I have tried to be thoughtful about this. Steemit is new and exciting and could go in many directions. I have found a small queer camaraderie here, the very beginnings of community and that is exciting. But to built it into a place where one can find great discussions happening, interesting ideas and and queer knowledge being shared will take work and a real pulling together of this fledgling community. @sykochica's call to action is both the push and the support we need in order to begin the process of making the community here thrive. So firstly, thank you for your foresight to in getting people involved with delegated STEEM power.
I want to be a part of the building here and I think I have the chops. I have been an out and proud (gender)queer writer in some form or capacity since I was a teenager in the 1990s. Back then I helped run a queer youth zine called Personal Deity Proxy that brought together all kinds of art and writing by youth across Oregon. As an adult I have written for many a queer publication including Autostraddle and AfterEllen (before the fall) and even started my own news and events blog centered on Portland called qPDX.
All this to say I wanna continue to be part of the making of the content but I also have a good eye for it. Queer media is among my favorite to consume and it's just as satisfying, perhaps more so, to feel like I am in a position to raise up quality and thought-provoking pieces by others. Intersectionality is essential and I especially want to make sure to help raise up the voices of those with layered oppressions including but not limited to people of color, trans people, people with disabilities, youth etc.
Whenever I travel I always endeavor to find the queer communities in the places I go. I want to know what all our lives are like and investigate what viewpoints and opinions we all have. We have this amazing commonality but are all so different too, unique and fascinating. I want to hear all your stories and I am a great "listener." Some of us have stories that are hard to hear, and those need to be told all the more. I want to take these in person, real life experiences and be an ambassador for steemit. Maybe folks want to sign up for themselves, maybe they just want to tell their story to those of us already here. I want to facilitate that either way.
And then, of course, there's the important aspect of just making sure new LGBT recruits stick around. It can be discouraging to feel new and unnoticed and just being a welcoming committee, both in terms of comments, chat and other interaction as well as upvoting can go a long way. Every day I'll make sure these newbies, with so much potential, don't fall through the cracks. I will foster dialogue, make them feel like they are a part of things. It's something I already endeavor to do but would feel much stronger with the power of a 500 delegation behind me.
For as comfortable as I have become being out in my real life, curated as much as I have been able, it is important to remember how much discrimination we still face. I was downvoted early on in my time at steemit (not that I'm not still very new less than a month in, haha) simply for posting LGBT content and it made me much madder than I expected. I didn't know what to do. In the end I decided to do nothing unless it kept happening and it didn't. So that's good. Still, it was an unwelcome and totally unexpected wake up call to becoming a part of a new online community and I hope to try and make sure that when things like this happen we are all here for each other. We gotta keep getting more diverse voices here and in order to do so they have to feel safe. No space is ever truly safe, but if we all have each other's backs we can make this a safer one.
Here is a picture of me and some my crew at a Pride parade many years ago. My friend and fellow writer and qPDX recruitment officer, Perry, is dressed up as Super Gay, rainbow cape and all, and spent the entire parade engaging the crowd, getting them excited, making them happy, feel included. What they did in the physical world I aim to accomplish here on steemit and I know I have the support of my diverse and varied communities to help me do it. I hope, too, I can have your help as well. Thanks so much for the opportunity.
