Smear the Queer: Queering the Definition of Community

Wednesday, May 7 / 7pm - 9pm Calamus Auditorium at Gay City Smear the Queer: Queering the Definition of Community is part of a community conversation program called Gay City Mosaic. Mosaic was created to facilitate larger discussions about how the queer community is defined, how it defines itself, and how to develop a definition of our community that takes all of our unique identities into account. These events value constructive communication, inclusion, innovation, celebration, and a long-term vision for our queer community that is welcoming to all. Our first event will kick-off a bi-monthly program that pursues social justice and community, we will discuss what community is, how we define it, and how to navigate ourselves toward a more inclusive horizon. When people talk about community, they often define it as looking and feeling a lot like themselves. Our hope is that Mosaic events, like Smear the Queer, will help us practice being in community with one another. The greatest work of oppression is dividing all of our communities - we must begin to heal and reconcile that imbalance. Our events will commit to a higher level of inclusion, engagement, and intersectionality. When we begin to bridge differences, hold the tension of positive and negative, confront the complexities and deep needs of our world with each other, we can truly create community that makes us all proud. As the Pride season draws nearer, we will spend our first event, Smear the Queer: Queering the Definition of Community, letting participants speak with each other and listen to our neighbors to better understand what our individual definition of community is and how to pursue community that is inclusive of all those ideas and is innovative in create a collective definition of community that gets people excited for Pride season because as we all come together, knowing that our learning together and growing together is what will make our community stronger and more beautiful. Accessibility Statement: The Calamus Auditorium is wheelchair accessible. There will be no ASL interpretation available for this event. To accommodate those with chemical sensitivities, we ask that you avoid wearing scents or perfumes to this event.