September 23 is Celebrate Bisexuality Day. Hooray hooray it’s a great big huge bi day!! (acknowledging copyright to Boney M)

There’s so many advantages to being multi-gender attracted. You can move past the arbitrary limitations imposed by a largely either/or society on you…gender schmender. You get the cream of the crop for your relationships without being limited by gender…remember, though, bi…but fussy. Your ability to pun is greatly enhanced (ok, open for some debate there re that as an advantage). Celebrate bi awesomeness in all its forms.

I find it paradoxical that we need a bi visibility day. After all, bi is the numerically largest sexual orientation as confirmed by research and logically by the Kinsey scale. Yet so often bi peeps are erased: in research, policy and in other ways e.g. a couple walking down the street who appear to be male and female are both assumed to be heterosexual based on appearance alone.

There are numerous explanations e.g. political, social conditioning, for the erasure; thing is there are no valid excuses. None. Zero. Zappo. Zilch.

So how to move to 20/20 bi vision?

Use inclusive language such as LGBTI and not gay and lesbian. This especially applies in Australia right now during the paper-wasting exercise on marriage. Bi (and trans/gender diverse and intersex) need total support and for us, that inclusive language communicates unconditional support. It won't be to borrow from Martin Niemöller "first they came for the bisexuals" because we just won't let them come for anyone. Case closed.

Allies, please stand up against biphobia/bi-erasure. For example, when someone says “bi doesn’t exist” a possible response is “wasn’t that said in the past about gays and lesbians – and we realised it was bunkum?”

And to bi+ people who have faced erasure or prejudice: remember to keep saying “I am equal.”

This is our day…wave your pink, lavender and blue flags high and proud. And dare I say it: get ON the fence, the view’s better.

(PS: whatever label you use or none at all...that's ok too. We can all be in the melting-pan together)