Support Queer Joy & Healing with Anthony Verdino.

Hi, my name is Anthony Verdino and I need some of your money. GoFundMe is a place where a collective can respond to an individual tragedy, but the tragedy here is widespread and endemic to these United States, and it affects us all regardless of your beliefs and experiences. Queer people, especially Trans- and Non-Binary people, continue to be victimized and threatened by policies that obstruct their ability to live authentically, prohibit their access to basic healthcare, and eliminate their right to exist in this world as they choose. As a collective of people who value love and kindness—or simply recognize the danger of allowing the government to make life-altering decisions for individual people—we are all impacted by these harmful policies.

I’m a long-time social worker who focuses on helping Queer people of many backgrounds. I’m also a PhD Candidate conducting my dissertation research. My study, Queer Imagining, seeks to explore meanings of Queerness among Queer emerging adults involved with drag, burlesque, and other types of performance, the role of imagination in their everyday lives, and processes of joy, healing, resistance, and thrival. Queer people have forever been working to create spaces where they can (and want to) live fully themselves as individuals and communities within a world not constructed for them. I am asking you to support joy, healing, and to raise awareness of these efforts.

The purpose of this study is to: 1) center Queer thriving, joy, and the work involved in creating it, as we move research and practice beyond Queer pain and trauma; 2) promote awareness of the critical importance of authentic expression and performance for Queer people because, according to the participants, these outlets provide identity development, connection, joy, and healing; and 3) inform the ways we work with and support Queer people in their resistance of and recovery from the brutality of this world. Give money to help Queer people heal and resist.

In academia, my study is considered unfundable because: 1) it’s about Queer people doing Queer things and 2) the goal is not a specific policy change (because attempts at policy change on top of an inherently flawed system will only serve to breed an eventually failed policy). Trust me, I’ve explored the grant options. So, I need your money. My study is completely self-funded from the pockets of myself and my husband (and our 2½-year-old kid and our 8-year-old pibble). We are doing this while paying our bills, caring for our kid, affording daycare, and doing the things we need for our own thrival. So, I really need your money.

Your money will go to FAIR compensation for 21 Queer emerging adults trying to thrive in this world ($100 for each activity [3 interviews, 1 self-reflection collage, 1 observation, 1 group debrief], so $600 per participant = $12,600)

Just as we’re all impacted by harmful policies against Queer people, so too are we all impacted by Queer joy. If you've ever been to a drag show, attended a Pride event, or witnessed the fabulousness of a visibly Queer and happy person—you have benefited from Queer joy. Giving money for this study is how you can repay them.

*When you donate, please leave a message with any other places I could distribute this