Stop dismissing bisexual women like Miley Cyrus. What’s the point in liberation if it’s not everyone?

The need to put ourselves into boxes and reject those who don’t fit may provide a sense of comfort in a harsh world, but it won’t solve discrimination

• Molly Fleming

In a recent article for The Spectator, feminist activist Julie Bindel wrote: “Why are boringly straight women claiming to be lesbians?” In it she accuses singer Miley Cyrus and others of being “lesbian tourists” masking their heteronormativity in a bid to be more “interesting”.

Not long ago, Cyrus, who identifies as queer, described her marriage to Liam Hemsworth as “redefining, to be fucking frank, what it looks like for someone that’s a queer person like myself to be in a hetero relationship”.

While Cyrus’s statement is hyperbolic – she is far from the first queer woman to be in a relationship with a man – Bindel’s argument is far more problematic, ignoring the idea that people can be attracted to more than one gender. And it speaks to a broader issue of biphobia in the lesbian community, where dismissing bisexual women as “confused” or simply non-existent can be rampant.

Bisexuals exist, I promise. There is a clear “B” in the LGBT+ acronym that so many seem unable to acknowledge. If you’re struggling to remember, it’s the “bacon” in the new M&S Stonewall sandwich.

The argument that women who date multiple genders won’t face violence also couldn’t be further from the truth. A United Nations report claims bi women are “especially at risk” of sexual violence. Other studies have found that bisexual women are more likely to be abused by their partner than lesbians and five times more likely than heterosexual women when it comes to sexual assault.

I understand Bindel’s frustration. Of course we all low-key hate the girl who tells you she’s queer but “could never go below” with a woman, but that doesn’t mean we get to pick and choose people’s sexuality.

There is no question that a minority of people use the term queer to hide behind their privilege. I will always remember an acquaintance explaining to a closeted me that she understood oppression as she was now a “political lesbian” – despite not being attracted to women.

Queerness has, for some, become a way to disown the privilege you hold. But the truth is that it doesn’t work that way.

The privilege I experience as a white, middle class woman didn’t go away when I came out. Oppression doesn’t negate privilege and in queer spaces those dynamics are often replicated and amplified – with racism rife.

You can’t be the gatekeeper of other people’s sexualities, and for every woman that details their thrilling festival threesome, there are far more who are desperately trying to find their place in the world. Those are the ones who sidle up at parties, tentatively asking when I knew I was gay.

Make no mistake, limiting who gets to be a woman, or queer, hurts everyone. In the same way the hyper-regulation of trans bathrooms affects non-conforming women, so too will Bindel’s bumbling attempt to define who can and can’t be a lesbian.

When anti-trans lesbians invaded Pride last year, for example, most lesbians were appalled, myself included. A minority of lesbians are using their struggle to perpetuate hate, whilst most recognise that trans women’s invaluable place within our community, with many on the front-line of women’s rights for decades.

Using Bindel’s logic, you have to ask what it does take for someone to be considered a “real lesbian”. Is there a graduation ceremony, a member’s club or a quota? Was I not a lesbian before I had sex with a woman?

Do I need to sleep with multiple women in order to identify? Does watching The L Word while frantically googling the Kinsey Scale count or do I need to have been in a couple of serious long-term relationships first?

I have cried on the shoulders of bisexual women and fallen in love with non-binary people. I’ve protested alongside those who refuse to be pigeonholed by their sexuality and gender and the intersections of our identities has been a source of strength not dispute.

The need to put ourselves into boxes and reject those who don’t fit may provide a sense of comfort in a harsh world, but it won’t solve homophobia. Suffering shouldn’t be a condition of one’s sexuality. I’m not more of a lesbian because my family initially rejected me than my friend whose mum marches at Pride.

As a younger lesbian, I am grateful to my elders, like Bindel, who fought for my right to live my life openly and I don’t take my identity or their struggle for granted. But what’s the point in liberation if it’s not everyone?

In a world where queer people are still fighting to be in the curriculum, and gay white men dominate our nightlife, shouldn’t we be standing in solidarity with each other as a community to create a safe space for everyone?

Elephant Man: 

Joseph Merrick's unmarked grave discovered in London, says author

Biographer says she is ‘99 per cent certain’ she has tracked down correct site

Joseph Merrick, photographed by Radiological Society of North America  PA Archive/PA Images

The unmarked grave of Joseph Merrick – the Victorian freak show exhibit better known as the Elephant Man – has been discovered in London, an author has claimed.

Jo Vigor-Mungovin said she tracked down the precise burial spot of his remains in an east London cemetery almost 130 years after died.

A circus attraction deemed a medical marvel due to his severe deformities, Mr Merrick’s skeleton was carefully preserved at the Royal London Hospital after his death in 1890. The final resting place of his soft tissue, however, has remained a mystery for over a century.

Mr Merrick’s life was depicted in a 1980 film by director David Lynch titled The Elephant Man. The cause of the Leicester man’s deformities is still uncertain, but some believe he had a genetic disorder known as Proteus syndrome.

Ms Vigor-Mungovin consulted cemetery records around the time of his death and found he had been interred at the City of London Cemetery and Crematorium near Epping Forest.

Microplastics have seeped into our water systems — over 80 percent of drinking water in India is contaminated with it — and even infiltrated our food sources






EARTH DAY 22 April, 2019

by Dr. Vikas Goswami

Joint efforts by stakeholders can help control the use of single-use plastics and effectively manage solid waste.

When a dead pregnant whale washed ashore in March 2019 in Italy with nearly 23kg of plastic in her stomach, it created ripples on social media. Just weeks earlier, a young whale also died in the Philippines after ingesting almost 40kg of plastic bags. But such tragic events are not just limited to Italy or the Philippines, it is an alarming trend that has also been seen in Indonesia, Thailand, and Spain.


How many of us throw away plastic shopping bags once we’ve emptied them? How often have we binned plastic spoons and straws after just one meal? Excessive use of single-use or disposable plastics is having severe environmental consequences, and the dead whales are just the tip of the iceberg. The UN estimates that up to five trillion single-use plastic bags are used every year across the world. Overall, half of all plastic produced is designed to be thrown away after just being used once.


As single-use plastics continue to choke our rivers, seas, and oceans, it doesn’t seem surprising then that microplastics have been found in the Mariana Trench, which is the deepest part of the ocean in the world. Microplastics have seeped into our water systems — over 80 percent of drinking water in India is contaminated with it — and even infiltrated our food sources. Research hasn’t yet figured out a way of filtering them and scientists are racing to find out the implications on our health.


Managing India’s solid waste


Closer home, the situation isn’t too different either. India generates 25,940 tonnes of plastic waste every day and at least 40 percent of this doesn’t get collected, according to official statistics. It usually ends up poisoning the soil and choking water bodies.


The situation (rightfully) seems grim, but there is hope. Efforts by various stakeholders, including the government, the community, local bodies, and the private sector are proving to step in the right direction. The Swach Bharat Abhiyan, the Government’s five-year cleanliness drive, for example, works towards collaborative efforts, including that of citizens, to tackle cleanliness and waste segregation disposal. Workshops, cleanliness drives, and rallies have been held to sensitize stakeholders in various cities on the importance of solid waste management. This has reflected in results wherever it was implemented properly: door-to-door collection coverage increased from 53 percent to 80 percent in 2017 and 43 percent of wards in the country have been segregating their waste at source (as per data available in 2018).


Extended producer responsibility or EPR, which was a key element of the Centre’s Plastic Waste Management Rules 2016, has also led to plastic being collected and being recycled, reused or designed to be compostable. The Central Pollution Control Board’s EPR waste recovery targets have further given a fillip to recycling efforts.


Local solutions for local issues


Local bodies too have been playing their part. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) decentralized solid waste management in order to promote recycling and converting waste into energy. Garbage at its Kanjurmarg landfill is treated using bio-methanation. BMC staff has also been training households on how to segregate waste. The Muzaffarpur Municipal Corporation in Bihar adopted a zero landfill model and now has two processing centres for segregated waste from 34 of 49 wards.


The biggest change however probably been seen among the community itself. Though community participation is mandatory under the new Solid Waste Management Rules 2016 (SWMR), awareness is clearly increasing. The “world’s largest beach clean-up in history” is proof enough of this. It took hundreds of volunteers, three years and the removal of 20 million kg trash to transform Versova beach — one of the dirtiest in Mumbai — into an Olive Ridley turtle breeding site. A small but growing number of people are exploring leading zero-waste lifestyles by embracing the three pillars of waste management: reuse, reduce and recycle. Many are also realizing the wisdom of following simple practices such as carrying cloth bags to buy groceries, ditching plastic cutlery, or even using steel or glass containers for storage.


Involving corporate stakeholders


Corporates can also play a proactive role in promoting the cause for cleanliness through their CSR and sustainability programmes. There are several testimonials to corporate playing the Good Samaritan. Dabur has tied up with the Indian Pollution Control Association and a waste management company to recycle plastic waste across nine states. Coca-Cola India’s bottling partners work with other stakeholders to collect and recycle PET waste. Bisleri’s Bottles for Change programme connects waste pickers with schools, colleges, and offices in 14 wards in Mumbai to collect PET bottles safely. Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail upcycles PET bottles into staple fibers to create sustainable clothing.


Godrej has reduced its plastic intensity by 14 percent and by 2025, it aims to ensure that the plastic it uses will be recyclable, reusable, recoverable and or compostable. Seventy-two percent of its waste is currently diverted from landfill and it aims to touch 100 percent.


Another corporate intervention is facilitating behavior change communication through partnerships with local government bodies and nonprofits. However, individual efforts are not enough to tackle the emergency at hand. In order to bring change at scale, it is imperative that the government anchors campaigns save the environment.


Tackling solid waste and ending plastic pollution requires a multi-pronged effort. Increasing awareness, bringing about large-scale behavior change and effective partnerships between all stakeholders concerned can help achieve it. And as recent efforts have shown, it is possible to bring about change and make a dent in the pollution problem.




Dr. Vikas Goswami, Head Sustainability at Godrej Industries

AND WHERE DO PLASTICS COME FROM? 

POLYMERS MADE FROM HYDROCARBONS

Coca-Cola and Nestle among worst plastic polluters based on global clean-ups

“These brand audits offer undeniable proof of the role that corporations play in perpetuating the global plastic pollution crisis,” said Von Hernandez, global coordinator of Break Free From Plastic. “By continuing to churn out problematic and unrecyclable throwaway plastic packaging for their products, these companies are guilty of trashing the planet on a massive scale. 

“It’s time they own up and stop shifting the blame to citizens for their wasteful and polluting products.” 

'These brand audits offer undeniable proof of the role that corporations play in perpetuating the global plastic pollution crisis'