International Autostraddle Meetup Week Happened And This Is What It Looked Like

I know October seems like a lifetime ago, but remember when it happened? My October was a whirlwind of pumpkin spice lattes and Halloween and grandpa sweaters. Was that your experience too? Maybe you live in a warm-all-year city and your October looked like my July…who knows! I do know that all of our Octobers had something in common, and that something is only one of the best and most amazing things to have happened all year: We all celebrated International Autostraddle Meet-Up Week(s) together! 

Yes, it’s true. Y’all helped us raise $116,645, and we really can’t ever stop thanking you, and one of the perks for hitting that insane amount of money was to have a huge international meetup week. But you guys are so awesome and enthusiastic that it turned into a meetup month! And not like anyone should be surprised, because Autostraddle readers are obviously the coolest, but the meetups were really cool!

You went on hikes and climbed tress and played with your puppies. You grabbed October by the collar and hosted Halloween parties, pumpkin carving extravaganzas, and fall picnics. There were crafting days, activist events, and a Kaki King concert. A few of you crazy kids attended a clothing optional pool party (!) while others queeraokied your little hearts out. You brunched and you drank, you made new friends and potential partners, and a few of you even emailed us to let us know you kissed a pretty girl (!) and now you’re dating that pretty girl (!!!) so I’m gonna go ahead and call this whole shebang a huge fucking success. As one reader said in an email: “We’re all grateful for meetup week…Autostraddle for the win, as always!” To which I say, AMEN.

I also say you all are very very very cute, and I think we should take this moment to celebrate that cuteness in the form of a gallery with over 300 images. I’m warning you, clicking through all of these photos might make you die of cute, but it’s totally worth it.

Thank you for participating in International Autostraddle Meetup Week(s), thank you for sending in photos, and thank you for being incredible. We love you. You love each other. Everything is beautiful and nothing hurts. Enjoy this gallery, and keep meeting up! We’re gonna take over the world one day, I just know it. And we’re gonna look really fucking adorable when we do.

Note: It was extremely labor-intensive to make this giant gallery, so we did not include individual photo credits on images unless the photographer specifically requested it. If your photos are up here and you would like credit, please send an email to vanessa [at] autostraddle [dot] com and we’ll make it happen. Thanks! 

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Vanessa

Vanessa is a writer, a teacher, and the community editor at Autostraddle. Very hot, very fun, very weird. Find her on twitter and instagram.

Vanessa has written 404 articles for us.

70 Comments

  3. unf, everybody is so attractive. guess i’ll crawl out of my cave and actually make it to the next one.

  4. Um guys this just made me so excited. It’s like 4 AM here, I had to get out of bed and run around showing it to everyone who is staying here (most of whom were at said meet up.)
    They don’t all apparently love AS as much as me…some even requested to “just look at it in the morning PLEASE rosalie.”
    But my AS referrer is just as happy, so we can have our own two person happy club tomorrow.
    And we all look fucking gorgeous.

    PS if there are any more Adelaide kids out there (fondly known as Adelstraddlers), we are following up our meetup with a bit of a camping adventure in January. So you should come too.

    • YUSS. I actually sent a photo to my friend whose favourite costume this year was as the bacon king. He will be happy.

  7. heeeey I’m in the background there!
    and wizarding world of harry potter? best meetup ever, for sure

  11. I can’t even…YOU GUYS – look at all these beautiful, diverse, wonderful queermos! This is our community! YAY!

  12. Love. The. Photos. Love seeing what everyone else did :)

    Vanessa – is it too late to send in photos/add them to the gallery. I hosted a stellar pumpkin carving/cider drinking party, and I totally forgot to send in our hilarious and attractive photos. I would love you forever if I could add them, but totally understand if I can’t!! I just feel bad for the other Vancouver Straddlers who were counting on me for proof of our shenanigans!

    • the photo # may have changed now because i’ve added a bunch of new photos and had to keep everything alphabetized because i’m insane like that — but guys, cee’s cat is still famous!

    • really all these photos are pretty quality

      next time you should post a photo from each meetup and people should have to guess where it happened…though I guess some people will know cause they were there

  17. The Chicago meetup looked epic. Bacon, Binders, Babes.
    The London meetup looked like some The xx-inspired sensual orgy.
    The Portland meetup went to Kaki King?! Lucky girls.
    Also, love those glasses in photo #37.

    But, all the meetups looked great – including the one I went to.

    • right?! i can’t play favorites at all, seriously the whole gallery was such a joy to work on, the photos all make my heart so happy and melty, but for real — chicago, y’all are epic, and london, y’all are sex gods.

  19. That…that is a binder full of women. I LOVE YOU ALL. Seriously, I wish I had been near a meetup, you looked like you all had the best time and I want to visit everywhere and every single one of you.

  20. LOOK AT ALL THOSE BEAUTIFUL HUMANS

    Also – Sydney queers! Party tomorrow at 2 at Camperdown Rest Memorial Park! Bring pastry!

  21. Can I just attempt to ignore everyone’s adorableness and also add that I really appreciate the fact that this list was alphabetical?
    Now that that’s out of the way, EVERYONE IS ADORABLE. -hugs you all-

    • INTERN CHELSEY IS A GODDESS.

      no for real, without intern chelsey this gallery would not exist. and she is the driving force behind it’s alphabetical wonder. so this weekend let’s all be thankful for intern chelsey, without whom we could not rejoice and celebrate our amazing straddler community via this gallery of perfection.

    • We decided that it was not in fact based on the alphabet, but rather on incredibleness. But we’re from Adelaide. We might have thought differently if we were from Zambia.

  22. It looks like awesome happy fun times with awesome happy fun people.

    Wish there had been one near me, I love happy fun times.

      • Newcastle, UK – up in the North East… If I had any organisational skills, I would, but I think my hamster could probably do a better job than I would!

  23. Everybody looks freaking adorable.

    I personally LOVED this. I had a really good time and I thought you girls were amazing. I hope we meet again soon!

  26. Thank you Heather from St. Louis for posting the pic of us at Off The G.R.I.D!! It was sooo much fun and I have since fallen in love with Shameless Grounds. I don’t know how your girl managed to make me look good in that pic cuz I usually look like shit in pictures but its much appreciated!

  27. well, ain’t all you pretty faces a sight for sore eyes. I unfortunately had to fly home for urgent family business of the near death variety, but hope to be able to come along to the next round.

  28. awww man the pics are great…you could definitely tell everyone in those pics were having a blast.

    my favorite picture has got to be 185, props goes to the photographer.:) 333 is by far the best looking dog. And the girl in the back in black with the scarf from Netherlands in picture 329 **sighs** Gorgeous!!

  29. How is it possible that every single one of all autostraddlers is so incredibly attractive and gorgeous and aaaah!

    • darling ali, i have a feeling us brooklyn queers can make it happen again. in fact, gabrielle and i have discussed a lesbian herstory archives PART TWO event, and i can promise that when spring comes around we’ll be hosting more picnics. MEETUPS FOREVER, is what i’m saying.

  34. Sigh. Gotta say the Tdot short-haired blonde was cwute. I would’ve loved to meet her…had I been not at the Vancouver meetup, where I know which to have another meetup, because that one just made me feel all warm and fuzzy.

    And I had a voice and I felt nice and happy.

    Ok…more than happy. I felt appreciated and it was just nice to be there and acknowledged.

    I loved the pumpkin carving meetup. It was nice. And cute.

    Also, this is kind of the closest thing to celebrity I’ve got right now so i’m fully taking it. Next up, writing an Autostraddle-worthy article…

  37. After looking through these pictures I’ve decided that an LA meet-up is going to happen next time, even if I’m the only one there. Seriously though, LA Autostraddlers, let’s get something together!

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