As Dorothy Allison says: "Two or three things I know for sure, and one of them is that if we are not beautiful to each other, we cannot know beauty in any form."

With Dirty Queer, our mission is twofold:

We're seeking to create a safe and welcoming space to express the individual, creative, erotic self ... and be both seen and appreciated. A space to explore the overlaps of activism and art, community and individual, sexuality and identity. We want to come together in laughter and desire, exploring the vast expanses of sex, and come away with a new understanding of ourselves, and each other. A place to see the beauty of us all.

We're also a way for this community to actively support and sustain our own resource and venue. In Other Words is the last non-profit feminist bookstore in the country, and operates close to the margin. At this event we collectively and consistently raise hundreds of dollars for the bookstore every month. In turn, In Other Words not only provides this space and the volunteers for our event, but also continually improves the way the space works, including pursuing grants for better seating, ASL interpretation, and increased resources, for not only our show, but the other many amazing artists, performers, writers and activists who use this space.

It's been three glorious years now, and getting better all the time ...