LesQueers has been in Shanghai in some variation since 2014, but has recently gained momentum with the launch of their app. The LQ App is (surprisingly) the first of its kind, the only non-dating app for the LGBTQIA+ community, marking queer-friendly spaces and communities in cities available now in Shanghai, and quite soon around the world. We sat down to chat with co-founders and irl friends Gabby Gabriel and Lei Wang ahead of tomorrow's storytelling event Unravel which will be a collaboration with LQ and ShanghaiPRIDE under the theme 'This is Me'. Lei and Gabby came with updates, grassroots strategies, and all of the feels...

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SmSh:Tell us a bit about yourselves and how you came to form LesQueers. What does the community mean to you?

Gabby: I started LesQueers in 2014 initially as a WeChat group to make queer friends. The group steadily grew to over 4,000 active members through over 100 WeChat groups in Shanghai. In 2017 I knew I’d either have to give it up because it was taking over so much of my life, or find a way to make it sustainable. I decided to make it into an application, after seeing over 100 people join the LQ group in NYC in just 24 hours. I realized organized community wasn’t just something lacking in China, but something international as well. Lei: I’m from Shanghai, I met Gabby at one of the pride events in 2017 and I started helping and learning more about LQ since then. With a total agreement on LQ’s vision and mission and eagerness to help more on the local Chinese community side, I decided to officially join LQ as co-founder in March of this year. The community is all about connection, support and growth. It is about having a group of people, a safe space, that we can turn to, share experiences, and know that we aren’t alone.

Lei and Gabby

SmSh: You just had an exciting launch—in your own words what's the deal with the app? Who is it for, what services does it provide?

Lei: The LQ App is the first of its kind LGBTQIA+ community social media platform for building platonic and professional connections. The purpose of the LQ App is to connect and search any city to find queer-friendly housing, queer-friendly jobs, communities, and organizations in your area. LQ is also the first platform to offer business and organization accounts, allowing companies to show direct support for the LGBTQIA+ community. LesQueers was built by the LGBTQIA+ community, for the community. But the LQ App extends to everyone, including allies of this community.

SmSh: In addition to the app, you went around to mark safe spaces in Shanghai for the LGBTQ community. How’d you go about doing that and what did you find?

Lei: Our approach to talking to local businesses and promoting our QKey stickers was using a grassroots method that gathered supporters and advocates of the local LGBTQIA+ community. By gathering the local community we were able to have people who would most likely frequent those businesses be the ones to ask for their support. On these canvassing days we received mostly positive reactions. We went to over one hundred businesses, and about 50 said yes. The other fifty gathered some mixed reactions to our mission, they were more indifferent to the cause, and hesitant to join our platform. We believe that by spreading education and advocacy more businesses will grow to support the LesQueers mission.

Have you seen these stickers? It means the business supports the LGBTQIA+ community

SmSh: This Thursday, you’ve got a collaboration with Unravel, for a night of stories under the theme “This is Me.” What can people who turn up expect? Will either of you be telling a story?

Gabby: When people are able to come together and share stories of individuality, it will make for a night of true humanity. I love the human-ness that Unravel is able to emphasize. There is a vulnerability to sharing a story, that helps grip the audience and leaves them with even a deeper understanding of themselves. Last year I told my story about coming out in high school, and this year I’m telling a story of what happened next. Basically from high school to the creation of LQ — in ten minutes.

SmSh: So...what’s next for LQ?

Lei: Our international app will be launching within a week and LQ is going to open an office in LA by the end of July and will go on a US tour to all major cities to promote the app. We will also bring our Q Key global initiative to North and South America next month. You will get chance to see our Q stickers on the streets in all those regions very soon * This month, Unravel's theme "This is Me" is a tribute to pride in partnership with LesQueers and ShanghaiPRIDE. It'll also be set in the not yet open Stone Brewing Co., a ticket gets you entrance and one drink, 50rmb pre-sale (which ends tonight at midnight) and 60rmb at the door. Drinks start at 6.30pm, stories start at 7.30pm. And you can find directions on downloading the LQ App here.