Queer Theory By Aischa Daughtery
Queer Theory: An Introduction to the New Creative Journal That Seeks to Document the Highs and Lows of Living as an LGBTQIA+ Person in the 21st Century.
Written by Founder and Editor, Aischa Daughtery
For a long time, I have been contemplating what I could possibly do to put my knack for writing and language and my passion for equality to good use. I have always written and have been publishing my own poetry for a while now, online and last September, in zine format. I am also in the process of starting a blog which will be displayed on the same website as my poetry so I can have one multi-purpose portfolio. However, no matter how many poems I write or get published in literary magazines, I am still not educating anybody. If anything, I am doing the opposite; my work is generally based on personal experience which, let's face it, doesn't always make for the most positive or uplifting content!
Growing up in a fairly conservative small town sheltered me from feminist politics and liberal ideology in general for a long time which is a huge part of why I am so determined to voice my newfound knowledge. I want to teach others (mainly the towns locals who I far-too-often have to unfriend on Facebook for outwardly mistaken feeding into oppression for 'voicing their opinion,') that it is ok to be open-minded. In fact, it is extremely admirable, particularly when you have been raised to think otherwise. However, I believe that excusing ignorance in this day-in-age is simply unacceptable; the vast majority of people who are old enough to read have access to either books or the internet, where they can read plenty of essays, stories and articles that will keep them up to date with what is changing in society and how they can remain knowledgeable and empathetic. It makes me particularly angry when older people, who are too often excused for blatant cruelty towards minority groups, are let off simply for 'being old.' Are you seriously telling me that it is OK for somebody who has lived through every 20th-century social movement and has witnessed the damage oppression has done and is continuing to do, to shout at me for holding my girlfriend's hand on the street? Knowledge is power, people, and it is at our fingertips! We must take advantage of this in order to become a united, caring and powerful society. First, we must diminish the, "us against them," mentality, but it is the oppressors job to do so.
However, I contradict my last point with the sole creation of my latest project as I believe that in order for oppressors to understand and to fully accept minority groups into wider society; accepting the fact that many people are not even willing to attempt to see past their ignorance and open their minds; individuals from these minority groups must use their anger, their commitment and their dedication to supporting each other to voice how they are feeling and what they are experiencing, with the hope that those previously opposed to accepting them see something in their stories that softens their 'opinions.' I am by no means saying that it is the job of minority groups to educate. It is 100% the duty of closed-minded or under-informed individuals to do whatever it takes to maximise their own knowledge and to open up their own minds. However, recent years have given the LGBTQIA+ community a more powerful voice than ever before and I think we should use it. I think we should shout as loud as we can.
Somehow, we have to make people listen. We have to make people WANT to learn; to open their minds. Somebody has to help others to overcome ignorance and fear, so that the LGBTQIA+ kids that follow us are safer than we are. So here is our platform... Queer Theory.
Queer Theory sets out to unite a group of some of the coolest LGBTQIA+ people from all over the world who, in the form of a quarterly digital journal, will share their stories, feelings and experiences in order to create a time capsule that documents exactly what it means and feels like to be somebody like us in 2018. It is an artistic collective; a creative examination of modern queer life.
I am interested in receiving poetry, flash fiction/short stories, creative non-fiction, features, essays, raw or edited diary entries, open letters, coming-out letters, music and visual art (videos, photograph collections, illustrations, paintings, etc), that is loosely inspired by the theme, 'living as an LGBTQIA+ individual in the 21st century,' exclusively from LGBTQIA+ people.
I will be running the website, designing each journal, editing every chosen submission, interviewing the featured artists, choosing our 'contributors of the season,' and promoting the project completely independently. For this reason, I will need all the help I can get in promoting the project in order to bring in more contributors, otherwise, it will essentially flop. I can't do this without you guys so please do not hesitate to get in touch via Instagram or email if you want to get involved! (Links below).
Unlike most if not all online literary journals, Queer Theory is not exclusively open to creatives who have perfected their craft. I am not solely interested in receiving creations from those who are the very best at what they do; those who have had work published numerous times before; or even those who dream of becoming an artist of some sort in the future. I am seeking passionate work from everyday LGBTQIA+ people with something to say; with a story to tell. If I excluded those who are still learning and developing their talent from the project, my desire to accurately document the highs and lows of modern-day queer life would be impossible to achieve, as I would most likely only be hearing from academics. Moreover, the journal can be noted as an impressive potential first publication for people who are just beginning to create a CV or portfolio. For those more experienced, it can be an extra publication to add to the list!
Queer Theory has been created with the sole purpose of giving a voice to marginalised people, meaning I am actively seeking work from trans-folks, disabled people, non-binary people, POC, trauma survivors, victims of unmerited scapegoating; anybody from social groups that are underrepresented in the media or societal discourse as a whole. I want everybody to feel safe, welcome and inspired when exploring our website and our impending journals. I want it to feel like everybody is in the greatest group of friends imaginable; like everyone is holding your hand and telling you to just breathe; it will all be okay.
I am beyond excited to see where this project will take myself and those involved and I cannot wait to put the first issue out into the world at the end of September.
If you fancy submitting a piece or being interviewed for Queer Theory's featured artist slot in future journals, please do not hesitate to send me an email at queertheorysubmissions@gmail.com and send me some of your work over. Or, if you just have a quick question or want to chat, message me on Instagram at @aiiischa. I would be thrilled to have you join the club.
Thanks for reading!
