Editors: Dr Helen Bowes-Catton and Dr Kaye McLelland (Open University) 

Call for Chapter Proposals 

We are delighted to have been approached by Routledge to edit a major new reference book on bisexuality. This landmark volume will bring together scholars and activists from all over the globe to reflect on 50 years of bisexual research and activism. Grounded in the social sciences with insights from across the arts and humanities, this field-defining book will critically examine long-standing debates, provide an overview of the current state of bisexual studies, give fresh perspectives and insights into neglected and emerging areas, and help to set the agenda for future research. 

It is our aim to produce a book which- 

• Foregrounds the priorities and perspectives of bisexual communities, bringing community knowledges to an academic audience, 
• Is genuinely intersectional in its understanding of bisexualities,  
• Reflects critically on the role of minority world understandings of (bi)sexualities in the reproduction of white supremacy, and considers how, and whether, bisexualities might be decolonised, 
• Provides a complex, nuanced, and wide-reaching picture of the state of bisexual studies across the arts, humanities and social sciences 
• Considers the ways in which the idea of bisexuality is deployed in narrative and culture, and the impact of these tropes on the lived experiences of bisexual subjects, 

Audience 

This book will be a reference work aimed primarily at the international academic library market. It will be of interest to academics, activists, researchers, and postgraduates, as well as to a wider readership. 

Themes and priorities of the book 

The overall structure of the book is emerging from the themes and priorities of submitted chapter proposals. We have already received a number of high-quality proposals – however, these are primarily from authors based in Western Europe and Australia. We are therefore particularly interested in receiving submissions from scholars and activists in Africa, Asia, Northern and Eastern Europe and the Americas. We have also marked topics in bold where we have yet to receive proposals in areas we would particularly like to see covered. However, the list of potential topics below is not exhaustive -we would also welcome proposals on other topics that fall within the remit of the book. The structure and approach of book chapters can be decided by each author.  

It is the intention of the editors that intersectionality and decoloniality should be integral to the book rather than being considered only in a discrete section. Therefore, the list below is intended to indicate topics and perspectives that we would like to see included, rather than being indicative of the foci of individual chapters or sections- we hope that many proposals will cross, combine and trouble the suggestions below. 

Bisexualities in history, discourse and narrative  

• Bisexual theory; bisexuality and queer theory, bisexuality and feminisms 
• Bisexualities in stories, myths, archetypes, tropes and memes  
• Critical histories of bisexuality; the politics of ‘reclaiming’ historical figures as bi; decolonising bisexuality 
• Bisexuality and temporality; temporary or transient bisexuality, fixity and fluidity 
• Narrative, rhetorical and discursive functions of bisexuality, ‘straight, gay, or lying’ 
• Bisexuality research; historiography, the current state of the art, future directions 
• Bisexual futures 

Bisexual lives and living 

• Bisexualities and the life course; bisexual adolescence, bi parenting, bi ageing 
• Intersectional bi subjectivities – critical examinations of the ways in which bisexuality is produced and experienced in relation to, through and against; 

• race
• social class
• decoloniality
• First People/Indigenous experience
• gender (including agender, bigender, genderfluid, non-binary, transgender and other perspectives on gender)
• disability (including invisible disability)
• faith (particularly non-Christian and/or majority world perspectives)
• neurodiversity
• related sexual identities, especially asexuality and pansexuality
• non-monosexualities in the majority world
• Bisexualities and relationships; monogamies and non-monogamies, bisexual domesticity, bi visibility in relationships
• Bisexualities and work

Bisexualities and culture 

Critical examinations of the production and representation of bisexuality in a range of cultural forms including but not limited to; 

• mass media portrayals 
• fashion and aesthetics 
• fandom 
• literature  
• film 
• pornography 
• education 
• art history  
• language and linguistics 
• music 
• sport 
• social media (especially TikTok, Instagram, and emerging platforms) 

Bisexuality in communities and institutions 

• Bisexuality and/as neocolonialism 
• Migration status and bisexuality 
• Bisexual spaces (online and offline) 
• Bisexualities in LGBTQ+ spaces and communities  
• Situational bisexuality 
• Bisexual activism and organising 
• Bisexuality and public policy 
• Bisexuality and faith/s (other than Christianity) 
• Bisexuality and higher education 

Bisexual sex and desire 

• Bisexual erotic subjectivities, practices, and imaginaries 
• Bisexual sex education 
• Bisexuality and sex work 
• Bisexuality and sex-positivity/consent culture 
• The joy of bi sex 

Bisexual wellbeing 

• bisexuality and interpersonal violence,  
• bisexuality and mental health  
• bisexuality and addiction 
• bisexuality and healthcare 
• bisexuality and sexual health 

Please send your book chapter proposals of up to 500 words to Helen Bowes-Catton (helen.bowes-catton@open.ac.uk) and Kaye McLelland kjrm3@cam.ac.uk) .