Reports that Google Inc. has unblocked the term “bisexual” from its search algorithm are generating praise from the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) blogosphere.
In previous years, the word “bisexual” was blocked from Google’s Auto Complete and Instant Search features since being placed on a list of banned words in 2009. But BiNet USA, a bisexual advocacy group, spearheaded a campaign to get the search engine to finally “unlock” the word.
Though The Mary Sue and other media outlets reported that the search term was still not functioning 100 percent properly, BiNet officials nonetheless said they were pleased with the news.
“It’s not every day one of the biggest companies in the world changes its mind, but we are thankful that Google now sees bisexual people just like everyone else,” BiNet USA President Faith Cheltenham said on the group’s website. “It will take time for bisexual search terms to be ranked as they were before the ban, but now bisexual people and their allies have a fighting chance to be seen, heard, and understood.”
Cheltenham previously bemoaned the ban in a blog post for HuffPost Gay Voices. “One of the biggest issues facing bisexuals is isolation and lack of community,” Jim Larsen, Secretary/Treasurer of the Bisexual Organizing Project, was quoted by Cheltenham as saying. “When the No. 1 search engine in the world makes it harder to find information and a community, it is terribly unfortunate.”
