In reaction to the latest attack on queer spaces that happened in Colorado Springs, educator David Boyles has channeled his rage and grief into creating a mini zine—dedicated to the victims and survivors of the Club Q Shooting, November 19, 2022—that encourages people to reflect upon, imagine, and (re)create queer spaces. He writes on his Facebook page:
I spend a lot of time thinking about the creation of queer spaces – those places where queer people can fully be themselves and be in community with each other with at least some degree of safety from the oppressions of the cis het world. I believe that making such a space in whatever way you do it truly is a sacred act. And that is why attacks like the one in Colorado Springs hurt so bad.
I think queer people need to not only cherish the spaces we have but think about the spaces we want and need. We need to imagine the spaces that don't exist yet and then work to bring them into being however we can. Without this kind of imagining we don't get something like Drag Story Hour, to take just one example I'm familiar with.
So I spent the last two days channeling my anger and grief into a mini zine about imagining queer spaces. It draws on some historical examples to help the reader imagine their own ideal queer space and then hopefully go out and work to make it happen.
I encourage you to go here to download the zine as a PDF, share it widely, and use it to help imagine your own ideal queer space, guided by questions such as: "Where is your space located? Who is in your space? What are people doing in your space? How does your space honor queer heritage?" Throughout the zine Boyles also shares stories about historical figures who worked tirelessly to create queer spaces, including the Daughters of Bilitis, the first lesbian rights group in the United States, who hosted socials in members' living rooms, and Drag King Stormé Delarverie, who patrolled New York City's gay Christopher Street Neighborhood for gaybashers. The PDF also contains directions about how to print out and fold the zine.
To learn about more queer history and activism, you can follow David on his Instagram.
