The Love Department: Queer Romance During the Pandemic

It has neither been the best of times nor the worst of times, but day-to-day life within a pandemic finds its way to simply go on. One thing that never actually seems to subside are matters of the heart. Yes, the love department has probably been working in overtime throughout lockdown, and us queers, masters at togetherness, have found ways to make isolation work, but in the words of Koffee “where will we go when di quarantine ting done and everybody touch road?”

In anticipation of Valentine’s Day, the Brainwash team wanted to carve out some time to kiki away some of our romantic woes. Let’s be real. There is immense diversity within the queer community, and our collective focus must shift to consider all of our individualities. This includes our ideas and goals for intimacy, the characteristics that we seek in partners, and how we go about making ourselves great partners, all topics discussed at large in this virtual get-together.

We can agree that the pandemic has ignited a desire for companionship, but we make things work for ourselves and do not forget ourselves as a priority. Apart from our differences, one of our strongest sources of unity is the knowledge we have of ourselves. Surviving the queer experience begs for radical self-love, and quite firmly, there is much beauty in our lives consistently in that discovery.

Cheers to us queers and our big hearts. Cupid looks gay as hell anyway, so let’s take this one back for us. <3

Special thanks to Eric and Jessica for talking with us.