do you have recommendations for how to link up with local queers in a very very conservative and very very rural place? looked up on centerlink and the closest places are several hours away. through eiq there's only one place within a half hour drive, and it's a tattoo/piercings place, not a cafe or anyplace i could really hang out. i feel so isolated and alone and surrounded and i just don't know what to do
Really, truly, the best I have for you is to call those places. I know they’re several hours away. They know it. Ask them what they would do if they lived where you are.
You need to find someone a little closer to whereever you are who knows the barest minimum little bit about what it’s like out there. I can’t tell you where to look because we’re hidden in different places all over.
The tattoo place on EIQ: are the proprietors on social media? DM them and ask. The worst they can do is say no.
Anyway, I was queer before it was legal and I'm still queer now
I grew up not knowing a single trans person til I was in my twenties and I still turned out trans as shit
There's millions of us and we're everywhere and we're better than ever at connecting with each other.
join your local queer discord / signal / affinity space / community center wherever and whenever you can. as always link up with each other. c'mon out to OITO if you're local to us. go to that cheesy meetup for old gay fogeys if that's all you can find. whatever!!
that's how we've always survived. the joyful histories we have are of small groups loving each other closely. find you one.
Find your closest one. Get to their website and sign up for their mailing list. Then go over to Programs or Events or Offerings or whatever they got and pick one. Put it on your calendar. Show up.
If you don’t have transportation, if you don’t know which one to pick, if you’re not sure about any of this: EMAIL THEM. Introduce yourself. Say “hi, I need my people”.
I’m so serious, there are people employed by centers all over this dang map whose job is to check their email and go, “oh! Hello, a new queer person near me! How can I get you hooked into our network of support and care? Here’s three suggestions you tell me what works!”
If there isn’t one near you, email the nearest anyway. Say “hi, I’m located here, you’re the closest one I got, what you got for me?” The answer may be “sorry, nothing”, but it may also be “here’s a meetup right next to you! It’s offline but we know about it because that’s our job. Go say hi.”
That’s probably plenty for now. But just in case you want another way in, here is the NEXT THING YOU DO. Check the EIQ map:
Anyway, I was queer before it was legal and I’m still queer now
I grew up not knowing a single trans person til I was in my twenties and I still turned out trans as shit
There’s millions of us and we’re everywhere and we’re better than ever at connecting with each other.
join your local queer discord / signal / affinity space / community center wherever and whenever you can. as always link up with each other. c'mon out to OITO if you’re local to us. go to that cheesy meetup for old gay fogeys if that’s all you can find. whatever!!
that’s how we’ve always survived. the joyful histories we have are of small groups loving each other closely. find you one.
Canada Post workers are on strike. I learned about this from my shipping client, PirateShip, whose chatbot cheerfully suggested just using UPS instead.
I don’t cross picket lines.
Folks in Canada: if you would like to buy a holiday gift from Shapeshifters, may we suggest a gift card? Your recipient can craft their own custom chest binder from us and receive it in the new year, after CUPW has resumed service.
Hallo tumblr, who wants a delightful rainbow chest binder to brighten up your winter? I’m exploring options with Wolf & Rabbit Fabrics and am obsessed with the aesthetic.
The Shapeshifters Black Friday sale is LIVE! Over a hundred binders on the rack, ready to ship to you with no wait for production. All of them discounted from regular prices, some steeply discounted over in the Seconds Sale.
