Queer Woodworking/Carpentry Community?
March 16, 2021 8:27 AM   Subscribe

Can anyone point me towards an explicitly LGBTQ+ community of woodworking folks?

I'm currently a laid off wooden shipwright, looking for work. I love boat building, but I would be happy to find other woodcraft positions or even just work as a framing carpenter with the right work culture, which is why I'm looking for a queer woodworking community.

In my last position, I think that there was a bit of a cultural mismatch that was related to things not going as well as I'd hoped. I never had a problem being out or anything, but there was that conversational void that comes along with a primarily straight workplace that's not familiar with or that interested in the queer zeitgeist. So, I've looked around a bit without much luck to see if I could find a LGBTQ+ woodworking organization or community with not much luck. I'd have thought there'd be something nearby, as I live in the Bay Area, but if there is, my online searching skills have not been up to snuff.
posted by ursus_comiter to Work & Money (2 answers total) 7 users marked this as a favorite
 
This is not a great answer right now, but long term- consider building or installing scenery for theatres. Live theatre is having a tiiiiny bit of a downturn, what with not being allowed to do any of it for a year, but it will bounce back, as it has from every plague in the past.
Call local theatres and ask to be put on their overhire list for load-in and carpentry, tell them your skillset, they will probably be more than happy to have someone with your skills. You will get to know the places and people, and if you have the skills and a good attitude, you will probably be able to find permanent work in a fairly short time. Depending on the area, this may mean joining a union (IATSE).
Theatre people are generally pretty laid back in terms of tolerance and not being dicks to people, but can be weirdly intense about getting things done on time, fyi.
posted by Adridne at 12:28 PM on March 16, 2021 [3 favorites]


Best answer: I have no personal experience with them and don't know if you'd feel comfortable in this milieu, but your request for a Bay Area queer woodworking group brought to mind Dykes with Drills, an organization in San Francisco (and Chicago, it sounds like) for queer women "inclusive of all gender non conforming, trans people and allies" that "empowers people with the tools to build." Maybe they could use your skills?
posted by reren at 3:51 PM on March 16, 2021 [4 favorites]


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