With the recent controversy surrounding the state of Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act, or RFRA, for its ability to potentially allow businesses to discriminate against gay and lesbian customers, it is clear that the LGBTQ community is a force to be reckoned with.
The law was eventually changed to protect gay and lesbian customers largely because of grassroots movements that put religious conservatives and Indiana Gov. Mike Pence on the defensive.
Perhaps the LGBTQ community is stronger today than it has ever been before. Sam Schwindt, a DePaul freshman, is no stranger to the powerful grassroots LGBTQ movement in our nation. Along with DePaul freshman Emily Thompson, the pair co-founded an LGBTQ community blog entitled Queer Daily.
The blog was started in late January of this year and has already generated about 20,000 views in its first three months. The blog features poems, comics, pictures, personal stories and opinions pertaining to LGBTQ related issues from writers across the country.
“I really wanted a space for members of the LGBTQ community to share their ideas, opinions and stories,” Schwindt said. “I wanted something that was free for people to write whatever they wanted to, and I wanted this outlet for myself — something that I could call my own.”
What distinguishes Queer Daily from other LGBTQ forums and media outlets is the style of writing that is featured on the blog. While other publications objectively attempt to cover just the facts, Queer Daily addresses relevant topics and issues regarding the LGBTQ community, but also adds an element of creativity into the mix.
“I don’t think there’s an outlet like Queer Daily out there. In all these news sources there are professional writers, and I wanted this blog to be a grassroots writing effort of everyday people,” Schwindt said.
Thompson posted the first article onto the blog, titled “My Problem with Pussy.”
“It just took off. Emily put a link to her story on Facebook and it got 800 views the first day,” Schwindt said.
Currently, the biggest challenge for Queer Daily is getting consistent writers. The site publishes five articles a week, Monday through Friday, and has about 60 articles posted so far.
Despite the large amount of views the blog has already generated in the first three months, Schwindt questioned the reach of his blog and how much it affects the LGBTQ community. “Sometimes I wonder if we’re actually impacting people, but I’ve gotten some emails and comments from readers that are really positive.”
If you’re interested in writing for Queer Daily, details for contributions are posted on the blog at queerdailynews.com.
“My goal isn’t viewership, but to create a community of writers and readers that interact,” Schwindt said. “I want to build a community of creative individuals from the LGBTQ community, including everyday people that suffer in silence and are discriminated against.”