There are almost no books centering Black bisexual men. In the media bisexuality is regularly erased, disbelieved, and laughed at. When represented at all, men and bisexuals of color are rarely portrayed. DEAR BI MEN helps correct this. Unapologetically centering Black bi+ men and tracing biphobia back to the cultural conditioning of white supremacy, this book is dearly needed and unlike anything currently available. In 2018 author J.R. Yussuf started the hashtag #BisexualMenSpeak on Twitter, and it went viral. People around the globe shared how much desire there was for validation and community amongst bisexual men. This book continues that movement. With chapters focusing on labels, history, homophobia, and the politics of bisexuality, DEAR BI MEN does more than just define a multifaceted identity, it opens it up into something expansive. The playfulness and imagination brought into chapters about gender and masculinity really shine, and Yussuf uses his lived experience to share deeply practical advice around coming out, navigating partnership, and fighting stigma.
J.R. is joining us on the virtual Busboys stage in conversation with Da’Shaun Harrison to start the conversation on the erasure and (most importantly) existence of Black and brown bi+ men through DEAR BI MEN. Copies of the book will be available for purchase before and during the event, so make sure to order your copy before we’re out of stock! Your purchase of the book includes shipping anywhere in the United States via USPS.
This event is free and open to all. Our program begins at 6:00 pm, and will be followed by an audience Q&A. Copies of DEAR BI MEN will be available for purchase before and after the event. Please note that this event is VIRTUAL and will only be livestreamed.
We ask that guests RSVP in order to receive direct updates about the event from Busboys and Poets Books
J.R. Yussuf (he/they) is an award-winning author and podcaster focused on themes of mental wellness,self-improvement, and emotional literacy. Yussuf secured a peer support certification from the Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective (B.E.A.M.) and has used their training to support countless Black bisexual/pansexual men. Their writing has appeared in Men’s Health, Thrive Global, Black Youth Project, Queerty, and more.
Da’Shaun Harrison (they/them) is a trans theorist and Southern-born and bred abolitionist in Atlanta, Georgia. They are the author of Belly of the Beast: The Politics of Anti-Fatness as Anti-Blackness, which won the 2022 Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Nonfiction and several other media/literary honors. As an editor, movement media and narrative strategist, and storyteller, Harrison uses their extensive history as a community organizer—which began in 2014 during their first year at Morehouse College—to frame their political thought and cultural criticism. Through the lens of what Harrison calls “Black Fat Studies,” they lecture on blackness, fatness, gender, and their intersections. Harrison currently serves as Editor-at-Large at Scalawag Magazine, is a co-host of the podcast “Unsolicited: Fatties Talk Back,” and one third of the video podcast “In The Middle.” Between the years 2019 and 2021, Harrison served as Associate Editor—and later as Managing Editor—of Wear Your Voice Magazine.
