Your organisation's small act is going to have a huge impact
We've all seen the power of stories, and how they can shift public opinion to make way for huge changes in the world. Indeed, history has shown us time and again when we get to know others - our prejudice fades away.
That's why QueerAF is launching with a simple mission: to train, mentor and commission a new generation of young, emerging and underrepresented LGBTQIA+ people - and kick start their media career.
Why? Because only a media industry that hires represents and understands queer lives, will be able to tell the kind of stories that will make life for LGBTQIA+ people happier and safer.
This work is urgent
We’re on course, with a growing sense of anti LGBTQIA+ sentiment in the press, to see public opinion shift and question LGBTQIA+ rights again. And this sentiment is already translating into alarming hate-fueled harm.
Without queer voices guiding content decisions and newsroom choices, we’ll see the 19,676 hate crimes that happened last year grow. That's tripled from an already high 6,000 attacks just five years ago. And they all happened in a year where most of us were locked down and unable to leave home.
If you speak to your LGBTQIA+ colleagues and staff, they'll tell you - we haven't seen our lives debated, questioned and hate like this since the 80's.
What can your organisation do?
We’re looking for organisations to become 'QueerAF members' to support our work, and in return get a syndicated version of our newsletter.
Our newsletter calmly summarises, explains and analyzes the queer world.
It’s also packed full of content to tickle your senses, LGBTQIA+ content to watch, play and listen to. Plus we'll inspire you to burst your filter bubble by letting you know which emerging and unrepresented voices we follow on social media.
We talk with a queer gaze, but the newsletter is perfect for allies and queer staff who want to keep up-to-date with LGBTQIA+ sensibilities - and are too busy to read the overwhelming world of news.
It's a great way to show you support our community, that you want to see more queer professionals working in the media - and it's a fab perk for your staff.
You can co-brand the newsletter with your organisation, business or staff network’s look and feel and you'll get to personalise it with an intro note.
Non-profits, education and charity members can also ringfence their funds to be used with people who have backgrounds, and intersectionalities they work with.
What your newsletter will fund
You will fund schemes like our award-winning podcast and the ‘The Queer Gaze’, a space in our newsletter to commission emerging and underrepresented queer creatives.
The Queer Gaze gives our readers eye-opening insight into the experiences and viewpoints in our community they may not have encountered before.
But ultimately, it's a place for underrepresented creatives to get published, receive mentorship and ultimately, kickstart their career.
The format was developed and designed by our first commissioned emerging queer creative since we launched as a CIC, Matilda Davies.
I created The Queer Gaze feature to give a platform to people who don’t ordinarily have access to a platform. It's going to put money in the hands of queer creators that don’t always get funded by mainstream media organisations. I am excited for it to play a part in helping queer creatives take their first step with their career.
– Matilda Davies, QueerAF Alumni, Journalist
The Queer Gaze leaves you feeling intrigued, introduced to new perspectives and inspired to read more about underrepresented LGBTQIA+ lives. But we can't commission emerging voices to tell these stories without you.
These commissions will deliver immediate wins by supporting emerging creatives to start their career. But they'll also make a change for future generations of queer youth too.
Our network of alumni from our award-winning podcast is already shifting the representation of queer lives, by working in, and with the media industry. But we need to help more people start this work.
Why join QueerAF?
- Your organisation or staff network recognises the value of supporting emerging queer talent to launch their careers
- To offer your staff a safe, calm and nuanced way to catch up on the LGBTQIA+ world, and skip the overwhelming doom scrolling we all get trapped in.
- Whether you are queer, or an ally, you want to help get the weekly QueerAF newsletter to people who are aching for LGBTQIA+ stories and content made by queer voices.
- To commission people with different queer lived experiences to create content for the LGBTQIA+ community.
Ahead of our public launch on January 25th 2022, our circle of founding members is growing fast with Alex Wood (Managing Director, Forbes Europe), Chris McKenna (CEO of Brand Advance), Steve Parkinson (Chief Strategic Partnerships & Events Officer, Bauer Audio UK), Kaven Bevan (Producer, AudioBoom), Adrian Hyyrylainen-Trett (UK’s 1st Openly HIV+ Parliamentary Candidate), Jon Holmes (Sky Sports), James Barr (Hits Radio, Gay and a NonGay presenter), Rae Langford (Head of Corporate Comms, Banijay).
Plus organisations like Brand Advance (Advertising Agency) and EA Inclusion (EDI consultancy) are already organisational members.
Will you join our movement to fund a new generation of emerging queer creatives?
We have non-profit, education, charity and price on agreement rates. Get your no-obligation quote now.
I started QueerAF as a response to an editor who told me to stop pitching 'gay stories' because there was no 'money' or 'audience' for them.
So far with QueerAF, we've built an award-winning podcast with an international audience – that has got international media acclaim, (even Fox News has talked about us.) We've also picked up some sponsorship along the way...
No one should be told their lives aren't worth telling a story about. One reason newsrooms create awful experiences as I faced, is because they are locked into a system. One that rewards stories, who feed hungry divisive algorithms. All to serve enough ads, to simply repeat the cycle over again.
That's why we're building a platform funded by people, not adverts. So we can tell stories because they matter to the community, not for clicks. Content for the LGBTQIA+ world, not advertisers.
There are some great queer media organisations out there in the UK already, with a rich history. From Gay Times to Attitude, PinkNews to Diva, Gray Jones Media to GSN, AZ Mag to Gal-dem.
We're excited to bring a new force to the way queer content is made, and develop a new generation of resilient underrepresented creatives. Queer media professionals, who can go on to change the way stories about our lives are told.
But, we are just starting this audacious project, and it's a massive undertaking.
The good news? You can help QueerAF expand our capacity to launch the careers of brand new queer voices by joining our growing circle of founders.
If organisation membership isn't right - do you personally support new queer voices who can go on to change the media?
