You want more queer and trans joy! I'm so impressed by all the lovely and generous responses I received after asking what my readers would like more of.
To be honest, it feels difficult to seek out and report on queer and trans joy right now. So I thought about what I can share that feels genuine in this moment.
Queer joy is everyday joy. Why?
Amplify Respect is a newsletter to uplift and inform trans folks and allies.
If you find it helpful to learn how to talk about a trans family member, how to promote your work as an LGBTQ+ creator, or how to write about trans people respectfully, you should subscribe.
Queer originally meant strange, odd, or different, then it became a derogatory insult, and now many LGBTQ+ people have reclaimed it for themselves as a positive description.
Queer joy, today, means the joyful resilience and creative expression of LGBTQ+ people.
But if I may take a detour into the strange and odd: As I was searching for references to discuss the definition of "queer," I ran across a quote from Arthur Conan Doyle of Sherlock Holmes.
Twenty years ago, an old friend said something that I still remember the gist of. I have been thinking about it this week because he has just passed away. I recall he said something like he could not imagine any alternative to this life richer in detail or more beautiful.
A lovely sentiment that I had in my mind while reading through various passages containing the word "queer." Then I stumbled upon oddly familiar words. This was it, you know, the quote my friend was reading from all those years ago.
“Life is infinitely stranger than anything which the mind of man could invent. We would not dare to conceive the things which are really mere commonplaces of existence. If we could fly out of that window hand in hand, hover over this great city, gently remove the roofs, and peep in at the queer things which are going on, the strange coincidences, the plannings, the cross-purposes, the wonderful chains of events, working through generations, and leading to the most outre results, it would make all fiction with its conventionalities and foreseen conclusions most stale and unprofitable.”
—Arthur Conan Doyle, The Complete Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Maybe that's some of what it means to have a good life. Not that life is pleasant or pain-free, but that you are awestruck by the variety and depth of experiences possible in this world.
Queer joy is quite often about finding joy despite grief.
Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show (oh yes, how could we not talk about this) celebrated everyday joy.
People saw themselves in the kid who was sleeping across the chairs at the wedding. Their families partied late into the night, leaving the kids to nap until the festivities were over.
I thought the show was inclusive when I watched it live on TV - notably the giant message "THE ONLY THING MORE POWERFUL THAN HATE IS LOVE" - but I actually had to re-watch it to notice the specifics of queerness inherent throughout.
Two men dance intimately next to the pickup truck, among a crowd of other dancers. At the wedding party, one of the couples dancing are two women. Ricky Martin came out as gay in 2010. Pedro Pascal is an outspoken trans ally. Lady Gaga has spoken about being bisexual and is an LGBTQ+ ally.
This is the kind of queerness that I see and celebrate in real life. Representations of people who are doing well, dancing at a party, just living our best life supporting the people we love.
Amplify Respect is a newsletter to uplift and inform trans folks and allies.
If you find it helpful to learn how to talk about a trans family member, how to promote your work as an LGBTQ+ creator, or how to write about trans people respectfully, you should subscribe.
Rey Katz
What everyday queer joy do you feel? Let us know in the comments.
