What Is Bisexual Visibility Day 2016? Facts About The LGBTQ Community's 18th Annual Bisexual Holiday

The LGBTQ community celebrates the 18th annual Bisexual Visibility Day on Friday. Since its creation in 1999, people from all over the world have come together on Bisexual Visibility Day to spread awareness of bisexual issues and show support of members of the bisexual community. The day is a part of this week's Bisexual Awareness Week, a weeklong celebration co-founded by GLAAD.

Join in on the festivities and check out a few fun facts about bisexuality and Bisexual Visibility Day below.

According to GLAAD, bisexuality is described as the ability to be attracted to – whether in a romantically, sexually or both – to people of more than one sex or gender. While bisexual is the common term for sexual orientation, there are a slew of words people use to describe themselves, including pansexual, omnisexual, polysexual, fluid or queer. Some people won’t use a term to describe their sexual preferences at all in effort to eliminate the negative aspects of gender binarism.

Bisexual Visibility Day was created by bisexual rights activists to help others get a better understanding of what it means to be bisexual and share the history of the culture. Throughout Bisexual Awareness Week, plenty of organizations will host activities, conferences and events advocating the acceptance of bisexuality while explaining the current issues that are affecting the community the most. Even the White House has hosted events, including 2015’s White House Bisexual Community Policy Briefing, in effort to raise awareness about bisexuality and the people that identify themselves as such.

Even if you can’t make it to a Bisexual Visibility Day party, there are still plenty of ways to show support and education yourself about the holiday. Many outlets, including GLAAD, are featuring videos and insightful interviews from dignitaries and everyday people of the bisexual community. Be a part of the conversation on Twitter by tweeting with the hashtag #BiVisibilityDay. Check out the Bisexual Visibility Day website for a full list of events happening in honor of the holiday and the weeklong celebration around the world.