Speaker | Teacher | Writer | Advocate
Robyn Ochs
Get to Know Robyn Ochs
Robyn Ochs is an educator, speaker, grassroots activist, and editor of Bi Women Quarterly and two anthologies: the 42-country collection Getting Bi: Voices of Bisexuals Around the World and RECOGNIZE: The Voices of Bisexual Men.
Her writings have been published in numerous bi, women’s studies, multicultural, and LGBTQ+ anthologies, and she has taught courses on LGBTQ+ history & politics in the United States and Canada, the politics of sexual orientation, & the experiences of those who transgress the binary categories of gay|straight, masculine|feminine, black|white &/or male|female.
Among other things, she crafted the definition of bisexuality that is used by many bi+ activists around the world: “I call myself bisexual because I acknowledge in myself the potential to be attracted — romantically and/or sexually — to people of more than one gender, not necessarily at the same time, in the same way, or to the same degree.”
She was named by Teen Vogue as one of “9 Bisexual Women Who are Making History,” and she was chosen to represent Massachusetts on the Advocate‘s “50 States, 50 Heroes” list.
Robyn is deeply committed to intersectional and sustainable activism, to working with others to build coalitions across identities and across social movements, to supporting emerging leaders, and to learning and growing. She is particularly interested in bi+ health, the experiences of bi+ people in the workplace, the global bi+ movement, and bi and LGBTQIA+ youth. An activist for 50 years (so far), she is in it for the long haul. Robyn lives in Massachusetts and on May 17, 2004, the first day it was legal to do so, Robyn married Peg Preble.
Book Robyn for your next event! Robyn offers everything from 60- and 90-minute presentations to half- and full-day workshops, or mini-conferences tailored to the needs of YOUR group.
As a well-established advocate with decades of work under her belt, Robyn has many causes that are near and dear to her heart. Here find just a few that she is proud to be a part of.
Robyn is a distinguished writer on topics of sexual identity- specifically bisexuality. She has been the author, contributor, or editor of a wide variety of articles, essays, and books!
Champion for LGBTQ+ Rights
Robyn served for 12 years on the Board of Directors of MassEquality, Massachusetts’ statewide equality organization and for 3 years on the Massachusetts Commission on LGBTQ Youth.
She is the recipient of numerous awards, most recently Campus Pride’s Voice & Action Award, the Bisexual Resource Center’s Community Leadership Award, PFLAG’s Brenda Howard Award, the National LGBT Task Force’s Susan J. Hyde Activism Award and the Harvard Gender & Sexuality Caucus’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
In 2009 at the Creating Change Conference the National LGBTQ Task Force awarded Ochs the Susan J. Hyde Activism Award for Longevity in the Movement. As she presented the award, Creating Change Conference Director Sue Hyde told Ochs: “We hear your clear voice, we see your staunch advocacy and we respond to your loving insistence that our movement includes all of us.”
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“Robyn has probably done more than any other person in the U.S. and perhaps even the world to educate the general public about bisexuality.”
“You make people feel like they matter and that they have the power to do something about the issues that concern them, even if it’s something small on an individual level. That is a beautiful gift.”
“The students LOVE you. You are by far the most anticipated recurring event next to the drag show. Sorry, the queens always win out!!”
Follow Robyn on Instagram @robynochs
