Welcome to Joyful Queer

Sometimes joy is in the next apartment, waiting for you to knock on the door and introduce yourself. Other times, joy doesn't wait politely for you to find it and requires you to claw at it - messy and raw - when life dumps the worst of everything on your doorstep. For those of us who know adversity so well it feels like an old roommate, joy isn’t just an act of resistance - it’s an act of survival. It’s the thing you grab when the floor falls out beneath you. Sometimes, it’s the only thing.

When I thought about starting Joyful Queer, I wasn’t interested in providing endless rainbows and generic pep talks. We already know life can be hard - relentlessly, unfairly, gut-punchingly hard. I wanted this space to be about what happens when we decide to live anyway. To thrive in spite of everything. To find joy not because it’s easy, but because it’s what makes us want to stay alive. I’m not here to sugarcoat; I’m here to remind us - me included - that joy matters most when it feels farthest away.

The Work of Joy

Let’s not pretend joy is effortless. It takes work - it requires attention - because it’s so much easier to sit in the pain. Misery is familiar, isn’t it? And the world gives us plenty of reasons to unpack our bags there. But I’ve learned that joy is like a lighthouse in the distance. It’s there, even when the storm rages, and you don’t think you’ll ever make it out. The trick is deciding that reaching it is worth everything it takes. And it is.

The hardest part? Joy can be terrifying. It demands vulnerability. It asks you to believe that something better is coming when history tells you the struggles will continue, even after some challenges are overcome. It asks you to laugh, to love, to communicate, to celebrate - even when the world is cruel and heavy. But it’s also transformative. It’s the thing that empowers you to say, “This is who I am, and I am going to be okay - I might even be great!” and lets you exhale when the world is battering you. Joy, for us, is loud, messy, and unyielding. It’s surviving and thriving, sometimes with music, dancing, and a bottle of bubbles in hand.

Why Joyful Queer?

When the world thinks about queer people, it loves to paint us as tragic figures - heartbreak, rejection, the endless fight for dignity. That’s part of it, sure. But it’s not the whole story. We’re also the ones who create, who celebrate, who throw the best damn parties in the middle of our struggles. Joy reminds the world - and us - that we’re not just surviving; we’re living. It’s how we hold on to hope, how we imagine something better, and how we create it.

I started Joyful Queer to spread joy by inspiring the things that bring joy to our lives - resilience, creativity, and connection. Each Thought Bubble we share is a little reminder - a frame to help you focus for a few seconds each day on what you want and how to get it. These aren’t deep dives or life lectures - they’re moments. Thought Bubbles can spark reflection, inspire small actions, or simply bring a burst of joy to your day when you need it most. They’re intended to help you pause, reset, and realign - and they’re easy to share, spreading the inspiration even further.

Not every Thought Bubble will resonate for everyone every time - and that’s okay. Some sparks land right where they’re needed, while others might feel off in the moment. That's why showing up daily matters! Sometimes, it’s the ones you least expect to that shift your perspective in the most helpful and surprising ways.

Floating Bi on Joyful Queer

Every once in a while, you’ll see a Floating Bi post pop up here on Joyful Queer. These aren’t your daily Thought Bubbles - they’re something different. A Floating Bi post is an exploration into a specific idea, person, story, or moment that brings me immense joy. Some of these posts will be personal stories - others will examine bigger cultural ideas. Think of them as the longer breaths in between the quick bursts of joy from Thought Bubbles. They’ll show up when they’re ready to float into your day.

The Joy Ahead

This isn’t a promise to fix the world - it’s an invitation to look for the things worth holding on to, even when the world seems to be a steaming pile of crap. To laugh when you’re not sure you can. To take your resilience, creativity, and connection and turn them into joy - then turn that joy into fuel for everything else. This is alchemy we can all do. I don’t have all the answers (or nearly all the questions). But I know this - joy is what gets us to the next moment, and that is often all we need.

You can subscribe by simply entering your email address in the form - it’s that easy - just be sure to click through the link on the confirmation email you will receive or you won't be subscribed (check SPAM/Junk folder if you don't see the confirmation email). Starting on January 21, 2025, a new Thought Bubble will pop up in your inbox every single day, and you’ll get hot-off-the-press Floating Bi posts the moment they’re ready. No need to check back - joy will come to you - free and effortless! Of course, you can return here anytime to search or browse the archives for previous Thought Bubbles and Floating Bi posts whenever you need an extra dose of inspiration.