2025 Photo-Documentary Features
“The first time Queerness occurred to me, I was 12 years old in South Dakota. It occurred to me, at first, like a passing thought. I watched a YouTube video of a group going to an anime convention, all of them varied in gender expression and in Queer relationships, and I thought, ‘Yes, this feels right.’
I had already had crushes on all different types of people. I had no concrete attachment to my gender, aside from feeling aligned toward masculinity at the time—fluidity came to me later in life. My home life was dysfunctional (an understatement), and so explicitly acknowledging my Queerness seems easy in comparison. It was how most other people reacted that made existing as outwardly Queer difficult. South Dakota is still one of the most difficult states in the U.S. to navigate as a Queer individual.
I retreated inwardly for a long time, and rediscovered the full extent of my Queerness and the power of Queer community when I reached adulthood in Maine. Yet, I’ve ALWAYS been in search of connection and the fulfillment of connecting others. Queerly ME embodies this passion, and a lot of what I didn’t have access to growing up, what we all deserve and need to feel belonging. And so, if you find yourself in need of community, reach out. Queerly ME is here for you.”
Kyle, Any Pronouns
“After years of following the societally-approved path, my life completely shifted around my 40th birthday—divorce, a shift in my sexuality, embracing my intuition as my guide, and eventually moving to Maine. I went from living in the shadows to fully living my truth, a truth I continue to deepen into daily.
I am passionate about the Healing Arts and offer therapy, intuitive healing, and community gatherings in Falmouth, Maine. My life purpose is clear: to bring infrastructure into communities that revives intentional connection and promotes spiritual wellness. While society often leads us down an ego-driven path, I believe the future is about soul-led living. I host intimate, substance-free gatherings where we connect in real, raw, and groupthink-free ways. I live and breathe this mission.
Let’s Connect! If you have insights on unmet community needs or want to share your thoughts on the loneliness epidemic, spirituality, and/or connection I’d love to hear from you.”
Julia, She/Her
“Cee holds joy as a central value in their life. In addition to rekindling their theatre-kid joy as a part of an improv troupe, Cee finds joy in music, dance, sewing, coziness, animals, cooking, friends, and family (in any and all combinations). They've been working in education for most of their adult life, but still keep rock-star as fallback career. Cee lives in Brunswick with their teenage son, dog, and two cats.”
Cee, They/Them
“I think fear right now is a survival instinct, for many of us. I fear for myself, and my sisters, and my parents, and my students and my trans siblings and the people who are told are illegal (as if that is a thing a person can be!). I fear for the people who are forced out of their homes, stripped out of their humanities overseas. I feel fear in my bones,and underneath my finger nails, and in the sobs that get caught in my throat.
It’s ok if fear has been your companion too— squeeze its hand gently.
Now, we need to utilize our fear. It is incredibly easy to feel submerged with panic, to barrel into cycles of ‘what ifs’, to be lost amidst what feels like a catastrophe. We need to stay informed. We will be dusting away the spiderwebs of hateful rhetoric. We need to recognize fear-mongering for what it is. Keep reading your books, keep researching to understand your rights, keep correcting people when they’re misinformed, keep educating yourself more, keep showing up for community.
I love you, I hope you’re taking care of yourself.”
Yusur, They/He
“Every step is a story in its own right and every breath a rebellion in a world keen on erasure.
In the quiet of the outdoors, I found solace and a community that thrives against the odds.
I am grateful for all I connected with through hiking, camping, and participating in other nature-centered activities. Your remarkable collective freedom is a memory near and dear to my heart.
Under open skies and among kindred spirits, I was reminded that Queer existence is as natural and unstoppable as the rivers that carve their way through stone” in solidarity with everyone outside the binary-conditioned existence.”
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“It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences,” Audre Lorde wrote in Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches.
Nina, They/Them
“Although right now, very early 2025, I’m stepping steadily into my thirties, it wasn’t until June of 2023 when I was able to begin building what is my own family in Maine, thanks to people that have been willing to help me navigate around the vastness and complexities of the current world we live in. I am now a part of a community where I’m embraced for being exactly as I am, doing the things I love and loving the people I choose to love.
Every path you choose to take or find yourself in comes with hardships of all sorts, people and things you can’t control, some problems will last for longer, some will soon disappear overnight, in these situations, my mom has taught me to always ‘be grateful of what I have and conscious of what I do’, ultimately meaning to acknowledge that I’m the only constant in every situation so I need to take care of myself and to face the present with gratitude, happiness and confidence.
These paths also come with blessings, all of them, delight yourself in them.
Smile, it will only get better from here.”