Coptic Queer Stories

two artists living in Egypt share their work with us anonymously, and it’s no secret that the feelings they capture are familiar to many q***r copts around the world, but perhaps especially clear for those living under oppressive regimes. a songwriter shares the lyrics to something they’re working on about how certain love exists between 4 walls and never outside, while a photographer captures this liminal space of fleeting moments, connection, and creation

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒆𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈
𝘚𝘰𝘧𝘵 𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘦, 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳
𝘚𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘴 𝘰𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘴
𝘔𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴

𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘐 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘳
𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨
(𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳)

𝘏𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥𝘴
𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦
𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴

𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘦
𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦
𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘵, 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘴, 𝘤𝘰𝘴𝘮𝘰𝘴, 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘦
𝘊𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘥 9?
𝘜𝘨𝘩 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴!

𝘐 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘺 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘵
𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯 & 𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺

𝘓𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘤 𝘴𝘬𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘯 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘴
𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘻𝘰𝘯
𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘧𝘭𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘺

𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨
𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨

Poem and image by —I took this in 2007 at the White Monastery/Deir al Abyad in Sohag. When I saw it, I said, “That’s the kind of s**t I would pull.” 𓂻🧱 𓂻🧱 𓂻🧱

What does being q***r and Coptic mean to you? This Saturday, join us for some collaborative storytelling and art making. In partnership with , we will be getting messy and creative together in order to explore our relationships with Coptic & q***r culture. This is an interactive, free event on Zoom—no additional materials needed. Sign up in bio. Graphic by