Quarterly'' includes an advice column, currently authored by a woman who goes by the pseudonym of A. Rose Bi. She is a self-described reader of ''BWQ'', with experience in LGBTQ+ specialization for fields such as Cognitive Science, sexual assault advocacy, feminism, and media representation.

Prior to the introduction of A. Rose Bi, author Tiggy Upland ran a column entitled ''Ask Tiggy.''

Calendar

At the end of each issue, ''BWQ'' includes a calendar section. This section is dedicated to advertising upcoming events in the Metro-Boston area that are relevant to the experiences of bisexual+ women. Included in this section are the meeting times for a number of monthly groups, including those created for bisexual+ or questioning individuals who are in heterosexual relationships, bisexual+ youth, and bisexual+ individuals in general. Also included in this section are dates for different pride events, such as Boston Pride, the Boston Dyke March, and AIDS Walk Boston.

News Briefs

The semi-regular News Briefs section of ''BWQ'' is currently written by Robyn Ochs. It is a space dedicated to sharing news related to the bisexual+ community. Examples include bisexual representation on television, in politics, and other public platforms. The publication's Spring 2015 issue covered the election of Kate Brown, the United States' first openly bisexual governor. News Briefs also covers news of bisexual representation in the media, including ''Grey's Anatomy'''s openly bisexual Callie Torres, and openly bisexual+ celebrities such as Lady Gaga.

Research corner

Included in many issues of ''BWQ'', the Research Corner is a space to include important research related to bisexuality and bisexual+ identities. It is currently supervised by scholars Renate Baumgarner and Soudeh Rad.

Editors

*Robyn Ochs - Editor (2009–present)
*Katelynn Bishop - Assistant Editor (2018–present)
*LB Klein - Assistant Editor (2017–2018)
*Catherine Rock - Assistant Editor (2013–2017)
*Kate Estrop - Calendar Editor (2013–2017)
*Ellyn Ruthstrom - Calendar Editor (2009–2013); Guest Editor (2015, 2017)
*Heron Greenesmith - Guest Editor (2015)

References

{{reflist

External links

Bi Women Boston: Bi Women Quarterly Archive

Harvard Library: Bi Women, the newsletter of the Boston Bisexual Women's Network

Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study: Celebrate Bisexuality

1983 establishments in Massachusetts
Bisexual culture in the United States
Bisexuality-related magazines
Feminism in the United States
Feminist magazines
Intersectional feminism
LGBT feminism
LGBT-related magazines published in the United States
Literary magazines published in the United States
Magazines established in 1983
Magazines published in Boston
Multicultural feminism
Quarterly magazines published in the United States
Visual arts magazines published in the United States
Women's magazines published in the United States