Talia Squires
Talia Squires
Occupation: Columnist at Queer Majority, former Editor-in-Chief of bi.org
Location: Crescent City, California, United States
The Sex in My Business: As Editor-in-Chief of bi.org, I worked with writers to create articles that destigmatize bisexuality and sex in general. As a writer for Queer Majority, I write a column about my body, relationships, and sexuality.
A Typical Day: I'm a bit of a night owl/insomniac, so I usually break up my workday. Normally, I start my mornings by checking emails, catching up on the latest news, and networking. After everyone has gone to bed is when I like to tackle my more focused work such as writing. I used to do a lot of weird 10pm to 3am writing marathons for bi.org.
The Best Part: I love when people reach out and share their stories with me, especially when they tell me how my work has helped them feel more comfortable in their own skin. There is nothing more rewarding than knowing that just by being visible, you have helped someone in such a profound way.
The Worst Part: I was never a big fan of the business side of my job. Keeping track of invoices, contracts, and tax paperwork is about as sexy as it sounds.
How I Got Here: While in grad school, I got involved with amBi, an amazing bi social club, and through it I learned about bi.org and later QM. On a whim, I submitted an article and it was published. After that, I gradually started writing more for the site and was later offered a very part-time editorial job at what was then the bi.org blog. From there, the site just continued to grow, and my position with it. Now, we have over 1.3 million page likes on Facebook. It's been an incredible experience.
What Society Thinks: Many people were a little confused by my job, namely because there is still so much stigma around bisexuality. When bi.org was my side-gig, I was working in sales in a small town in Oregon. I commonly heard people openly talk about bisexuality being a phase, about bi men being vectors for disease, about bi women just "doing it for attention”, and so forth. It was certainly disheartening, and so I didn't talk about my "other job" much at that time. Once bi.org became my life, however, I felt much more confident confronting those folks. Once I started to open up about my bisexuality and began talking to people about their prejudices, I was surprised to find how many were willing to listen and have their minds changed. Burnout is definitely real and sometimes I just didn’t have the energy to be that person, but when I did, people have generally been more than happy to listen. All in all, I think it has actually made me a much more positive person.
When I’m Not At Work: I’m usually doing too many things. At the top of my list of extracurriculars is anything crafty. I am a big knitter and crocheter, for example. Because my friends have been pretty fertile in the last year or two, this means I've been spending a lot of time making baby blankets.
For more about Talia, follow her on Instagram.
Published Oct 17, 2019
Updated Nov 10, 2022
Published in Issue III: Language