From (Bi)nary to Bi+: Archiving Joyful Resistance in the Digital Landscape
In 2020, bisexual advocate Robyn Ochs and the organization GLAAD petitioned to have the definition of bisexuality updated to encompass the experiences of bisexual people and the broadening spectrum of gender identities (Merriam-Webster, 2020). My project aims to build on the social justice underpinnings of this change through an experimental website and archive that highlights the lived experiences and cultural production of bisexual individuals, underscoring narratives of multiplicity, intersectionality, and women’s perspectives. Within a framework of community archiving in queer and feminist activism (Cifor, 2017), my talk will consider how the website and its archive can serve not just as a repository but an active space of resistance. The project presents archives as more than a means of preservation, but as survival, aiming to capture the often-overlooked strategies and tactics of connection and community-building for bisexual people.
Facilitator Bio
Sam McEwan (she/her) is a Ph.D. candidate in McMaster’s Communication, New Media, and Cultural Studies program. Her current research interests lie within the rich landscape of critical communication and popular music studies, focusing primarily on fandom and online communities, digital media and music consumption, and representation. Her dissertation folds these scholarly areas into a case-study approach that explores how artists in the North American music industry are shaping and expressing queer/bi+ identities.
Event Recording
Additional Resources
- Joyful Resistance Archive: https://bisexualbecomings.ca/