Your words mean everything to us. Please continue to voice your opinions, concerns and gratitude - sometimes we need the encouragement! Plus, hearing your various perspectives is really important to us.
Our Words FIRST! Our official name is "QWOC+ Boston", which expands to "Queer Women of Color and Friends, Boston." People, please stop omitting the (+) sign. It leaves out our friends, partners and socio-political supporters. We love our pluses. We need our pluses.
How, when and why was QWOC+ Boston formed?How and when QWOC+ Boston was founded is a bit of a long story. I suggest you check the About Us section to get the full picture. In answer to the "why", the group was started in August 2006, simply to get more people of color and supporters of diversity to enjoy an ism-free social space. We've grown in numbers, recognition and goals since then,which is a very good thing. We hope to keep evolving.
Who is the woman we see on every QWOC+ flyer? Ahh... the QWOC+ Lady.
She first appeared on the flyer for the third QWOC+ Social. We were still in the process of honing our identity and were way more concerned with the language we used to promote the event than with the actual flyer. We immediately worried that our careless choice of using a "femme" figure would alienate members of other parts of the gender spectrum. In fact, we almost replaced her!
Luckily for us, the flyer didn't get in the way of our mission, which was to appeal to a wide variety of people. In fact, currently, the QWOC+ lady appears to complement our internet presence. We suspect that this may be due to the fact that no one can tell what her ethnic background is, or, rather, the viewer automatically assumes that she belongs to their specific ethnic group. We find this theory fascinating. And convenient.
These days, our sassy mascot boasts a rather large fan base. It's very likely to hear some variation of "That QWOC+ lady is hot!" while flyering or handing out info cards at various queer events. We love that people are beginning to recognize her. So much so, that we've decided to give our lady a name: Spectra
What does the board hope to do with the organization in the future?Our general plan for 2008 is to delve a little deeper into diversity issues affecting queers of color; more community discussions and forums around specific issues such as interracial dating/friendships, nightlife, transphobia and biphobia. We'd also like to put on a variety/fashion show and let Boston know how it's really done! We're pretty ambitious.
Your Words Hi there, just a quick note to say thanks for organizing these events. it's so great finally to have an opportunity for a truly diverse get together in the queer women's community. I look forward to any and all future events! Cheers.
In the past we have had social/community groups co-sponsor events with our organization; it basically involves cross marketing and the group gets a table to put stuff out at the night of the event. Would QWOC+ Boston be interested in this?QWOC+ Boston is always excited about collaboration. However, we only co-sponsor events that are diversity-centered, and overtly intended to make the "others" of the mainstream community feel included in the social space we create; older LGBT folk, women of color, trans-people, femmes etc. In order to avoid situations involving mis-matched ideals, this stipulation on lending our support is absolute. We also strongly prefer to be involved with the planning process from the beginning. If your organization aligns with our mission, please send us an email with your proposal and we can take the discussion from there.
Our Words QWOC+ Boston is interested in promoting real diversity - not just 'mixing bowl' aesthetics.
I recently moved to the area and have been searching for a qwoc space. I need to
know, have your events in the past been mostly white people with a sprinkle
of color? I just can't get hyped for another qwoc event and be 1 of 3
people of color in a horde of 150 .QWOC+ Boston is a group that promotes diversity with special emphasis on queer people of color. We recognize the importance of groups (like Somos Latinos, MASALA and QAPA) that provide security and solidarity for their members, but creating a space that is intended for womyn of color only doesn't align with our vision. As such, you will find that there will be a number of white people, biracial/triracial and international queers at the events (and on our board!). You will definitely not be '1 of 3', thoughtlessly speckled into the crowd. A snapshot of a QWOC+ event is reminiscent of old school posters for the United Colors of Benetton . Seriously.
Follow Up:
Hey! I attended the event on Thursday and it was lots of fun. Thank you for creating a space for QWOC and their allies...keep me posted on future events and/or volunteer opportunities. Take care.
What you guys are doing is amazing. I would like to get more involved. When do you have meetings? If you would love to volunteer for us, we would love to have you! Please see the Get Involved section of the website to get more information on opportunities, and the QWOC+ Ambassadors application. We currently do not have a set regular meeting schedule. We only convene whenever we need to put our heads together for a major event, but in the meantime, are constantly spamming each other's inboxes.
Your group is Queer "Women" of Color. Are Trans-women/men included? Of COURSE they are!
The validity of your question is deeply saddening, and is one of the main reasons why we are working hard to create a more inclusive social environment. Trans-phobia spans our entire community, including queers of color. Hence, we are pro-actively trying to find ways to reach out to trans people and make them feel like a REAL part of the community. There is a lot to be done, but we're hoping to recruit some motivated Ambassadors to help us with this quest. If you're interested, or know of any person that is committed to working towards the elimination of trans-phobia within our community, please have him/her/them contact us.
Fact: The QWOC+ signature purple 'O' is a lighter representation of a symbol we found online for transgender people. This symbol was actually strategically placed on our very first fliers. We wanted to get the message out as early as possible; that we're trans-friendly and determined to hold Boston accountable for overlooking this part of the community for a very long time.
Hey. I'm white. I'm not sure if I can attend the next QWOC+ event. It seems like it's strictly meant for queers of color. Everyone is welcome at our events, but we imagine that our communications style generally attracts diversity-conscious women who acknowledge our mission to provide a warm, friendly, inclusive space for women of color. The women that show up truly support that idea, whether or not they identify as a QWOC or not. For us, this is the most rewarding part of being a part of this initiative; it is something magical to witness the now-at-ease dynamics of the interracial and cross-generational friendships, long-term relationships, budding romances and dance-offs. Yeah, dance-offs... You had to be there...
Your Words I HEART QWOC+ BOSTON!