The Bi Brigade (Portland, OR)

Are you bisexual, pansexual, fluid, omni, ace or otherwise attracted to more than one (or fewer than one) sex or gender? We invite you to join the Bi Brigade — Portland, Oregon's original, homegrown Bi+/m-spec community.

Our community is diverse - and we like it that way! We strive to be radically inclusive and actively anti-oppression and we invite you (yes, you!) to join us, regardless of race/ethnicity, nationality, gender, cis/trans status, family and relationship configuration, age, ability, religious beliefs (or lack of them), or economic status. Allies to the Bi+ community are also welcome, with the understanding that we center the voices and experiences of Bi+ folks.

The m-spec (multi-sexual spectrum) community incorporates a broad family of non-monosexual identities. Of course, all of us embody multiple identities and backgrounds, and the Bi Brigade is committed to creating safer spaces within our community for those most marginalized in contemporary society. For example, we strive to support and empower people of color and trans/nonbinary folks in our structure, leadership and programs.

Our strength is in our membership, meeting face to face! All our events are led by member-volunteers. We host around a dozen events every month, all of which fall into one of these categories:

• SUPPORT groups are confidential, private gatherings in spaces we control, where we can offer facilitated peer support and discuss personal and emotional issues in a safe and secure environment
• DISCUSSION groups are semi-private affairs in shared spaces (such as coffee shops) where we host lightly facilitated informal conversations with no set agenda, but with a host on hand to keep things cordial and safe
• SOCIAL events are more open meetups around the community (and might be promoted beyond the Bi Brigade membership), including socializing with and without alcohol, as well as picnics, hikes and other outdoor activities
• COMMUNITY events include large public events such as Pride celebrations, as well as collaborations with other organizations where we encourage members to attend queer community events that we do not host ourselves

We are a queer organization and we discuss queer topics and queer life. While we don't encourage or discourage participation in activities beyond those we host or promote on our platform, we do share conversations about our lives, including our sexual lives. We maintain a level of decorum and avoid graphic descriptions, but be aware you may be exposed to adult discussions about practices different from your own. However, please remember we are not a dating or hookup group. Members do sometimes find connections through the Bi Brigade, but if you are primarily looking for sexual or romantic partners, look elsewhere! We take the safety and security of our members seriously and we will protect the spaces we create for our community. Our moderators may deny applications and remove members who fail to respect our values regarding sexual harassment, racism, transphobia, etc.

All applicants are asked to meet these three requirements:

1. A profile picture. We strongly encourage you to use a recognizable photo of yourself - we want to be able to recognize you at events - but we will accept a stealthier picture. (You can hide your Meetup group memberships and interests if you wish.)
2. A usable name. We will need to know how to address you at events. You can use a pseudonym or just a first name, but usernames like "biboy1473" or "iloveallofthem" don't exactly foster community.
3. Thoughtful answers to our application questions. Bi Brigade is community driven, and your responses help us vet our membership and decide what new events to host, among other things.