The Queer Issue

Volume 11 Issue 4, November 2011

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Is Blueprint a ‘queer’ magazine? A case for the alternative press as a queer institution is made in the introductory note of the progressive magazine Canadian Dimension, in that publication’s issue on this theme. “Daring to question the basic assumptions of Canadian society and surviving as an anti-capitalist magazine,” the note argues, “is definitely queer.”

Though Blueprint admittedly lacks the decades-long context and history of Canadian Dimension, I think a similar case can be made. I like to idealize Blueprint’s role at this university as a counter-balance to a prevailing campus culture, and as an alternative for those alienated by the certain type of of involvement and community some groups tend to espouse. !is, to me, is queer.

The role of the lesbian, gay, bi, and trans community is certainly a core component of any interpretation of queerness, but I believe we’re at the stage where queering is about more than just sex and sexuality. To queer or be queer is to challenge norms and fight expectations. It is my hope that this magazine is living up to those expectations.

Morgan Alan
Editor-in-Chief