Project QueerFlight
Some of you may have already read about my new adventure. If you haven't, here it is. But first, a little history.
Throughout history, the LGBTQ+ community has too often been left out of the historical record. Students are rarely taught the full story in school. I know my 6th, 7th, and 8th grade conservative teach would never tell us some of these facts. For example:
Men accused of being gay were burned at the stake during the colonial witch trials.
LGBTQ+ people were confined to mental institutions and subjected to horrific medical practices intended to "convert" what were considered "abnormal" sexual orientations, gender expressions, or gender identities.
Gay men were among the groups persecuted and exterminated in Nazi concentration camps. They are called the Men with the Pink Triangles. Many were arrested under Paragraph 175, a law that had existed for decades but was aggressively enforced after Hitler came to power. Modern US the law would be Sodomy Laws.
When a mysterious disease began killing gay men, much of the community was devastated. President Reagan never publicly uttered the words "GRID" or "AIDS" during the early years of the epidemic, and President George H. W. Bush mentioned AIDS only rarely. It was insulting with politicians and media stated COVID was the first pandemic since the Spanish Flue.
Today, transgender women continue to experience disproportionately high rates of homicide, and many of their murders receive little public attention.
The U.S. Supreme Court has also issued decisions that have had significant impacts on LGBTQ+ rights. These include ruling that a counselor can practice conversion therapy on adults and children based on the counselors religious beliefs; that a bakery may decline to create certain custom wedding cakes for same-sex couples; and that a website designer cannot be compelled to create custom wedding websites celebrating same-sex marriages if doing so conflicts with sincerely held religious beliefs. Please know, the company does not exist. The plaintiff said if she decided.to start such a business she would feel her religions beliefs would be violated. She also said she was not homophobic because she has gay friends.
Too often, the only people raising awareness about these issues are members of our own community. The media frequently overlooks these stories. Republican politicians celebrate these decisions as victories, while Democrats remain silent, unwilling to risk upsetting parts of their political coalition. LGBTQ+ concerns were not part of the 2024 DNC.
Today, we are witnessing another chapter in LGBTQ+ history unfold before us. Thousands of Americans are choosing to leave the United States and build new lives in other countries because they no longer feel safe or believe they will have their civil rights. Parents are relocating so their transgender children can attend school without fear. Yet very little attention is being paid to this growing movement.
That is where my new adventure begins.
I am collecting the stories of members of our queer family who had the courage to start over in countries they believe are safer and more welcoming. I believe it is important to document this chapter of our history as it is happening—and to preserve it in the words of the people who made the difficult decision to leave.
The mission of Project QueerFlight is to:
Collect the stories of people who identify as members of the LGBTQ+ community and have relocated from the United States to another country.
Preserve these stories so that future generations have an accurate record of this moment in history.
Share these stories through our website and social media so that the media, elected officials, and the American public can better understand what is happening. By sharing these experiences, we also hope to help those who are considering leaving a country that has become increasingly hostile toward our community.
Website: queerflight.com
Instagram: @projectqueerflight
Threads: @projectqueerflight
Facebook Group: Project QueerFlight
Bluesky: @ProjectQueerFlight
The website provides more information about the project and explains how to submit a story. To be honest, right now it is only has our story. Others have agree to write their journey but it takes time.
Stories must be submitted by the person or people who actually relocated from the United States. In other words, they cannot be submitted secondhand by someone writing about a friend's experience. Authors may use their real names or choose a pseudonym. Descretion is highly respected. They are welcome to include photographs, although they are not required. Contributors may also request that their stories be preserved but not shared publicly. In those cases, Project QueerFlight will archive the story, and it will only be accessible to the project team.
I hope to collect stories from LGBTQ+ expats living all over the world. So far, I have reached out to people in Paraguay (where I received two christian responses: ha!), France, Argentina, Uruguay, Portugal, Spain, Germany, Canada, and England. I plan to contact people in another 15 to 20 countries in the near future. And continue to do so until I have covered most countries. I plan to stay away from Iran and Egypt (I am still laughing they played during Settles Gay Pride game).
I know that most of my readers still live in the United States. However, if you know someone who has left the country, I would greatly appreciate it if you would share Project QueerFlight with them. The more stories we preserve and from different countries, the greater the impact this project can have.
Also, please check out the website for Project QueerFlight and give many any feedback you have. It is in a Beta stage and your feedback can help to make it a great resource.
One of my greatest inspirations is the AIDS Memorial Quilt. In fact, I read one of the letters from a person who sumitted a panel to the Quilt just today. Cleve Jones believed something had to be done to remember those who died from AIDS, many of whom were abandoned by their families or whose loved ones were never publicly acknowledged. He wanted to create something that represented both beauty and strength.
Today, the National Mall is not large enough to display the entire Quilt. People continue to create and submit panels honoring friends, partners, spouses, siblings, children, and parents whose lives were forever changed by HIV/AIDS.
The NAMES Project inspires me to collect, preserve, and share the stories of those of us who never imagined we would one day leave our homeland in search of safety, dignity, and the chance to live openly in another country.
Thank you for reading to this point. It means a lot. I
