Remembering the groundbreaking bisexual activist and author Loraine Hutchins

"Loraine Hutchins, an esteemed bisexual activist and author, has died. Her death was announced this week on social media and confirmed by friends, who are now recalling how much she contributed to bisexual visibility and acceptance through her writings and activism. "Loraine Hutchins was one of my bicons [bi icons] - I'm considered a bi-plus OG, but Loraine was there even before me," says writer, editor, and activist Robyn Ochs."

"Hutchins and Lani Ka'ahumanu edited the 1991 anthology Bi Any Other Name: Bisexual People Speak Out. It was one of the first three bi anthologies in world, says Ochs, who has an essay in the book. It was named one of Lambda Book Report 's Top 100 Queer Books of the 20th Century and has been reprinted three times. "That book really helped me with my coming-out," adds Mimi Hoang, a Los Angeles-based psychologist, life coach, advocate, and founder of three bi-plus organizations."

Loraine Hutchins, a prominent bisexual activist and author, has died. Friends and fellow activists recalled her major role in advancing bisexual visibility and acceptance through writing and organizing. Hutchins coedited the 1991 anthology Bi Any Other Name: Bisexual People Speak Out with Lani Ka'ahumanu; the book became one of the first global bisexual anthologies, was reprinted three times, and was named to Lambda Book Report's Top 100 Queer Books of the 20th Century. Colleagues credited the anthology with helping people come out and creating a safe, multicultural space beyond the gender binary. Hutchins later coedited Sexuality, Religion and the Sacred (2011) and completed a doctoral dissertation titled Erotic Rites: A Cultural Analysis of Contemporary United States Sacred Sexuality Traditions.

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