Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes…in a year. At the end of December, we often ask ourselves how to measure the year past. Some of us are fond of measuring in cups of coffee, but we can see that miles, strife, and laughter would also do. qLit has experienced a bit of all of these this year and through them our community has only grown stronger. So, ¨let’s celebrate, remember a year in the life of friends.¨
Miles
qLit has traveled a lot this year to celebrate and unite with the LGBTQ community. We’ve marched through the streets in Bergen, Berlin, Budapest, Maspalomas, Pecs, and Trondheim to celebrate Pride. In Prague, we took a few days to explore the best the Mezipatra Queer Film Festival had to offer and join with like-minded others through films, lectures, and workshops. Our travels helped us make connections to learn about LGBTQ life in other places, sharing stories of the university experience in Bergen. Not only have we continued our longest-running series of articles, but we have also built on its success to launch a new series, this time on rainbow families around the world.
Strife
qLit continues to stand in solidarity with the community as we face conflicts about our rights as LGBTQ people to exist as equal members in society. We joined with 50,000 people to protest against pedophilia and the government. We spoke out against the discriminatory adoption rules in Hungary which prevent same-sex couples from adopting. We raised awareness of the struggles of the trans members of our community to have legal recognition and safe living conditions. Despite the struggles, the year ended on a positive note as Háttér Society’s new report shows 60% of Hungarians surveyed report having LGBTQ acquaintances, up from 54% in 2023 and 24% in 2019. Other findings in the report show also growing acceptance of the LGBTQ community.
Laughter
qLit’s offline presence has returned in full-strength in 2024 as we spent afternoons, evenings, and weekends together. We enjoyed meeting regulars and new faces at our long-running pub quizzes, table tennis, and hikes. Along the way we also hosted a few new events like the women’s football tournament. Even outside official qLit events, our authors have inspired us to get active with via ferrata, spark up a conversation about the ARC art exhibition, and get a little cultured by visiting the theater. For those days when we didn’t want to leave the house we still had book, film, and series recommendations to cuddle up with, not to mention a little extra reading to improve our understanding of gay history and culture.
For qLit, 2024 has been a good year! In all the ups and downs, we have remembered to take the time for self-care looking out for our mental health during the holidays and while coming out (which as we know, is a life-long process). Our community has grown throughout the year and, as we’ve seen, a few new couples have formed, perhaps with a little dating advice from one of our authors?
Thank you all for an excellent year, no matter how you measure it! And thank you to all our authors and volunteers who make qLit’s magazine and events possible! Happy New Year!
