In the second half of June, during an especially exhausting Pride month, we decided to do something we really hadn’t done before — hold a member drive during Pride! If you’ve been with us through the past eighteen months, you know that it hasn’t been easy to keep this place around. But thanks to reader support, thanks to a group of people like you, we’ve been able to keep independent queer media here for you, for us, and for the people who need this space.
Where We Were
When we started this drive, it was on the heels of a fundraiser that was intended to keep us going through July. Thanks to the over 700 people who joined A+ during the fundraiser, our little community of A+ members grew to 6,100 good, gay folks. We are incredibly grateful for the time this fundraiser bought us. We’re grateful for what we’re still able to do with this time, like work on the site structure, our SEO, more.
Where We Are
THANK YOU to everyone who signed up during the drive. As of writing this, we’ve crested 6,500 A+ members! We’ve never been here before, and we have our community to thank. What does this mean? It means a bit more financial stability, it means a foundation on which we can build that is growing ever more steady by the day. It means we can look toward new hires, more help. We can continue to steer this queer ship toward calmer waters. We’ve been through a lot together, but we’ve also gotten through together. We’re still here, 100% gay, 365 — and we are so excited for what’s to come!!
Thank you for putting up with our pop-up’s! Thank you for reading our A Day of Work series (which I found FASCINATING). We saw you people who bought gift memberships! You rock! We’re blown away by the people who hosted Twitter A+ giveaways. And as always, it was a delight to connect with folks on our Discord Server. Just, thank you for being there through the whole process.
Did you join during the drive? Are you an A+ member? We’d love to hear from you in the comments!
Thank you for being here. We’re looking forward to what we’ll be able to do in July! Let’s gooo!!!
I’ve been a reader for many years and I’ve been an A+ member for about 9 months and I love being a member. I can’t believe it took me so long to join.
I mean, I do know why it took me a while. First my job situation was really unstable and my finances felt too wobbly to join. And even as that has improved, I was still feeling wobbly and anxious and depressed. It was butt week and the lure of an A+ only gallery of butts that inspired me to join. And even though there were not enough butts for a gallery, I don’t regret joining at all.
I love knowing that I’m contributing to AS. I love that I no longer feel vaguely guilty about not joining. I love that I’m in a position to give so that AS is here for those who need it and aren’t able to give. I love that I, a chronic outsider, get to be part of the coolest club ever.
I love that Butt week is part of what finally did it. Thank you so much for sharing your whole A+ joining story. We want to be mostly free for anyone who just can’t join right now, so now it’s like you’re paying that forward, which is one of my fave things about A+. It’s really cool that you joined when you could. We’re so glad to have you!!!
i’m thrilled to learn that butt week was your catalyst AND that you didn’t bail when the promised gallery never materialized! 🥺
so so glad you’re here cleo
Well done, Cleo !
There may yet be a Butt Week in our future, here’s hoping.
Welcome welcome welcome!
I loved the “A Day of Work” series & would be stoked to see more in the future :)
Endless thanks to my fellow A+ gays, old and new, for joining together – and to all y’all behind the scenes at Autostraddle for building & maintaining this wonderful community.
Sending golden energy & abundant compassion to ease the toughest parts of the job and carry you queer visionaries forward!
Sending some sweet energy your way, too. Thanks for being a member! ALSO I am also personally fascinated with other peoples’ routines, bookshelves, etc., and was so glad to hear that folks liked these! I will be advocating for more like the A Day of Work in the future! <3
i also really loved the day of work series bc even though i’m pretty sure i know what everyone does, it still helped me feel closer to these weirdos!
finally joined as it was the 5th anniversary of the first article i wrote for a now defunct queer site and i don’t want to see the same happen for autostraddle so the best way was to support!
💛 ⚡️ 💛
thank you !!
Welcome and thank you! We definitely don’t want to see that happen here either. We’re so glad to have you.
Love y’all SO much! Like cleo, I’m a longtime reader, first time (as of a few months ago) subscriber. Finally out on my own (and OUT) after a two-decade hetero marriage, and this was one of my early solo financial decisions. <3 I've been busy the last two times y'all did the Discord server but LOVE that idea and hope y'all do it again!
Really appreciate your archive of "sox" 101s and allllll the times y'all have answered other readers who were getting out of hetero marriages & feeling "not lesbian enough." <3 <3 <3
STARR omfg WELCOME 💛
what a weird little club we’re in but yeah you are ABSOLUTELY lesbian enough and congratulations on your divorce!
We will do another discord server again! It’s at an undetermined time in the future, but people do love them so we will keep doing them. I’m so glad you’re a member. Congrats on your divorce! You are very much lesbian enough <3 <3 <3
I’ve been reading Autostraddle since 2013-ish (8 years ago?! How does that math add up??) and joined A+ in 2016. I remember when A+ was first announced (maybe like in 2014 or so?) I was skeptical and like, “Why would I pay for this, is the whole website going to be paywalled now, blah blah” just sour grapes basically.
Now, I can’t imagine *not* paying for this invaluable service— from the A+ Priority Contact Inbox, to the monthly A+ Insider newsletter, to the SLICK erotica series, plus all the fun little stickers and goodies I got when I signed up— there are so many sweet bonuses and perks and I feel like each day I find another reason I’m glad to be giving my money to this gay ass website. With all the recent changes (ok, I guess it’s been like 1-2 yrs, but still!) in content, leadership, the editorial direction of the site, transparency, communication to readers, I feel even more proud to support.
Beyond the perks, I’m also an A+ member bc of what Laneia or maybe Heather said: “even if you don’t feel like Autostraddle is *for you* anymore, consider supporting to make sure we can be around for those who are coming up behind you.” (I’m wildly paraphrasing here, but you get the gist. That stuck with me, and I want to make sure AS stays around and continues to grow and change and speak to readers- new, old, and in between.) 💜
Omg I just consulted my records and I actually joined A+ in 2018 (!!) I’m gonna say, shame on me here for not paying sooner!
linnea thank you !! 💛
Thank you so much for saying all this!!! We’re so happy that you’re a member and I know what you’re talking about with your paraphrasing :) Thank you for helping to keep the site mostly free, for everbody. You rock!
Hooray! Longtime A+ member so happy to see how AS keeps growing!
We’re so happy to have you!!! <3 thanks for being a member!
Congratulations guys! Happy to support and keep the lights on her, this site is a ray of light in an internet landscape that seems to get worse every day.
Thank you so much for being a member!! <3 That's real about...most of the internet. Here's to valuing quality!