Queer Culture - the newest Goodenough program!

In true Goodenough fashion, at the first gathering of our new Queer Culture group in May, we told our stories. What we learned about each other is not one dimensional. For some of us, it has to do with our sexuality. For some, how we relate to gender norms has never tracked into simple, easy boxes. For some, queerness means a general itching in our skins when it comes to following societal norms in general. For all of us, the crux of the matter is that we don't fit in some meaningful way, and we are tired of trying. Whether we got to that place of being over it decades ago or last week is not that important.

Queerness is something we celebrate, something that makes us both more interesting and more interested in how the world is put together. We recognize the ways that queer identities have been subject to societal repression and that we seem to be going backwards right now politically and socially. It's a moment where fears may be rightfully on rise, and solidarity among oppressed people is becoming more critical for our mental and physical wellbeing. It's a good and needed moment to be forming a new culture group!

Our invitation to our Goodenough family is to join us if any of this resonates with you. Here's the draft charter that myself, Sky, Laura and Kirsten put together:

"The Queer Culture of the Goodenough Community exists to make the community a space of belonging for LGBTQAI+ folx, and to help the community be a good ally for those communities. Queer Culture is open to anyone who chooses to identify as queer in any way, whether it’s their sexuality, gender (identity/experience/expression), relationship model (i.e. polyamory), or anything else that you feel places you outside of the “norm” of self-expression.

"Queer Culture is about embracing complexity, and ultimately about supporting everyone in getting to be their unique, beautiful, authentic self. We seek to uncover the queerness that exists in the community and create a space for everyone to discover the queerness that exists in them. We invite and encourage everyone to explore how they experience and express themselves beyond how they have been socialized. We recognize how power, privilege, and oppression impact queer identities and support open conversations and allyship around those issues."

We'd love to have you join us, either because you know this charter touches on important aspects of your life, or because it is sparking curiosity and you want a place to explore whether you, too, might be queer.

We expect to be offering, including making resources available to the whole community so you can explore your own relationship to queerness and queer allyship; providing space, similar to the Women's and Men's culture spaces, for queer and trans people in the community to be with and support each other, and finding creative ways to help joyfully queer the culture of the community, making Goodenough a more inclusive space for everyone to know ourselves and each other better.