Queer Community

So You Want To Be A Pen Pal?

By

In response to last week’s pen pal post, approximately 27 of you commented that you’d like to see be a part of some kind of Autostraddle pen pal fandango. How could you not? You are such a interesting, smart and funny group of perfect weirdos and it’d be a crime if we didn’t do our part to help you all find each other.

Enter: Autostraddle Air Mail. We want queer girls all over the world to have a reason to bounce excitedly out to their mailboxes. If you want to be one of those lucky ladies, all you need to do is sign up! Send me your vital stats at laura [at] autostraddle [dot] com sometime before June 11th and I’ll match you up. I’ll need your:

Name
Home Address
Age
Language(s) Spoken
Desired age range/language of your pen pal, if you want
That’s all (really and truly, because part of the fun of getting a pen pal is knowing nothing about them)

Depending on how many responses we get, we’ll be getting back to you guys sometime during the week of the 11th with everything you need to know about your new friend. If you’ve got any questions about the safety of giving your address to strangers (anthrax is so 2001), how to write a good letter (a flashy postage stamp is always a good start) or my secret desire to be Patti Stranger (the answer is yes. Only without the archaic gender roles and artificial collagen) hit me up below, I’m all eyes.

Updates:

If you’re a babygay or otherwise closeted, please let me know in your email! I want you to to get in on fun and not have to worry about discovering a giant gay envelope in your mailbox.

If everything goes smoothly, we’ll do a second round later in the summer, so don’t worry if you’re moving or busy right now. We’ve got ya.

Related:

Laura is a tiny girl who wishes she were a superhero. She likes talking to her grandma on the phone and making things with her hands. Strengths include an impressive knowledge of Harry Potter, the ability to apply sociology to everything under the sun, and a knack for haggling for groceries in Spanish. Weaknesses: Chick-fil-a, her triceps, girls in glasses, and the subjunctive mood. Follow the vagabond adventures of Laura and her bike on twitter [@laurrrrita].

Laura has written 323 articles for us.

212 Comments

  1. My parents think its a pen pal project for school…
    I too hope that minors are allowed to participate, because even in the all accepting bay area, queer culture is surprisingly dim for a closeted babydyke like me..
    But anyway, This sounds like the most amazon thing!! I’m extremely exited to get started !

    Reply to This Comment

  5. This might be fulfilling my dream of writing out long letters like Elizabeth Bennet and then having a lesbian version of Mr. Darcy barge into the guest room with nothing but awkwardness. That I will then speedily write about to Ms. Pen Pal of SomethingFancy Abbey.

    Reply to This Comment

  7. Against my better judgement, I have decided to trust that you are not a psychopath who for years has posed as a queer internet blogger, all leading up to this moment, in an all-consuming plan to hunt down and kill as many queer girls as possible. I’m excited!

    Reply to This Comment

  11. I’ve been lurking on here for about a year and I’ve never commented on anything, but I figure this is a good a time as any … I’m in for the next round! I wish I could participate in this one, but I’m moving countries soon (and won’t be in one place during the summer), so it would be too complicated. This is a great idea! Also, hi!

    (I feel like I’ve abused the exclamation points in this comment)

    Reply to This Comment

  26. I just sent in my info!
    I love pen-paling!
    and I get stuff by post all the time,since I live far away from entertaining things/people.

    just a question,has anyone considered doing a christmas card thingy? ove at lj we’ve done it for years and it’s really fun to get proper mail at least once a year

    Reply to This Comment

Contribute to the conversation...

Yay! You've decided to leave a comment. That's fantastic. Please keep in mind that comments are moderated by the guidelines laid out in our comment policy. Let's have a personal and meaningful conversation and thanks for stopping by!