Lani Kaʻahumanu

Lani Kaahumanu (born October 5, 1943) is a Canadian bisexual and feminist writer and activist. She is openly bisexual and writes and speaks on sexuality issues frequently. She serves on the editorial board of the ''Journal of Bisexuality''. She is also working on the books ''My Grassroots Are Showing: Stories, Speeches, and Special Affections'' and ''Passing For Other: Primal Creams and Forbidden Dreams – Poetry, Prose, and Performance Pieces''. In 1974, she divorced her husband and moved to San Francisco, where she originally came out as a lesbian. She helped found the San Francisco State Women Studies Department, and in 1979 she became the first person in her family to graduate from college. Kaahumanu realized she was bisexual and came out again in 1980.

Activism

1980s

In 1983, in San Francisco, Kaahumanu, Autumn Courtney, Arlene Krantz, David Lourea, Bill Mack, Alan Rockway, and Maggi Rubenstein founded BiPOL, the first and oldest bisexual political organization. In 1987, Kaahumanu, Ann Justi, and Maggi Rubenstein founded the Bay Area Bisexual Network.

The article "The Bisexual Movement: Are We Visible Yet?", by Kaahumanu, appeared in the official Civil Disobedience Handbook for the 1987 March On Washington For Gay and Lesbian Rights; the march included the first nationwide bisexual gathering. Her article was the first article about bisexuals and the emerging bisexual movement to be published in a national lesbian or gay publication.

Kaahumanu is the co-editor with Loraine Hutchins of the anthology '' Bi Any Other Name: Bisexual People Speak Out'' (Alyson Publications, 1991). It is considered one of the seminal books in the history of the modern bisexual rights movement. Kaahumanu contributed the piece "Hapa Haole Wahine" to the anthology. After the anthology was forced to compete in the Lambda Literary Awards under the category Lesbian Anthology, and ''Directed by Desire: Collected Poems'', a posthumous collection of the bisexual poet June Jordan’s work, had to compete (and won) in the category "Lesbian Poetry", BiNet USA led the bisexual community in a multi-year campaign eventually resulting in the addition of a Bisexual category, starting with the 2006 Awards.

1990s

From 1992 until 1994, Kaahumanu served as project coordinator for an American Foundation for AIDS Research grant awarded to Lyon-Martin Women's Health Services. This was the first grant in U.S. history to target young high risk lesbian and bi women for HIV/AIDS prevention/education research. Kaahumanu also created "Peer Safer Sex Slut Team" with Cianna Stewart. Her work with the Safer Sex Sluts was recognized by ''Ms. Magazine'' in 1994 in their "50 Ways To Be A Feminist" issue.

In 1993, Kaahumanu spoke at the rally of the March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation; she had conceived and led a successful national campaign to have bisexual people included in the title. She was the only out bisexual out of 18 speakers.

Also in 1993, for her 50th birthday, Kaahumanu wrote and modeled for ''Women En Large: Images of Fat Nudes'' (Books In Focus, 1994).

In 1994, Kaahumanu, Elias Farajaje-Jones, Laura Perez, and Victor Raymond, all from The Indigenous Queers/Bisexual Caucus, presented "Preaching to the Perverted or Fluid Desire," at the National HIV Prevention/Education Summit held by the Association of Physicians for Human Rights (now the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association).

Since the mid-1990s, she has facilitated sex and body positive workshops around the United States.

In 1996, "What's bisexuality got to do with it?" training was held in conjunction with California's Lesbian, Gay and AIDS LIFE Lobby and Institute. It was coordinated by Kaahumanu, Stephanie Berger, Elias Farajaje-Jones, Felicia Park-Rogers, Brandon Taylor, Roland Sintos Coloma, and Cianna Stewart. Sheela Lambert

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases