PHOTO GALLERY: Queer at Work

Kylie Sparks / 30 / Los Angeles

“As an actor, writer, and social media person, meetings and auditions happen at a moment’s notice. Here’s a selfie of me on my way to a brunch meeting with my producers for my first screenplay I wrote that we hope to get into production this year that I will also star in! It was also 90 degrees at 11am….yikes.”

Sarah Sarwar / 29 / Mukwonago, WI

Autostraddle’s Business and Design Director, Sarah Sarwar, dancing with Autostraddle’s Editorial Assistant, Bren, at the A-Camp Family Band concert on the last night of A-Camp 8.0.

Amelia / 27 / Flinders Ranges, Outback, South Australia

“I’m at the data collection stage of my PhD, which really just means a series of awesome road trips to the outback in order to interview people about the future landscape of a coal mine that’s just closed. I keep my feminist geographies theoretical framework a closely guarded secret. This latest trip was with Mum, Thelma and Louise style, and we had a wine-tasting weekend to finish it off.”

Mallory (she·her) / 23 /  New York, NY

“In dental school, drilling on some fake teeth in a creepy mannequin head (yes, that is in fact just a fake head on a pole). Trying to become an oral surgeon, trying not to freak out about doing this to real people very soon, trying to be a visibly queer woman in a field that lacks representation.
Who wants to be my first patient?”

Erin / 25 / Washington, DC

“Making final edits to my company’s new website – which I’ve been single-handedly building since I started here in December and we are finally launching today! As one of only a handful of women at a technology company of about 30 people (and the only openly queer person) I see my work as important for women everywhere as we continue to strive for better representation and opportunities in the tech field.

It was an unusually cool day in May and I was very excited to be able to pull my favorite sweater back out because I love cold weather and try to wear my sweaters as far into the spring as possible.”

Tyler Callich / 29 / Chicago, IL

“I’m a writer/artist/embroiderer living in Chicago. I love exploring and fucking with traditional femme aesthetics and cuteness. Embroidery calms me and centers me, and it’s also a source of supplementary income. Texture is my life. The surface and depth of feeling.”

Eva Marie Gonzalez-Ruskiewicz / 28 / Normandie Avenue Elementary School, South Los Angeles, CA

“I’m an elementary school music teacher. Remember playing the recorder, champion of being shrill? Of course you do. I say variations on “fingering” roughly 25 times a day (make sure you’re fingering that correctly, practice your fingering), and that feels pretty queer to me.”

Erika Lygren / 23 / San Francisco, CA

“I’m actually exporting a vid at the moment! I’m into video work for the non-profit sector, or environmental/social businesses. Linkedin me if you’re in the bay area, or in Portland OR anytime after September. Mmmmm look at that sexy timeline! Also it wouldn’t be work without the key ring…”

Nani / 25 / Minneapolis, MN

“These are my work plants.”

Ocean Capewell / 35 / Oakland CA

“I am a case manager/social worker in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood, which can get pretty intense. One of these pictures is me, not long after I’d opened a client’s duffel bag and stuck my (gloved, thankfully) hand into some (human) poop. The other picture is of the wall above my desk at work. I drew the cute blah while on hold with the hospital one day!”

Christina / 29 / Austin, TX

“In this picture I’m getting ready to work my flight, which entails offloading all the luggage and loading luggage in the time given. It was the middle of summer with temps in the triple digits. I wanted to make sure I was protected. I hope people will see that ramp workers and all airport workers in general have to deal with a lot in order to not get a delay. I work for American Airlines! Next time you see an airport worker give them a thanks. It means a lot!”

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54 Comments

  4. My heart squeezes every time I look through these galleries. So many beautiful queer people doing beautiful things. Sigh.

  5. look at all of you working hard! jealous of arielle’s homemade barbacoa and jay’s where the wild things are sweater, and kind of wishing i was surrounded by succulents rn.

  8. This is like meeting the Kara Danvers and Clark Kent selves of the Superheroes you hang out with on the regular at the gaylien bar, only to realize they’re even cooler in RL.

  10. Hi queer babes! I fell in love like, 20 times!

    Also hi Rachel from Chicago! I met you last August at the Autostraddle brunch meet up and you gave me your cognac ! Thank you that was so niiiice ❤️

    • Oh hai, Chloe! It was so lovely to meet you! That was the day of the Air and Water show wasn’t it? Super loud jet planes kept going by :)

  13. I love this series so much although I am too shy to submit one myself…this one is my favorite so far! I love seeing what cool jobs everyone has and what everyone likes and doesn’t like about their jobs. If I ever feel like I need a career change I’m totally gonna come back to this gallery for some inspiration!

  16. Soo many cool people and cool jobs here, this is amazing. Also, I noticed this round of images had more people in SoCal than the last two rounds, but I could be wrong?

  20. GAAAH!! I love ALL the photos!! *heart eyes emoji* You all have cool jobs! Special shout out to Hannah and Kim – reminds me of Grey’s Anatomy?? LOL And Priscilla’s window shot with the CN Tower – super awesome!! And Erin!! That Orphan Black – Cosima’s DNA laptop cover you made as screensaver??!!! Sestra!!! :) The final trip is in just less than 2 weeks!!

      • We’ve never gotten to deliver a lesbian couple together before! That’s my dream :) If you’re in indianapolis and need labor and delivery services, let me know!0

    • Hahaha it is a little like Grey’s! We met at work and tried to keep our falling in love a secret, especially since I wasn’t out yet. But we’ve come a long way! Everyone at work is super supportive, and the only thing we get harassed about it when we’ll have a baby.

  21. Damn, I knew I was forgetting to do something. Oh well.

    Very much appreciating the cluttered-desk representation here.

  23. Don’t mind me, just crying over every pic and description ???ya’ll are so sweet and wondrous and lovely.

  24. Everyone looks so beautiful and happy! Thank you for sharing a glimpse into your queer lives. Wish I submitted but alas, it was too late

  25. OH NO!!!!!!! I was so looking forward to this post and totally missed it! Ugh! Oh well, y’all will just have to imagine me lugging around heavy lumber and using power tools all day.

    But also, wow! y’all are so amazing and inspiring with your big beautiful brains and killer work ethic.

  26. Eva in Los Angeles, that “fingering chart” had me in stitches. Great photo prep!

    Y’all look so awesome and I’m jealous of all the amazing jobs you have! I hope if we do another version of this in a year’s time that I too will be able to post about a cool job, instead of cheating and showing some activist stuff!

  28. I can’t post photos of my workspace so I’m living vicariously through the rest of these beautiful humans!

    And Liz, I see you representing <3 #indystraddlers

  29. Wow!! Just Wow!!

    All you clever, talented, beautiful, thoughtful and brilliant people. The world’s definitely better for having you all in it.

  30. After looking at all the photos (and it’s so great to see so many people in their own world!) I wonder do Autostraddle readers tend not to have white collar jobs or do those of us with one feel embarrassed about taking part in this?

    • idk about embarrassed, but desk jobs make for less interesting photographs, and I don’t know how old you are, but my jobs got more office-y as I got older, and it was much more interesting to photograph me making waffle cones or wrangling dogs or making art projects with kiddos, and AS tends to skew definitely toward folks in their 20s, maybe that’s it? (I know there are others! I’m 33! but like, I’m not wrong that there’s a strong cohort of folks in their 20s)

      and I think some folks worry their white collar jobs are boring to talk about if you’re not in the field? and I know folks who are like “I have a fancy job and have a lot of money” are very sheepish about talking about it in public.

      in conclusion, idk.

      • You make very good points fellow 33 year old!

        “Here is me on draft 17 of the strategy” is probably not a good photo.

  31. YOU’RE ALL SO BEEYOUTIFUL I HAVE A CRUSH ON EVERY QUEER.

    Legit though yall are adorable and it’s nice to see all the kinds of jobs folks have.

  32. PRISCILA!!!!!!!!!!!!
    Y’all are rad AF. And Cute AF.
    Why is everyone so cute.
    Seriously.

  35. I’m always in the worng part of the world… I work for a sand factory but it seems to me that I’ll have to change the mining type and get into coal. That way I’d get to go to Canada and meet fellow queers.

  36. I’m always in the wrong part of the world… I work for a sand factory but it seems to me that I’ll have to change the mining type and get into coal. That way I’d get to go to Canada and meet fellow queers.

  37. I can’t believe there is someone posting from South Los Angeles! I am an Americorp (volunteer) member at another school, but my program serves Normandie Ave. Elementary! Cool to know there are people everywhere in places that are familiar to me. Keep doing good work Eva!!!

  40. This actually made me cry. I’m so proud to belong to this beautiful queer community. <3

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