Sowing seeds for our Bi+ Futures

Desiderium Gardens is a project idea born out of necessity.

Desiderium— strong desire or longing, especially a feeling of loss or grief for something that is no longer present.

The pandemic made evident the huge holes in services for Bi+ Washingtonians. In a 2020 report by the Goldsen Institute, Bi+ Washingtonians overwhelmingly identified therapy and social programming as our two greatest needs to strengthen our communities and better protect our livelihoods. Desiderium Gardens seeks to bring together these two services— therapy and social programming— in an accessible outdoor space to serve Bi+ Washingtonians.

What does Bi+ mean? Desiderium Gardens borrows from the Bi+ Resource Center’s definition of Bi+ as an umbrella term encompassing “people who recognize and honor their potential for sexual and emotional attraction to more than one gender (bisexual, pansexual, omnisexual, fluid, queer, asexual, and other free identifiers).” Many Bi+ Washingtonians, particularly Bi+ men, lose social networks after openly identifying themselves— and also report not being welcomed or competently-supported by dominant queer organizations. Across the USA, Bi+ folx report higher rates of medical discrimination and healthcare disparities and face higher risks of sexual and domestic violence than our monosexual counterparts (i.e. straight, gay/lesbian). Additionally, Bi+ folx live in deeper poverty and receive less than 1% of all foundational funding given to LGBTQ nonprofits, despite Bi+ folx comprising more than 57% of LGBTQ communities. The Bi+ community is constituted in great part by Trans folx, folx of color, disabled folx, and migrating/multi-sited folx— and Bi+ services should always be structured in ways that welcome and support our community members who often experience multiple forms of marginalization.

The envisioned goal: Desiderium Gardens will be accessibly-designed, have Bi+ competent staff, and will honor the environmental richness and nerd culture that are staples of Washington life. The gardens themselves will be heavily fantasy-themed with varying color palettes/aesthetics, allowing Bi+ community members to immerse themselves and feel represented within the various spaces. Similarly, the garden will be editable— allowing Bi+ communities to develop the space as our needs and desires change. During Therapy Days, “rooms” in the gardens will be available for Washington-certified therapists to use for their Bi+ clients individually or as groups. During Community Days, the gardens will host events for Bi+ Washingtonians to meet, make friends, and build communities— and will be available to rent at sliding scale costs for Bi+ folx’ celebrations. As funding allows, spaces can be added to the garden for Bi+ research, advocacy, trainings, and archiving.