Culture + Community

our mission

We are an inclusive book club with a focus on queer literature. We seek to cultivate community through reading, understanding, and affirmation.

our vision

Our hope for Queerly is to create a space where people can learn and grow in their identity with the support of a community that fosters the understanding and awareness of queer culture , context, and evolution.

OUR VALUES

People First

Awareness

Gaining knowledge and insight of history, society, culture and individual experience through reading and dialogue.

affirmation

Fostering a welcoming and inclusive space for people of all identities, celebrating confirmation and acceptance.

community

Providing a safe space to share intersectional perspectives, establish connections, and foster dialogue through a shared exercise.

accessibility

Knowledge and network should be free and equity begins with creating consciously accepting spaces.

our community

How it Works

1 — Each month we have a new reading followed by a group discussion

The range of literature selected will be diverse in voice, style, and form. Our hope is to learn and grow together as a group by challenging our understanding of LGBTQIA history, present, and future in context of society and personal identity.

2 — We will complete three months of reading and take the fourth month off for a film viewing

While we are a book club, we believe that film is an equally powerful tool in sharing perspective, experience and history. Watching a film is not only a socially accessible act, it is a participation that has the power to unite people in silence. Story-telling through moving image is a global tool used to invoke empathy, educate, document culture, and spark conversation.

3 — once annually we will collaborate on a community activation or advocacy project

We believe our knowledge is only as powerful as our action. Each year we will work together to create an initiative in partnership with a local LGBTQIA organization to contribute our collective energy to help impact our greater community.

LOCAL PRIDE

Chicago, IL

We are a Chicago based community, but encourage people outside of the Chicago area to join us digitally. We will share notes from our group conversation about the books that we read on our blog and our book list schedule is open to all who would like to join in reading.