***Not a sponsored post; all opinions expressed are solely mine.
So... We just had our first LGBTQIA+ event under OPAWL (initially named Ohio Progressive Asian Women's Leadership at its inception)'s newly-formed queer caucus, and the event went so, SO much better than how I expected it to go!
It was held at Wild Goose Creative, an amazing and comfortably spacious rental space for the creative arts. It comes with a kitchen area too, and is a dream space that I will for sure book again for other future events. This event, like all OPAWL events, centers AAPI (Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander) women and nonbinary folks statewide, but of course welcomes friends, family, loved ones, and other supportive allies.
Sugamya and I volunteered as co-leaders of the caucus a couple of months ago, and have been planning this event ever since, with the guidance and advice of Tessa and Suparna, the former being the Statewide Co-director, and the latter being a Statewide Board Member of the organization as well as a Co-Founder. Both of our mentors traveled quite a distance to attend our event in the heart of downtown Columbus, and we are so very appreciative of their leadership. I am so grateful they invested their time and energy in us.
The event was structured as an Open Mic Night format, and honestly, the folks that attended were THE BEST and were SO supportive of us throughout our awkwardness (read: my awkwardness) and technical mishaps weaving the event; we had nooooo oneeeee signed up the last I checked the submission form, and so members of the crowd went up and performed then and there, including myself (I sang the good 'ole reliable Creep by Radiohead).
We had great soulful singing, some in duos and some solo (all using YouTube karaoke videos btw lol), and powerful and personal spoken word pieces. Thank you for the vulnerability and strength shown in that room. Also; did I mention everyone that performed karaoke, performed it impromptu? YUP. Can you tell this event was led with absolute -chaotic- bisexual confusion? You'd be wrong; it is double the absolute
-chaotic- bisexual confusion that did the trick *fingerguns 👈👈🤠*.
ANYWAY. We also provided some light snacks (miscellaneous rice crackers, chocolate chip cookies, and of course the 白兔糖 Rabbit candy) and drinks (bubble tea cans, mini-soybean bottles, Yeo's chrysanthemum boxed drinks), courtesy of shopping at one of our best-stocked and diverse local Asian marts around, CAM. I made sure allergy information was given, as I myself am allergic to several food groups and miscellaneous items.
It was in the kitchen preparing the snacks and drinks that I met Mandy, who is an author, Midwest skater, and all-round Cool Person. They are also a freelance writer for The Buckeye Flame, a digital LGBTQ+ editorial focusing on queer Ohio folks and their stories. They were there not just to interview Suparna, Tessa, Sugamya and me, but also as an attendee for the event to support us. They were absolutely charming and helpful - like, I totally want to be their friend, and I'm introverted as fuck... Anyway Mandy's super cool and I'm definitely going to be one of the first ones to read their article on our event when it's published!
I'm so thankful for the good-naturedness of the attendees, but also of the amount of freebies generously donated from OHIV, a statewide sexual health resource that conducts initiatives like this one. Javier and Shanelle were representatives from the org and brought tons of free condoms and dental dams, and I very much treasured the trust they gave us as witnesses to their personal stories and the feelings it may have evoked... Thank you.
Sugamya and I definitely have a lot of of learning to do for our next queer caucus event, lol, whether or not we'll be co-leading it. I decided to post some of my thoughts regarding what I want to improve on for next time below:
Making clear our mission statement as a part of OPAWL, which is essentially building collective power through grassroots community organizing and fellowship, such as today's Open Mic Night (woo!)
Re-state the mission of our caucus and the community it serves - providing a safe hub for LGBTQIA+ identifying AAPI individuals; also emphasizing the importance of trans and non-binary folks in the AAPI community, and how loved and welcomed they are to our events
ACTUALLY REMEMBER TO BRING MY CAMERA TO TAKE MEDIA PICTURES FOR THE WEBSITE. AND TO RECORD ALL THE WONDERFUL PERFORMANCES THE WAY I SHOULD HAVE FOR THE AUDIENCE MEMBERS
Check-in more often with other co-leader(s)/MAKE TIME JAIME
Emphasize the need for joy and connection amidst times of such violence against our community
I'm very happy with the turnout, and hopefully the next event will be as well-attended!
P.S. Check out our official Spotify playlist for the event, featuring queer, trans and non-binary AAPI artists from around the world! ↯
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