Queer Economies of Care is a six-week seminar that I designed and facilitated as part of The Inaugural Amber Hollibaugh Seminar in the City, presented by CLAGS: The Center for LGBTQ Studies and the Barnard Center for Research on Women. Held at the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division in New York City with the final class at 6BC Botanical Garden, the seminar brought together 26 local NYC residents spanning the ages of 20 to 76 years old to explore how queer communities have historically built survival economies through mutual aid, kinship networks, and creative resistance.

Each week, participants engaged with foundational texts by thinkers such as Amber Hollibaugh, Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, Alexis Paulina Gumbs, Audre Lorde, and Dean Spade, alongside recorded dialogues and guest contributions from local artists and activists. Discussions focused on topics including gentrification and queer displacement, the criminalization of survival, and the intersections of class, desire, and care. Participants also contributed to the collaborative CLAGS Research Archive, a collection housed in the Mina Rees Library at the CUNY Graduate Center in New York City, documenting reflections and strategies for queer resilience.

More than a study group, Queer Economies of Care was a space for collective learning and action—an experiment in how knowledge-sharing can be a form of resistance. The seminar culminated in a collaborative publication, preserving and expanding on the conversations and insights shared throughout the program.

Image credit: Joaquin Golez @othereros