Bi/Pansexual Erasure and Acceptance

Collection Title: Bi/Pansexual Erasure and Acceptance

Description: "I’m doing this interview because I, myself, as a pansexual woman in the modern age, have been faced with both love and rejection by both people who identify as straight AND people who identify as LGBT+. For a community so preachy on “inclusion”, I want to look into the nitty gritty dark areas and bring to light that, perhaps, there is still something that people need to work on. It needs to be archived because, like the triumphs large and small for the LGBT community, overcoming bi/pansexual erasure is something that needs to be documented. But, honestly, what I want to learn from this interview is that the people I interview haven’t faced this daunting erasure and that they only have good things to say about both straight and LGBT culture." Interviews conducted by Bailey Murray as part of American University's Fall 2020 Oral History Class

: Kim Michael Interview, September 26, 2020; I met with Kim Michael on September 26, 2020 on the website TheirStory.io that was designed specifically for the capturing and recording of Oral Histories. This interview covers the journey of Kim’s discovery of her sexuality while touching on her view of the LGBT community as a whole. We discuss erasure and acceptance of these “forgotten” sexualities (bisexuality, pansexuality, and asexuality) both within the LGBT community and outside of it. Kim shares her personal story while giving insight into how she views being a bisexual or pansexual woman in the current times.

: Lexi Interview, November 15, 2020; Lexi and I spoke over TheirStory.io on November 15, 2020. We discussed her journey through discovering her sexuality via the internet as well as tackled difficult topics such as homosexual slurs, familial disapproval, and transgenderism regarding these “forgotten” sexualities (bi-, pan-, and asexuality). Lexi gives personal insight into the struggles bisexual people face daily both in person and online.