Something that annoys me is the constant whining about "more queer spaces, more queer communities" but then they're immediately like "yeah! And we need ones that don't cost money or require a purchase!"
Girl that's exactly why they close down after a year. You NEED money to keep these places open. There's no magic Gay Money Pot with endless cash to keep these places open. It requires YOU to put your money where your values are!!
Like there was a queer coffee shop in my city. Owned and operated by a bunch of LGBT people. Not a cishet on the schedule. Tons of young people raved about it.
And it made it about 2 years before shutting down completely. Because all those young people who begged for a place exactly like this would just show up, not buy a single thing, and leave. You cannot build a community without putting your money into it. This isn't about capitalism, this is just reality. You can't open a restaurant where no one buys your food. You can't have a gay bar that only serves 5% of the population and actively excludes everyone else. This is what I mean when I say people confuse "community" and "friend group." You're not obligated to spend money when hanging out with your friend group. But if you want a lasting community centered space, you need to open up that wallet.
agree with all above, i understand the dreadfulness of the reality. supporting spaces through sales is incredibly important, i’m just having some thoughts
i think in the end this IS about capitalism. We struggle to have third spaces, much more minority inclusive third spaces because everything needs to be monetized. You cannot survive in this world working towards your community for free. If you’re not making or spending money you’re wasting your time, sadly.
I do want to say that there are ways how people combat this. We have a café/pub where i live. It serves cheap drinks and food. If you need you can come in and get fed for free. If you need a safe place to stay for the evening you can sit there and not buy anything. Of course they need money, but since they are so integrated in local community they don’t have to rely on sales and market alone.
Whenever money gets tight they announce a crowdfunding evening. They sell snacks and art and whatnot and those within our community that do have enough money to spare at the time come in and help out.
This way someone else who struggles can get a warm food that day, in a place that is safe and that will support them.
capitalism in its essence is directly against mutual aid and building communities especially in marginalised spaces. And for that we must always question and fight it
