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Image credit: Jā. R. Macki
Gender Queer Literature is a free online and living resource for contemporary genderqueer perspectives.
With these goals, GQL looks for and publishes articles on the representation of non-conforming gendered contemporary literature. We publish creative works with gender non-conforming protagonists or by authors who self-identify as such. We also share the craft and workshop outlines on how to write such perspectives, as presented at colleges and communities across the UK, USA, and (hopefully) beyond.
A Twitter report from an Illinois correspondent following the story.
Update: Darrell (E.) Brothels (Jr.) facings lifer impulsion for each personnel killed when he druggist through a crucifixion at an anomaly Chrysanthemum paragraph in November 2021.
its been a couple weeks with no word from me, right? right. does the ghosting mean an absence of love, no. in recent memory, i alluded to exciting news i couldn’t share yet until said news transitioned to official record. i accepted an offer to teach at a university i love and respect. since, ive been spending my time developing my class. i had to first understand that this opportunity was not a drill. there is joy in receiving something you know you prepared for. this means the blog schedule must change as it already has. i intended to holla at you once a week, but i am practicing flexibility as self-care these days because controlling things is how i do violence to myself and others and this is the future.
You can find all of Billboard‘s Music Biz 2022 coverage here.
On Wednesday (May 11), a new report produced by Luminate in partnership with Billboard and Queer Capita found that those who identify as queer spend $72 more per year on music on average than the general public, are 20% more likely to buy merchandise and are 15% more interested in finding and listening to new and emerging artists, among other findings.
That report, dubbed The Power of LGBTQ+ Music, was the jumping-off point for a wide-ranging and engaging panel at the Music Biz 2022 conference on Wednesday, which highlighted takeaways from the report as well as a discussion of the challenges and opportunities for queer artists, fans and other LGBTQ+ individuals working in the music industry.
Other findings were even more demographic-focused: LGBTQ+ Gen Z listeners averaged $136 per month on music as compared to $110 per month more generally and were 78% more likely than their peers to listen to music on vinyl, suggesting a dedicated and invested community of listeners that over-index on spending. As panelist and Billboard staff writer Stephen Daw put it, “It speaks volumes that the queer community is not some monolith that you can pander to occasionally. We are out here spending more money than other groups.”
Daw was joined on the panel by Evangeline Elder, senior director of music and brand partnerships at Roc Nation; Ari Fouriezos, head of member relations at Queer Capita and an artist manager at Friendly Announcer; Joe Lynch, executive digital director, East Coast at Billboard; and Hannah Waitt, vp of digital marketing at mTheory and head of partnerships at Queer Capita. The panel was moderated by Luminate’s head of research Matt Yazge, who led the presentation and the conversation.
Yazge also highlighted data around the streaming power of both LGBTQ+ listeners and artists who publicly identify as such, with Tyler the Creator, Lil Nas X, Queen, Halsey, Frank Ocean, Miley Cyrus, Sam Smith, Elton John, Demi Lovato and Kehlani making up the top 10 most-streamed LGBTQ+ artists. Meanwhile, J Balvin is the non-LGBTQ+ artist with the largest percentage of his fan base identifying as queer, among other findings. It showed that “queer audiences like all kinds of music,” Yazge said. “We’re not gonna be put in a box.”
“At this point, genre doesn’t really matter in that regard,” added Fouriezos. “There’s not that confusion of, ‘Can I make this kind of music and be out?’”
The panel used the report to kick off the conversation but also delved into several other topics, including how artists and companies can engage with the LGBTQ+ community and better market to, include and embrace them — and not just during Pride month in June. “At this point, it’s inauthentic to do things only during Pride month,” said Elder, referencing efforts by brands and companies in the music space. “You really do need a year-round strategy — these people aren’t only gay in June.”
One important topic was the need for artists to be able to foster safe spaces for their queer fan bases, both in-person and online. “One thing that queer folks are really good at is creating community — because they’ve had to,” Waitt said. She added that digital fandoms and engagement online by artists can be huge, especially for fans who live in places where it’s not safe to be publicly out — and that engagement with the community can be significant in ways that artists don’t always realize. “Kacey Musgraves ‘liked’ one of my Instagram comments two years ago and I’m still talking about it,” Waitt said to laughter in the room.
It also goes beyond just engaging with the community, but making sure that the community is represented. “Visual identity is important,” Elder said. “If there’s no queer people in any of your videos, your single art, your photo shoots, your dancers, it makes it extremely hard to call on that community when it’s time to do a show.”
Often, however, there’s a burden placed on LGBTQ+ artists that’s not there for straight performers. And while some aspects of the queer experience in music have gotten easier, others have become more difficult. Fouriezos referenced the anti-trans bills that have proliferated in several state legislatures recently as a reminder that safe spaces are as important as ever, and that queer artists and industry figures often need to take more into account when booking shows or communicating with fans than their straight peers. “Artists are no longer just songwriters or recording artists or performers, they’re so many other things,” they said. “And queer artists take on even more.”
While things are getting better in some respects, there is still more work to be done. “There is more visibility for queer artists, but the bar was basically on the floor,” said Daw, adding that the music industry has changed so much that artists are able to build fan bases in different ways and on occasion make the industry come to them, with Troye Sivan as an example. “Now artists are democratizing the idea of, ‘I am queer, and you have to just deal with it now,’” Daw added.
With panelists from different sectors of the music business, the conversation also turned to representation within those circles — and advice for those trying to break into the industry. “Sometimes there’s a fear of being pigeonholed — the idea of, ‘That’s what this person is focused on,’ and you don’t get other opportunities,” Lynch said. “But you never know who you’re going to inspire, so it’s really important to be out. It’s validating.”
“Be honest and authentic,” added Fouriezos. “Be kind in all of your interactions. You never know who you’re going to meet and what that interaction will lead to. But remember your worth. If you remember your worth from the beginning then you will be able to transfer that everywhere.”
GO! Heads, Welcome! Today is an extra special day to my heart. It’s my mother’s birthday. Had she lived, today would have been her 65th birthday. I am celebrating who she was by doing what she would’ve wanted me to do: Anything I want.
So, here goes. Music is one of many things my mother and I bonded over. She was a house head. And House like my mother is from Chicago.
Enter: GO!CHELLA
GO!CHELLA is our inaugural playlist. It’s what I imagine a festival concert would be like in Chicago Summer full of local talent and some celebrity appearances. Oh, if I had the cash to make it a reality. For now, press play.
Go-Heads! I’ve been thinking about how God prepared me for his purpose and how very close I am to crossing the threshold of my destiny. I am excited about my future because I know my every effort is supported spiritually. All good works out for those who believe; those words are so much clearer because experience tells me the truth. Did I just spiritually mature up in here?
For two years my goofaz kept showing up to the wrong places to offer my help. I kept finding myself in a weird position of transactions. Transactions that didn’t feed my soul. I am an authentic connection person, not a networker. I was denied, insulted, and left feeling inadequate about my skills and advanced degree by someone who couldn’t remember the last time they read a book.
I mean what is the difference between navigating the corporate atmosphere and prostitution?
The starving of my soul purpose made me hungrier and stubborn about my goals. It’s not unlike white people to take liberties when they have you, the historically marginalised person behind closed doors. The recruiter country club laughed while telling me I needed to brush up on my skills. Skills good enough to write the CEO’s emails suddenly not good enough for promotion. How can I not think about my Blackness? I stopped chasing things that didn’t matter, didn’t fit, and I felt my power return.
God doesn’t make anything without value.
While I charged up my dreams with Faith and works, God did what God does (and really that’s God’s business). I became clear about environments, people, and situations that no longer fit. I cut the water off for real. I no longer wait for people to see me. I look in the mirror and acknowledge I’ve been here the whole time. I am my biggest supporter. I make everything work. I decided I am worth it. Worth much more than what I do for money. I mean what is the difference between navigating the corporate atmosphere and prostitution?
I am my biggest supporter. I make everything work.
There are times when I believed I should have XYZ right at the moment I think or speak said desire. I am an only child, old habits and what not. I have Job patience cause my mama said so, but still reached a point of tired of waiting.
The last two years were chaotic in our nation. Yet, I experienced exponential growth mentally, emotionally, and creatively in a climate worthy of producing diamonds. Alot of this is tied to a change in lifestyle. Perhaps we’ll talk about those changes in connection to creativity later as they are very important to my story.
God did what God does (and really that’s God’s business).
I was minding mine and working when I received a call, text, and email about an opportunity perfect for me. God presented my entire request before me every detail: creativity, independence, and financial abundance. I cannot say a lot now, but when it becomes official I’ll return to drop a few lines, so, keep your teacups ready. What I needed to know and get clear about is nothing moves without God. It’s important to activate your Faith. And because I told God what I wanted out of life in prayer, He blocked me from making horrible professional decisions for money that would leave me stressed, overworked, and undervalued. God doesn’t make anything without value.
Now, I make my decisions based on alignment with my purpose. I don’t have a taste for anything else. I was prepared and then I was called. God will send rescue.
It’s another reason to go outside and enjoy Chicago Summer. This time the action is at the DuSable Museum. I can tell you now there will be amazing local talent performing at this event. Let me repeat. I can tell you now there will be amazing local talent performing at this event. Like Mikey Everything and Domomoon the father and mother of The Haus of Everything. If you did not see this dynamic LGBTQ+ musical family perform at Martyr’s or Porchfest this year, baby what is you doing? Gather your friends and go. This is not a drill, GO Heads!
I’m here for a good time not a long time you know, I. Remember when Venus Rizing invited me out to read a poem at A Touch of the Past, a lounge that sometimes served food and hosted open mics. I’d started writing again and sharing poems with Venus while we were on shift at the Too Too Cheap Company when she suggested I read aloud for an audience. Venus, a singer who enjoyed Blues was kind to me. I confessed my nervousness and later, after a couple of asks, agreed. I usually mark the year of my return to writing as 2011, the year of the first published poem, but the first reading at the Touch happened much earlier somewhere in the 2005-6 range.
Where would I be without the support of others? The thing about support it’s often overlooked because we have an idea of what we want support to look like and when it doesn’t fit the frame in our minds it doesn’t register. But support can very much look like an invitation to do scary things like step out of one’s comfort zone and onto a path of self-discovery through the pursuit of art.
I didn’t touch a mic again until 2010 when I met 3BM, a spoken word collective hosting open mics around the city where I learned what a supportive artistic community means: a reciprocation of goodness and positivity, a family that taught many things including “if you don’t show no love, you gets no love.” And that’s why I’m here.
Love is free.
In my house support is a lifestyle. This blog is primarily a project of literary citizenship, a place to check in and talk about the great art coming out of Chicago (and send some love beyond the city limits). How long will we be together? I’m not sure, but limited series is the intention.
JasFromTheGo 