Dear Community,
We had originally planned to focus on the theme of Finding Sex/Finding Love in this issue, but the jarring changes taking place globally and in all of our day-to-day lives seemed an invitation to reflect, more broadly, on how we create community and connection in this moment. How do we support one another through grief, uncertainty, and disruption, and create the sense of connectedness that we all need now, more than ever?
We thank the many contributors to this issue for responding to this invitation and sharing the thoughtfulness, creativity, and compassion you are drawing on to respond to this crisis. The essays, poems, and artwork in this issue capture the loss that results when the warmth of a hug, the electricity of an unexpected glance, the simple comfort of being together, are reduced to text and 2-D faces trapped in boxes on screens. At the same time, they bring to light the opportunities we have to come together when unconstrained by geography and other barriers. Many of us are connecting with others in distant places; finding ourselves able to attend events we could not attend in person due to inaccessible meeting places or the constraints of busy schedules; finding time to reconnect with those with whom we’ve lost touch; becoming present in a new way with those with whom we share living space. Many of this issue’s contributors also remind us that in order to create and sustain connection with others we must care for ourselves as individuals, and this moment creates space for stillness, quiet, vulnerability.
We acknowledge that the impacts of this crisis follow the well-worn patterns of the inequalities entrenched in our society. We are all impacted differently, depending upon our health status, age, and ability: whether we have the privilege to continue to make a living comfortably from home, or are dealing with job loss or working in hazardous conditions; whether we find ourselves in the crosshairs of the deepening racism and xenophobia exposed by this moment; whether we have access to the technologies needed to maintain connection without physical contact; whether we are exposed to misunderstanding of our identities, abuse, or violence within our homes. Building community and connection requires all of us to be aware of these differences and to work for meaningful social changes that get to the root of these injustices.
Thank you for helping to build bi+ community and connection and a better world through contributing your voices, energy, and resources to these pages, and reading and sharing BWQ.
~Katelynn and Robyn