Save an Indie Queer Media Site, Get Cool Perks for Hot Gays

Every time we have a fundraising drive, we spend a great deal of time (too much time?) coming up with the perks! It’s an exercise in our creativity and in getting weird in ways we hope you’ll appreciate. Why do we send perks? Because they’re fun and they give our donors a surprise treat in the mail, usually a couple months after the fundraiser that they get to enjoy along with the fact that we are still here, still making queer media thanks to their support.

THIS fundraiser, we have stickers, a koozie, a carabiner, chapstick, two prints from two incredible queer artists, a 500 piece jigsaw puzzle and a candle! Not to mention, everyone who donates automatically receives links to download a coloring book page and two queer word searches. Instant gratification!

Can’t wait? Don’t even want to read the post? Go to the fundraiser!

The Stickers

four stickers - one says, in yellow varsity letters outlined with purple "but i'm a queerleader," another says "straddle this" in stamped letters on a pair of red boxer briefs with white ripping, another says "the gay agenda" with holographic type on a black background, and the final sticker says "you do you" in white letters on a black rectangle

We did not bring back the straddle this underwear because having to sort through different sizes when packing fundraiser perks makes me cry, but STICKERS MAKE ME HAPPY. Celebrate one of the weirdest website names with this sticker representing a pair of red boxer briefs! We’re also introducing the But I’m a Queerleader sticker in honor of Kayla’s masterwork and all the weird, nerdy, thoroughly researched queer cultural criticism you all support.

Gay Koozie

a black koozie that says "gay." on it with the AS logo at the bottom.

Keep your beverages cool and your hand from getting all sweaty. Bring this koozie camping, to the beach, to the pool, to the cookout, to the WNBA game — wherever you damn please.

Yeah, We Did This

thre tubes of chapstic, one that says "say gay," another "pretty fruity" and a third "ice queen" along with a carabiner that says "you do you"

I would be lying if I did not admit that I thought it was hilarious that one of our fundraising drive perk levels consists of a carabiner and chapstick. HEY GAY WE SEE YOU. Flavors of chapstick are beeswax, tropical and minty. The carabiner is the kind you can use for keys but not like, to climb, because climbing carabiners are extremely pricey! Like wow! I also had no idea which specific ones a person would need, so I kept it simple. We figured you’d want to use this one for everyday weear though because it shows off the fact that you are in fact a person who supports indie queer media and who is therefore an absolute gayngel in our book.

TWO PRINTS BY QUEER ARTISTS! (I Freaked Out When They Both Said Yes Okay?)

The art print by ggggrimes is richly and vividly colored in with jewel like warm tones. It depicts two POC queers sitting on a bench. A full figured femme in a dress and beanie with flowing purple hair sits on the back of the bench facing forward. A smaller masc person sits on the bottom of the bench, legs spread apart, wearing pants, with short hair and a red flowy shirt, purple tiny bag and necklace. The background features a rich display of cacti and tropical plants with an amorphour warm toned rainbow gradient just peeking out from behind the foliage. At the bottom of the image read the words "You Do You."

This first one is by @ggggrimes! The above image is intentionally of a non-print quality because one has to be careful with posting artwork online, but trust me when I say that the DETAILS in this one are rich, gorgeous, lush. Or you know what? Here’s a look:

a close up of ggggrimes' print showing the femme character's glittery eyeshadow, shiny hair and the detailed line work

THE GLITTERY EYESHADOW!

The liberaljane print depicts a three person queer rock band. A femme front singer is shown holding a microphone to their mouth, with a cord wound around her leg. She is wearing a skirt, crop top and blazer and has pink hair. A guitar player has their foot on an amp. They are Black with locs and are wearing a blazer as well as shorts, white sneakers and a black shirt. Behind everyone is the drummer, who is slight and white with short hair who is holding the drumsticks aloft. The lyrics that the front person is singing appear in an expressive script above them, reading "It's a great day to be gay."

And then we have “It’s a Greaty Day to Be Gay” by @liberaljane which gives me ultra queer Jem and the Holograms vibes, which makes me feel like I’m at a show surrounding by gays enveloped in the tones of queer musicians (I’m engaged to a lesbian musician so this is something near and dear to my heart). Every day is a great day to be gay when we’re with you. SIMILARLY this image is intentionally lower-resolution, but the print you receive sure will be crisp and deliciously rich in detail!

And We Are Putting This On a Puzzle!

a mock up of the puzzle with the above artwork from the it's a great day to be gay print

500 pieces, puzzle queers!

AND LAST BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST, The Lavender Menace Candle

a mock-up of the Lavender Menace candle which comes in a clear screw top jar with a black lid

These are being hand-poured by local candlemakers near me! I made sure to go work with PGH Candle in person because it was very important to me that should you support us, you receive candles that smell good and are of a high quality.

We’ve combined the thoroughly chilled out scent of lavender with the complex aroma of menace* to create this limited edition LAVENDER MENACE candle! Made with 100% soy wax, natural essential oils, and 14 years of the gayest reader-funded online publication the world has ever known. Supporting independent queer media has literally never smelled so good.*Menace technically has no scent, but for our purposes you can expect it to smell herbaceous and woody, with notes of cypress, cedar, and amber.

When Do Perks Ship?

We are going to start packing them in April and start shipping through April and May! Sorry, I can’t BOTH run the fundraisr and pack packages at the same time, so think of these as a gift to your future self! Some day in the future, you will get a koozie in the mail and also when you go to check Autostraddle, we’ll be there for you, then, too. Thank you so much for your support!

Perks By Level

An image showing all of the Autostraddle 2023 fundraiser perks mocked up together. There are 4 stickers, one that says "But I'm a Queerleader" in varsity letters, a vintage You Do You sticker, a Straddle This sticker that looks like boxer briefs with straddle this on the butt, and the Gay Agenda holographic sticker. There is a koozie that is black and has the word "gay." with a period on it in lowercase white letters, a carabiner that is black and says "you do you," 3 chapsticks, a coloring book page of a queer rock band, a puzzle of the same queer rock band print by Liberaljane in color, two art prints, one by ggggrimes and one by liberaljane. The art print by ggggrimes is richly and vividly colored in with jewel like warm tones. It depicts two POC queers sitting on a bench. A full figured femme in a dress and beanie with flowing purple hair sits on the back of the bench facing forward. A smaller masc person sits on the bottom of the bench, legs spread apart, wearing pants, with short hair and a red flowy shirt, purple tiny bag and necklace. The background features a rich display of cacti and tropical plants with an amorphour warm toned rainbow gradient just peeking out from behind the foliage. At the bottom of the image read the words "You Do You." The liberaljane print depicts a three person queer rock band. A femme front singer is shown holding a microphone to their mouth, with a cord wound around her leg. She is wearing a skirt, crop top and blazer and has pink hair. A guitar player has their foot on an amp. They are Black with locs and are wearing a blazer as well as shorts, white sneakers and a black shirt. Behind everyone is the drummer, who is slight and white with short hair who is holding the drumsticks aloft. The lyrics that the front person is singing appear in an expressive script above them, reading "It's a great day to be gay." Finally, there is an image of a candle with a lavender menace label.

Go to the fundraiser!

Before you go! Autostraddle runs on the reader support of our AF+ Members. If this article meant something to you today — if it informed you or made you smile or feel seen, will you consider joining AF and supporting the people who make this queer media site possible?

Join AF+!

Nico

Nico Hall is a Team Writer for Autostraddle (formerly Autostraddle's A+ and Fundraising Director and For Them's Membership and Editorial Ops person.) They write nonfiction both creative — and the more straightforward variety, too, as well as fiction. They are currently at work on a secret longform project. Nico is also haunted. You can find them on Twitter and Instagram. Here's their website, too.

Nico has written 232 articles for us.

24 Comments

  4. Woohoo! These are all amazing! Also Nico I know the fundraisers and sending out the perks is a tremendous project. Thank you for all of your work in this! Sending calming and restful vibes your way!

    Reply to This Comment

  10. You may have done too good a job with the perks! I would’ve donated and opted out of perks, but I couldn’t pass up the koozies and candles 😬
    And you can never have too much chapstick or too many carabiners. I hope the fundraiser is going well!

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  11. I cannot explain why I need that koozie in my life despite never drinking cold (ugh) carbonated (ugh) beverages out of cans (ugh) and hating the word “koozie.” BUT I DO, so I donated to get it. ?????? Is this that gay witchcraft I’m always hearing about???

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  12. lmao how the fuck did you make me* want a scented candle 😭 both the name and the smells sound so fucking good???

    *an adhd dyke with sensory issues around smells whose absolute NEMESIS is scented candles

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  14. Of course I’m willing to pay for this site—love how you’ve stayed focused on providing everything for free so those who need it have access while finding a way to stay viable through fundraising drives and memberships 💜💜💜

    Reply to This Comment

  15. very excited to transfer my carefully curated set of Tiny Tools to my new autostraddle carabiner! the ring of keys moment has levels on levels on levels (sadly i do not yet have a tiny level)

    Reply to This Comment

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