Beyond the bow: a digital solution for the queer community

Beyond the Bow is an app for the LGBTQ+ community which will allow users to find queer events in their areas, get involved, circulate information, and help foster and build physical queer spaces in the GTA. Connection of strangers and self-organization of the queer community is what allows for the growth of queer spaces in society and sustains the physical queer geography of cities. Development of this app will cultivate and expand public discourse and support member activity in our community, which is necessary to ensure the prosperity and maintenance of our public. This digital solution is informed by research conducted through participant observation, autoethnography, and discourse analysis. The work is grounded in queer theory. Beyond the Bow will allow for communication in a new, modernized way within the LGBTQ+ community, and help reshape our culture by creating and maintaining real-life connections and queer geography through mediated communication and virtual community-building tools. The overall goal of Beyond the Bow is to offer users an accessible virtual place, that will work as a gateway into our physical queer spaces by providing resources and information surrounding on-going activities and initiatives, thus enhancing member participation and promoting the success of our community.