Bi Women’s Quarterly is a 30 year narrative of
bisexual women’s experiences, and offers historians a candid source on how
bisexual thoughts, culture, and politics have evolved since the late 20th
century. Bisexual activist Robyn Ochs donated the complete run of Bi Women’s Quarterly after she became
editor in 2009. Issues after 2009 are also available online.
“Bisexual+ people, despite comprising
approximately half of all LGB people, have long been written out of LGBTQ
history,” Says Ochs. “Making the voices of bi women accessible will hopefully
provide researchers primary material with which to begin to fill this
gap.“
This collection represents one of the most influential collections
of bisexual archival material. There are several libraries and archives of gay
and lesbian material, but very few devote as much attention to bisexual
resources as the Schlesinger Library has. Ochs has worked with the library to develop a
collection of bi books, periodicals, ‘zines, and the personal papers of many
bisexual women.
This
collection is even more important because it is digital, which mean it is
accessible to people researching bisexual history without having to travel to
view the source material. When so much of our history is hidden and forgotten,
this digital archive represents a huge step forward for the preservation of bisexual
history.
