We chose the name Imbibe because writing it starts with "I'm Bi" — and for the drink-me-up sensuality of the word, the feeling of it when speaking or hearing it. Our core event series is a bi+ dance night, but we also plan to host events to build community in other ways include meetups, board game nights, hiking trips, and more. Events are for people who have sexual and/or romantic orientations under the bi+ umbrella, including pan, omni, and other multisexual identities. We also welcome people questioning if they are part of the bi+ community, and are looking for a safe space to explore that aspect of themselves. Bi+ people face a specific form of oppression, monosexism, and specific discrimination, biphobia -- in addition to homophobia, and oppression from white supremacy and the gender binary. As a result, on a micro level we frequently encounter microaggressions and exclusion (subtle or explicit) from q***r and cishet groups, known as "double discrimination," and on a macro level, we have worse social, economic, and health outcomes than people with any other sexual orientation. Despite being the numerical majority of the q***r community, and despite facing this added oppression from monosexism, we rarely if ever have community and events that center us. Instead, we are expected to find community in groups centering monosexual gay and le***an experiences, which continues to leave us at the margins. And (as a result of all the above) it just feels nice to be in a group of other bi/pan+ folks. All our events emphasize an ethos of consent as an ongoing practice. We also note that oppression is intersectional, and white supremacy, transphobia, and colonialism disproportionaly impact the bi+ community.
