“The principal horror of any system which defines the good in terms of profit rather than in terms of human need, or which defines human need to the exclusion of the psychic and emotional components of that need - the principal horror of such a system is that it robs our work of its erotic value, its erotic power and life appeal and fulfillment. Such a system reduces work to a travesty of necessities, a duty by which we earn bread or oblivion for ourselves and those we love.”

— Audre Lorde, The Uses of the Erotic (1978)

I am a queer disabled business. This means so much more than my personal identification as a queer disabled person. It informs my policies, pricing, and work ethic. I operate from the following tenets*: 

• I take up radical queer and disabled methods for living and being in the world. It’s about thinking, acting, and loving broadly and compassionately. It’s about deliberating acting in opposition to oppressive systems that actively harm and erase vulnerable and marginalized peoples. 

• Queer and disabled ethics in business move beyond support and centering of LGBTQIAA2S+ peoples. They celebrate and center “non-normal” practices that foster and elicit radical futures and wild dreams.*

• Business is rooted in capitalism and (re)produces oppression, which works in opposition to the goal of liberation and restorative justice for all. There is always going to be tension between these two modes of being.

• Mutual respect and healthy boundaries help us reprioritize relationships over transactions as we negotiate living under and operating within capitalist oppressions. 

• I privilege equity, empathy, care, and transparency. This extends to myself, clients, and prospective clients.

• We are always learning and evolving. This extends to myself, clients, and prospective clients — and everyone. 

*I am greatly inspired by the work of radical queer, trans, and disabled theorists, activists, and businesses. I borrow directly from Diaspora Co.’s Business Manifesto v.1.0, a company with whom I knew I shared many values when I saw they quoted one of my favorite pieces by one of my favorite theorist-activists, the great Audre Lorde (my epigraph). I’m also influenced by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, whose dreams of “wild disability justice” are beautifully articulated in “To Survive the Trumpocalypse, We Need Wild Disability Justice Dreams” and “Still Dreaming Wild Disability Justice Dreams at the End of the World.”

Policies

Subjects I Will Not Support

In actionable demonstration of my philosophy, I will not work with authors or on projects in any capacity that display:

• harmful and unchallenged racism, homophobia, transphobia, misogyny, ableism, and other structures of identity-based oppression.

• harmful and unchallenged fatphobia and/or normalized representations of disordered eating and exercise practices.

• valorized depictions of law enforcement and military systems, particularly within the United States. A crucial part of my philosophy is acknowledging and resisting oppressive systems. American police, carceral, and military systems are white supremacist capitalist institutions rooted in settler-colonialism, actively perpetuating and enforcing oppressions. 

• My feelings about reading queer romance with police officers and service people, actively serving or not, are deeply complicated (especially as the child of 2 parents who served in the Air Force, one for 39 years). My ways of handling this may change over time, but for now I am using the phrase “valorized depictions” to signal I do not support and will not work with people who believe “blue lives matter” and similar slogans are appropriate. Exclusively and excessively positive depictions of the police and military systems also fit into these parameters. I’m happy to discuss this more and clarify if you have questions!

This does not mean I categorically will not read manuscripts that may include these things. Sensitivity reading, in particular, is all about identifying and rectifying them. This does mean I will not work with an author who is adamantly and consistently uninterested in changing these elements in their manuscript(s) and/or public posts.

I reserve the right to decline a commission by, cease working on a project for, and/or end my working relationship with an author who displays these elements in their work or behaviors.