@queer.social.club | queersocialclub.com
At Bessa, we champion the concept of “Found Family”, and few initiatives illustrate the practical magic of this better than the Queer Social Club (QSC). Born from a personal quest to navigate Portland’s post-pandemic landscape and a desire to simply answer the question, “What’s going on this weekend?”, QSC has evolved from a passion project into a vital community artery. Since 2022, the platform has seen organic, word-of-mouth growth, now supporting 25,000 monthly visitors and connecting over 8,000 people weekly through a philosophy that prioritizes accessibility over sales. By acting as a “passive matchmaker” rather than a commercial entity, QSC breaks away from a superficial mindset to ensure that useful information reaches those looking to build their own connections.
As a champion of “third spaces,” those crucial environments that are neither work nor home, QSC aligns perfectly with Bessa’s mission to be a hub for queer content and connections. Driven by inclusivity and curiosity, the platform actively uses community feedback to amplify voices that are often overlooked, such as creating better spaces for queer folks over 50. With eyes set on expanding this “fresh take” on community organizing to cities like Seattle and San Francisco, QSC is proving that when we create resources that assure people they are not alone, we are doing the vital work of making the future better.
We love the idea of “Found Family” here at Bessa. Can you take us back to the beginning? Was there a specific moment where you looked around and realized, “This isn’t just a club, this is a family we’re building?”
The beginning of QSC was simply a need that I had personally, which was to connect with the local community through attending events and activities. The pandemic had wiped out most known activities, and Portland’s community was just starting to rebuild. I was rebuilding my own life after a divorce and career change too. Asking the question, “What’s going on this weekend?” was the true root of QSC in an attempt to just answer that questions for myself, and get out into community doing things I enjoyed with queer friends. After maintaining and growing the website calendar, I still didn’t invest in any real promotion so the growth has been mostly organic, word-of-mouth through the queer community since 2022. We now see about 25,000 website visitors per month and email 8,000+ people every Wednesday with the weekly summary of events. It’s successful partly because I’ve never prioritized selling anyone anything – I only want to share useful information and make it easily accessible to the people who want it. It’s not a family, but a resource that assures people that they are not alone and can access community in a variety of ways when they need to.
In a world that can sometimes feel isolating, how do you see QSC acting as that third space, not quite work, not quite home, but somewhere we belong?
QSC promotes third spaces. Anyone can set up an event or group meetup, add it to our calendar, and immediately reach an audience of thousands of local people who are looking specifically for community and connection. Queer people in Portland are everywhere, doing a wide variety of activities, so QSC acts as a passive matchmaker of sorts, matching the organizers with potential participants.
Advocacy is about making the future better. As QSC grows, how are you ensuring that this family remains inclusive and accessible to the most marginalized voices in our community?
I’ve intentionally kept QSC inclusive by posting almost everything the community submits to our calendar. Queer people exist in so many different ways, with infinite kinds of personalities and preferences. Ideally, QSC will always have a little something for everyone. We do annual surveys to ask the community what’s still missing or not working for them in the local scene, which often reveals who is not being served as well as others. For example, a main theme this year is that people in older age ranges (usually 50+) feel as if events and groups are not designed for them, or they are not welcome or able to fit in. I’m following this lead to find ways for QSC can better connect them with community in the future.
What is the dream? If we sit down again in five years, what does the Queer Social Club collection look like?
Almost every little change or addition to QSC has been a result of real people in our community asking for it. Right now, the biggest ask we hear is from people in cities outside of Portland, OR (especially in Seattle, WA, and San Francisco, CA) who need this kind of robust resource in their area. Ideally, we can scale to every city that communities want QSC in, and can pay local people to be admins in their areas.
How can people find you, join in, or show support for what you’re working on?
QSC now has options for sponsorships, memberships, and tipping for financial support. Event organizers can submit events to our calendars for free promotion. And anyone wanting to get involved with local community can access our event calendars on our website and sign up for emails.