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Tuesday, June 7, 2011

1 of 7 - Bisexual Epistemologies: A Journey from Nausea to Commitment

Bisexual Epistemologies: A Journey from Nausea to Commitment

An occasional piece by

Serena Anderlini-D’Onofrio, PhD

For The Journal of Bisexuality’s 10^th Anniversary Issue

Hi dear readers!

This piece will be great fun--yours truly promises. Find out all the ins and outs of 10 years of Bisexuality! What does "epistemology"mean? Big word, right? Well, all it means is that when you're making love you're producing knowledge. A good thing!

We begin w/ the abstract, and will have six more posts. Really revealing of all those things about bi you've always been curious about. Why is it so good? What can it do for you? For the planet? For the future? For authentic intimacy? It's all here, spiced with a bit of irony and critique of why we're so behind on our agenda. What's keeping us from being more efficient.

Also arcane words you've been told have no meaning unless you got a PhD are explained--made very easy! "Nausea," "existentialism": it's all about the chakra system--really. Commitment? It's not about going to jail (as in, "being committed".) But rather, it's about "being-in-action" about things. Being the one who makes the difference! No mysteries. Woooooow! Come back for more, will you? We'll post every week, on Tuesdays.

Namaste,

Serena

Abstract

Fritz Klein

This occasional piece captures the experience of being a guest editor for four issues of Journal of Bisexuality, from 2003 to the present time. It is also a reflection on that experience. What is there to learn from it? Is it possible to create a culture of research on bisexuality that empowers people to live authentic lives--and fulfill Fritz Klein’s promise of a healthy bisexuality whose gift to the world is the joy of 100 percent intimacy? The article is made of an introduction to the four issues, on women and bisexuality in a global perspective, on polyamory and bisexuality, on bisexuality and queer theory, and on community-related research about bisexuality that gives off the effect of a bi utopia, or bitopia. It discusses the Fritz Klein intellectual legacy and what it means in terms of understanding the role of bisexuality in today’s world and its potential to contribute to a paradigm shift towards an epistemology based on love for love, or erotophilia. It discusses in depth the circumstances under which the “miracle” of “ten years of bisexuality” has been possible in a decade of planetary disarray and human distress. And it gives special attention to the circumstances in which the four issues came into being. The article further samples significant contributions to the issues, including those by Maria Pallotta-Chiarolli, Betty Dodson, and Deborah Anapol, all of whom pioneers and leaders in the sex-positive movement. Finally, the article also positions the author as a scholar activist whose method of criticism can be termed “holistic” because it integrates correlated approaches synergistically, including close reading and cultural theory.

Keywords: healthy bisexuality, erotophilia (love for love), erotophobia (fear of love), holistic cultural theory, epistemology (how we get to know things, what we think knowledge is), utopia (ideal world), women, polyamory, Fritz Klein, love, existentialism (what makes existence meaningful), Sigmund Freud