Unveiling the Rainbow

Could this be? A real peek at the rainbow and all it holds?

Queer Vocal Voices is PROUD to present to you dear readers, some incredible queer stories and poems by some incredible queer voices. And let me tell you, the work we've been seeing will blow you away.

As you may (hopefully) know, Queer Vocal Voices is a new Facebook group that emerged just last month in response to a need of 2sLGBTQ+ community and space.

The goal of our group is to elevate queer voices and queer stories with Pride in our identities. We are currently a 2SLGBTQIA+ community only, and will open to allies in the future.

It's been about a month since QVV was born and so we thought it would be a great time to share some of our stories with you.

Raphael Fontenelle

A newer member to our group, and our Wednesday Pride Pick, Raphael has brought to the forefront a reflection and journey that too often pushed aside. Their journey to find themselves, as well as representation as aromantic and asexual person has shined a light on an important yet underrepresented community. In this piece, Raphael shares the challenges they've faced internally and in the environment around them, but ultimately end with a self-discovery and better understanding of themselves; as ace and aro.

sleepy drafts

sleepy drafts continues to captivate us with their poetic spells, with no mercy clearly. As the poem is titled, they evoke in us waves after waves of emotion- constantly pulling us back for more. This poem deals with themes of identity and the hopes to find oneself in any scrap or corner, but ultimately know they must look inward. One day, soon we hope, they'll find themselves in the water of their reflection.

Austin Cox

Austin does an excellent job at illustrating this fantasy world and setting the scenes perfectly. With not too much or too little detail, he narrates the story with grace, and all from the perspective of Alluriel's ring. This story really caught my eye, not just for its shine, but for the elegance the Austin writes with.

Mx. Stevie (or Stephen) Cole

An intersectional writer, debater, critical thinker, and more, Stevie brings us Forum Part 19 of Venus Valley: Queer Philosophers’ Forum. They have created a space for discussion and provided many insightful readings, which ultimately play back to the book that they are writing. In this piece they dispute feminism as watered down to science or gender criticism, and focus on the important play of intersectionality. They continue to share about the three different ways they split up their chapter, and end with an important note: "It’s not more, or less, feminist, to be a wife, a worker, a witch, a warrior, or a worrier: it’s feminist to be able to be whichever one you choose to be."

Natasja Rose

Our last Pride Pick for this edition is a long time Vocal creator, well-published author, and advocate. And who doesn't love a good thrilling assassin story? Written for the Unspoken challenge, Natasja expertly sets the tone and scene between our two characters. With a dash of humor, she guides us through a curtain of tacky beads to their mission.

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We greatly hope you've enjoyed our first edition of our Pride Picks, and that you've maybe found some new queer creators to follow on Vocal. Thank you for joining us on our journey to amplify queer voices and stories.

Let us know if you've found any other works that you'd like to see highlighted, and what you thought about these pieces chosen. Take care!

-Oneg