The print and media representation of Bristol’s bisexual groups from 2002-2014

The main way Bristol’s bisexual groups managed to extend their public visibility both within and outside of Bristol in the early 2000s was through their print and media representation. This was evident in their recognition within newsletters created by institutions such as Bristol’s Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual (LGB) Forum, the listings pages of Bristol queer group flyers and on ShoutOut radio: a Bristol-based radio show that ran on a monthly basis during this period and is currently the largest LGBTQ+ show in the UK and Ireland.

Outburst newsletters

Having been established in 1994, Bristol’s LGB forum (now known as LGBT Bristol) launched a newsletter to raise greater awareness of Bristol’s queer groups, upcoming events and welfare services which ran on a quarterly basis from 2002-2010. Across its 30 issues that can now be found in the Bristol Archives, there were traces of bisexual representation within its articles and advertisement columns which largely focused on gay male-identifying groups. This was evident in Outburst’s second issue in December 2002 which featured a short article on Fluidity – the first named bisexual group in Bristol. There was a temporary bisexual group in the 1980s which you can find more information from below. Fluidity was advertised as an informal discussion group that would meet monthly from January 2003 in the private meeting house in Redland. Also featured in an August 2002 Venue article, Fluidity’s founder Nadine explained that it was formed to provide greater support to bisexual people due to the absence of this within the 1990s and early 2000s Bristol LGBT scene. Fluidity’s absence from archival records has led to it being unknown when it officially ended, though it has been estimated to have ended around 2005.

Bristol’s queer listings pages

The listings pages of Bristol’s queer group print publications in the Bristol Archives is an unconventional yet valuable source of visibility for Bristol’s bisexual groups during this period. Outburst’s listings pages from 2002-2007 featured Bristol 3Ms: ‘men meeting men’ which was a supper group for gay and bisexual men in Bristol and Weston-Super Mare. While the proportion of bisexual members within this group remains absent from historical records, the inclusion of bisexual men within Bristol’s gay social scene was promising. This is due to the stigma bisexual people felt within the queer community during this period of being greedy or unsure of their queerness (an article is linked below if interested).

The University of Bristol’s LGBT society’s 2009-10 handbook dedicated multiple pages to challenging bisexuality as a universal experience and included a specific bisexual resource section. This demonstrated the society’s inclusive attitudes towards bisexual students, diversifying Bristol’s bisexual print representation through this handbook targeting a young adult audience. Outburst’s December 2010 listings page also featured Indigo Bristol, a sociable networking group for lesbian and bi women across the South West, proving that Bristol’s bisexual groups were extending its outreach beyond the city.

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ShoutOut radio listener awards

ShoutOut radio initiated their listener awards in 2013 and created a ‘Best Event for Bisexual People’ category. BiVisible Bristol was mentioned as the runner up in February 2015 for their September 2014 ‘Good Bi Summer’ fundraiser at The Phoenix pub. Jen Yockney, a leading organiser for Manchester’s bisexual group BiPhoria and Editor for Bi Community News discussed with me how she helped mobilise the vote for BiVisible. She explained that she shared BiVisible’s nomination across social media platforms and even published it in Bi Community News (link below). This demonstrated that BiVisible Bristol’s media representation was strengthened by regional collaboration with the longest running bisexual group in the UK. Several members of BiVisible also joined the ShoutOut radio show in August 2014 to advertise ‘Good Bi Summer’ with BiVisible co-organiser Joanna explaining that “I really enjoyed doing the radio interview with ShoutOut – it felt good to represent”.

 

 

The diverse print and media forums that recognised and represented all of Bristol’s bisexual groups in some form from 2002-2014 proved that while bisexual visibility can only be found in fragments within archival records, the rich insight from oral histories of bisexual members prove its wide existence in Bristol and beyond.

 

Listen below to Jen Yockney discussing lobbying the vote for BiVisible Bristol’s ShoutOut nomination:

Further resources

Article on Bristol’s temporary bisexual group in the 1980s https://bistuff.org.uk/double-trouble-the-guardian-18th-february-1986/?utm_source
2002 article from Venue magazine featured on the Fluidity website: https://www.angelfire.com/folk/bristolbisexualgroup/articles/venue.html
Bi Community News December 2014 article supporting BiVisible’s ShoutOut nomination  – Bi Community News
Stigma of bisexuality 2013 blog https://bicommunitynews.co.uk/2013/06/30/here-too-queer-too/

Image references (Feel free to click on each image to expand them to full view)

Reference 1 – Bristol Archives, ‘Records donated to OutStories Bristol, 1981 – 2011’, 46561/4/NL/1: Fluidity advertisement within Outburst issue number 3, December 2002 [date accessed: 15 Nov 2024].

Reference 2 – Bristol Archives, ‘Records donated to OutStories Bristol, 1981 – 2011’, 46561/4/NL/1: Listing page of Outburst issue number 20, March 2007 [date accessed: 15 Nov 2024].

Reference 3 – Bristol Archives, ‘Various Bristol and local area LGBT flyers, programmes and leaflets, 2010s’, 46459/4: University of Bristol’s LGBTQ Society Handbook, 2009-10 [date accessed: 16 Jan 2025].

Reference 4 – Bristol Archives, ‘Records donated to OutStories Bristol, 1981 – 2011’, 46561/4/NL/1: Listing page of Outburst issue number 29, December 2010 [date accessed: 15 Nov 2024].

Reference 5 – This photo was provided to me with consent from the personal archive of a BiVisible member.

 

Lucy Marshall, 2025