The main thing that comes to mind for me is physical interactions (such as hugging). Hugging to me is such an intimate way of displaying affection towards friends and loved ones. With the pandemic ongoing there are folks who are immunocompromised who are not able to interact in the same manner that others are. Hugging also has physiological responses that lead to joy, love for instance.

Dedicated spaces, platforms, opportunity, viability.

Connectedness, sense of safety, free to breathe easy, regulated nervous systems (maybe they weren’t always regulated before but whew chile the time spent disregulated and rapid fire of bad news bears and sense of danger everywhere and lack of safe dance spaces and other gatherings that helped us collectively feel and move through together...)

We have lost community spaces. We need a place to be around each other to build community.

We’ve lost the will and motivation to move forward. I feel like we are stuck in collective grief and thrive on trauma bonding.

Spontaneous flirtation; que community collective sexiness; dancing with qute strangers; community gatherings; Brett; Suneeta; a sense of trust that we care about each other’s wellbeing.

Hot gay dance parties and a nightlife. A sense of safety with mass shootings and a seeming uptick in violence against Black and Asian people, specifically.

the trauma + exhaustion of summer 2020 as we organized and acted with urgency for extended periods of time, that we are all different/have changed mentally physically spiritually - individually and collectively, Teigh McGee becoming an ancestor, respect for each other (specifically disabled community) in the name of returning to some sort of normal by returning to past actions instead of co-creating safe futures, we've lost ability to be present instead of living in the past or at times harmfully moving toward a future, feelings of lost time/missed opportunities and connections, access to romance and romantic relationships especially for immunocompromised folks, moving and housing instability an all time high, loss of touch/physical intimacy, shifts/moves/estrangement with family or chosen family

Trans Healthcare security

Safety, energy, resources

A feeling of comfort in public spaces. A lot of fun spaces for qpoc that I’ve known of have been indoor crowded communal things. Dance parties. Theatres and performances. This summer in particular I feel like we want it back so bad and also it’s sad and scary that it doesn’t feel safe. More specifically, 20% theatre, noche chingona. And then people. I think about Teighlor all the time. Teighlor McGee. I had some communal grieving for them but I know I need more.

organic spaces to convene, arts events, family dinners, spontaneity, partnerships

It’s hard to grieve when conflict avoidance seems to be the norm. It feels like there’s never any closure.

black folks that were murdered by police in mpls, friendships/relationships that became heightened by the pandemic and that ended during the pandemic.

We have lost some of our own, many of our spaces, lots of hope lost at the white apathy, loss of the courage to dream

The option of being with unfettered freedom. How to see and recognize each other. When it's safe to twirl and swirl

Spaces to be and soak up eachothers energy and vibe. Intermedia arts- rip! Soul Friday at hells. I miss southside and seeing folks just in passing and all their glory.

Visionary people like you who are relentless. Inclusion. Representation that goes beyond gender expression or sexual orientation.

That we can build community without following the institutional norms that have been instilled in our minds since birth.

Seeing all the queerdos who are out living in their joy and abundance. Experiencing the creative expressions that comes out of grief and unknowing. Seeing all the momentum in mutual aid efforts.

I’m not sure about ever experiencing radical queer joy in Mpls because it seems so cliquey here. I haven’t found new queer folks to hang out with.

Hot gay dance parties at Candida's. Outdoor activities becoming more accessible. Taking with other queer folks working toward abolition and outside of capitalism. Junauda's art/theater.

That there remains a contingent of homos who bathe, dress well, and make excellent art.

chosen fam, engaging in my own pleasure/joy/slowness and connecting with ancestry + tradition, plants and medicines and gardens, water, dance, laughter, prayer

I met someone on the bus that identifies are Queer / Gender non conforming. What brought me joy is that no one bothered them on the bus, they sat in the back without fear and unapologetic for taking up space in Minneapolis. I hope to see more of that.

Queering family, learning and appreciating boundaries, exploring the evolution of sense of self, floating in water, rest, singing together, playing with/enjoying the children! Grieving together, gardening together, the 12 principles of permaculture, eating together, farmers markets and artist markets, ancestral ties/generational strides and more people accessing therapy. White solidarity groups taking on their personal responsibility to pursue anti racism, abandoning the urge to oscillate between white grief and white saviorism and honing in on mutual aid and co-conspiratorship.

Seeing trans people in healthcare and young people wearing trans flags at pride

Hugging/ touching / laughing with my people and community

What brings me radical queer joy is my full acceptance by my friends both queer and non-queer. Minneapolis was such a pivotal point in my life as a queer man and I quickly found some of the best friends and loved ones here who have shaped the person that I am today. My hope for the future is more inclusivity for queer disabled folks who are not able to fully participate because of the barriers that continue to exist. As a queer community we should all be celebrating together.

There has been a stripping away of performative allyship and a deep reckoning of self, and of course they are trying to push the “back to normal” narrative but it’s too late, we know the truth now. We deserve rest, our life is priority, capitalism is killing us and we cannot ever return to the assembly line of maintaining these systems, and further more we can and will continue to build equity and community and alternative ways of being accessible to all.

What brings me radical queer joy is my full acceptance by my friends both queer and non-queer. Minneapolis was such a pivotal point in my life as a queer man and I quickly found some of the best friends and loved ones here who have shaped the person that I am today. My hope for the future is more inclusivity for queer disabled folks who are not able to fully participate because of the barriers that continue to exist. As a queer community we should all be celebrating together.

Being outside in beautiful weather by water with queers I love. Food dancing connection. Generosity. Art. Making art together.

art, community, solidarity, dogs, found and chosen family

Not needing to articulate but still getting what I need

I really would love to see more facilitated conversations. Something I lost during the pandemic was my position to/in the community.

I no longer work at XX so I am not interacting with the volume of queers that I’m used to and I’m looking for alternative avenues of engagement that don’t include dark rooms and drunk moods.

Befriending grief is so critical

Imagining impossible futures and exploring our wildest dreams

being able to spend time with other qtbipoc folks in places curated by/made by us!

I wish I knew. I wish I had hope.

New waves of social freedoms- to be ourselves and imagine futures in our bodies outside of cis-get norm is creating waves ing new intergenerational love and admiration. Like thinking about how many new to me queers I see and how different our loved and lived experiences have been- out as young person versus in late 20s. Etc. Even with/as wave of public anti trans and lgbq violence happens on street and at Capitol I feel a tide has shifted and we can’t go back!!

Rox! Junauda! Imagine Joy! Bakibakibaki! Powderhorn Park!