Identity Multimedia Quilt: Tapping into the nuances of individual LGBTQIA+ experiences

As a queer-identified person, many of whose loved ones are also LGBTQIA+, I often hear the same narratives over and over again.

Yet not everyone has an identical experience. As a senior interactive multimedia designer at The College of New Jersey, I want to amplify creative voices sharing their unique experiences, views, and identities.

To enact my vision, I am curating multimedia content from people identifying as LGBTQIA+, queer, or otherwise non-cisgender, non-heterosexual, non-heteroromantic.* This content is being presented as a digital patchwork quilt, with each patch accompanied by its artist’s personal statement.

Why a Quilt?

Great question! I chose to create a quilt to create a more diverse community with as few creative limits as possible (while still being reasonable to present).

A quilt is something that brings together the people who make it. Without requiring an assumption of one contiguous “queer community,” I strive to create a platform for a diverse subset of LGBTQIA+ people. Each patch is an expression of an individual voice, and individuals are inherently different from one another. I want to celebrate each contributor’s nuance while still creating something whole.

What will it be/look like?

Since all content will be digital multimedia, the quilt will be screen-based. I want to construct an interactive user interface with Unity in 2D that uses touch gestures for navigation.

What’s next?

Research on Unity’s UI features and prototyping using Adobe XD!

Cool!

Thanks!

If you’re interested or know someone who may be interested in contributing to the Identity Multimedia Quilt, please contact me at friedmr5@tcnj.edu.

*Definition of Terms:

• LGBTQIA+ is an initialism standing for Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, Intersex, and Asexual/Aromantic/Agender, and others (“+”) who are not cisgender*, heterosexual**, or heteroromantic**.
• Queer is sometimes used as a catch-all term for people in the LGBTQIA+ community and sometimes as an identity in itself. It is a slur that some but not all LGBTQIA+ people have reclaimed.
• *Cisgender describes people whose experience of their gender aligns completely with the one assigned at birth. Generally used as the opposite for “transgender,” but some people identify with neither term.
• **Hetero -sexual or -romantic are used respectively to describe someone whose sexual or romantic attraction is to another gender than one’s own. Check out this page on the split attraction model.