Welcome to Material Queer, I'm Damian
Please introduce yourself and say hi :)
Welcome party people! I am Damian, an award winning journalist with words in Attitude, The Independent, The Telegraph, i-D, The Big Issue and The Huffington Post.
My podcast Memories from the Dance Floor, commissioned by Acast, celebrates LGBTQ+ venues shining a light on the history of these incredible spaces, taking us under the rope and into the queer chaos, joy and community within them. Season 2 was released June, 2024, while my debut book, of the same theme, published by Dialogue Books, will be out in June, 2025.
I remember my first queer cultural experience; Belfast Pride. I stepped out of Castle Court Shopping Centre, and it hit me. The colour, the music, the celebration…the kink. You could not escape it. It was all encompassing. Northern Ireland’s capital was absolutely bumping and it was fantastic. The sheer ecstasy of the rainbow wonderland was contagious.
I had never been surrounded by so many queer people. It was magical. I had never felt so validated, and so deliriously happy. It was an awakening. For so long I had normalised queer culture to be something strictly “underground’, but Belfast Pride reminded those who wanted us to live in the shadows that we existed — and we were not going anywhere.
The excitement, the nerves, the overwhelming sense of community. It was everything I had hoped for and more. There was a moment, standing in the middle of a packed street, surrounded by strangers who felt like family, that I felt a profound sense of belonging. It was like the world had shifted, and for once, everything was in its right place.
And that’s what queer culture is about; finding those moments of connection, of joy, of liberation.
Why sign up to Material Queer?
It is a community bound by celebration. I want to celebrate queer culture and serve as a reminder of the transformative role it plays in telling our stories and shaping our identity. Material Queer is an opportunity to experience, for a brief moment, a sense of freedom, belonging, safety and agency. Our culture has been a cornerstone of queer community building for generations.
It is a newsletter which embodies conventions of gender and sexuality to highlight the performative aspects of identity and to oppose the tyranny of 'the normal'.
Why join the membership?
To get the most out of Material Queer, it’s all about joining the membership community! You’ll gain access to the full hub, receive my weekly Thursday posts, access to the Material Queer Insider Series with the ability to DM me your thoughts and what you would like covered, guest columns and the opportunity to talk to the wider community.
It’s a really wonderful community and only £3.50 a month — that's less than one coffee.
Come and introduce yourself here! You'll also be supporting independent queer journalism.
Why did you start this newsletter?
I grew bored of our LGBTQ+ publications covering the same drag stars and reporting on the same issues as our mainstream press, adding little value or opinion to the dialogue other than what felt like posts for posts sake. Culture is in my blood, but I’ve fallen completely out of love with it because I'm spending all my time engaging in things I'm not interested in, just to feel appropriately plugged in. I miss what's not trending, I miss the underground and DIY collectives, I miss the connection that comes from the comment section and I miss making friends with those who think the same.
That's why I started Material Queer!
A bit more about me (the real stuff):
I live in Cardiff. I’m a boyfriend of one, and Dadi of two. I love music and dancing, dinner parties, adventures, reading, lie-ins, festivals and city breaks. I adore fashion. The bolder, the better. I love a plan and dislike surprises. The way to my heart is strong coffee, doughnuts and great conversation. Life is better with a tan.
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