In our modern lives, we seldom recognize the power that maps can hold. This is understandable, given that we mostly use maps for convenience purposes, whether it’s GPS navigation on a road trip or watching our Door Dash driver on route to our location. While it’s true that maps provide a crucial service to us in the digital age, they’re also incredibly personal, as beneath the surface, they’re capable of dynamic and emotional storytelling.
Perhaps one of the greatest examples of geographic storytelling comes from Queering the Map, an online atlas with community-generated stories of LGBTQ+ expression geolocated to various locations around the world. From the famous locales of the Gay Rights Movement, such as New York’s Stonewall Inn, to the smaller, more intimate locations where a first kiss or coming out took place, the platform lets anyone share their stories, big or small.
Founded in 2017, Queering the Map describes itself as a “counter-mapping platform”, a type of geographic representation that aims to dismantle existing power structures. In this case, the platform aims to archive the personal queer stories that are too often considered taboo or lost to history.
The database is completely public, letting anyone anonymously share their experiences without fear of retribution or judgment. Queering the Map’s posts also lack timestamps, and are forever included on the map once published, a reminder to those using the platform that others have come before them.
At the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Queering the Map has been used by students, faculty, and members of the community to anonymously express their experiences while on campus. While the Pioneer Valley – especially Northampton, hailed as the Lesbian Capital of the World – has been recognized as a safe haven for LGBTQ+ people, this might be the first chance for new people to the area to safely express themselves.
At the time of publishing this article, roughly 60 countries around the world criminalize homosexuality, with some even giving the death penalty. This archive is an important reminder that no matter where you go, there are many people around you who are queer, even in silence. These stories, with their pinned geographic location, prove that a building is so much more than the physical sum of its parts, and a college campus is so much more than a place for academics.
The following is a compilation of stories published on Queering the Map geotagged to various locations across the UMass Amherst campus. Please note that all stories published are anonymous, undated, and unverified for accuracy.
All quotes have been intentionally left as originally written.
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Student Union South Lawn:
“I remember walking through campus one day and realizing that I did not have to fit a certain stereotype or act a certain way to be gay; going to a big school and meeting so many different people helped me realize that I can actually just authentically be myself and I shouldn’t feel pressured to act a certain way based on my sexuality.”
McNamara Hall, Sylvan Residential Area:
“I realized I was trans while staring at myself in the mirror of the single stall bathroom in the basement, dimly lit and noticing that I was yearning for something I could only barely conceptualize, something that had been wrapped around my soul for a long time.”
Near the Orchard Hill Observatory:
“under the night sky, with the meteor showers and the stars in their glory– you touched me, made me feel amazing”
Thoreau Hall, Southwest Residential Area:
“where i told my boyfriend i thought i might be asexual, he fully embraced me and ive never felt more loved by someone.”
Goessmann Hall:
“This is where the GSA Leadership summit is every year. Where I learned how to be an lgbtq activist”
Bromery Center for the Arts:
“I cried my eyes out in this bathroom when I left you. You were the best and worst thing that ever happened to me.”
Maple Hall, Commonwealth Honors College:
“i was sitting in the common room w the girl id had a crush on for a while. we were cuddling and got closer and closer to kissing until we kissed each other at the same time. about thirty minutes later we started dating and im still so so gay and in love.”
Herter Hall:
“We had a class together here last semester and we kinda became friends. Of course I’d never tell you this, but my heart flutters every time you snap me, and i cant look you in the eye cause I blush if i do. See you at lunch on tuesday, im looking forward to it”
Integrative Learning Center:
“You told me I was cute, even when I was just rambling on about my interests…miss you so much”
Van Meter Hall, Central Residential Area:
“This is where my first girlfriend and I broke up.”
Near the corner of Orchard Hill Drive and Clark Hill Road:
“First kiss with a girl. It was very long but pretty good! We got into a fight shortly after, but we’re good friends again, and I’m very glad, because she’s a very cool person. Thank you to everyone who came before who made this kind of life possible”
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Nathan Legare can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @Legare_Nathan.
