The T Stop

No. 1: BAGLY Hosts online events for queer youth

Feb. 5, 2021

The Boston Alliance of LGBTQ+ Youth (BAGLY) is hosting daily events for queer youth to discuss identity, sexuality, and coming-of-age and share art, poetry, and knowledge with people in their communities.

“BAGLY is a social support organization committed to social justice and creating, sustaining, and advocating for programs, policies, and services for the LGBTQ+ youth community,” the BAGLY mission statement reads.

By just glancing at BAGLY’s Virtual Community Center, you can clearly tell the organization’s content is well-managed, carefully designed, and clear and accessible to a varied audience. Their programming is clearly outlined in several spots on their website, organized both by content and by date and time, for especially easy access and the graphics paired with each announcement of a new event are eye-catching and high-quality, making the program intriguing and appealing. It is easy to click a few buttons to find more info on an event or register for their Zoom meetings.

Aside from the content being well-presented, BAGLY’s programming seems especially beneficial because it targets specific demographics of queer youth who may be struggling to find a community. Every first and third Tuesday of the month, BAGLY hosts Boy Lounge, an hour-long chat for masculine-aligned people under the age of 25 who have sex with men. On the same days, they host a Disabilities Meeting for LGBTQ+ youth who are challenged by physical or mental disabilities, or neurodivergence. Though LGBT+ programming is often vague, addressing umbrella topics of pride and self-love, BAGLY’s hyper-specific programs are perfect for their audience of queer youth who may have no other access to programming like this.

BAGLY understands exactly who their audience is and the type of events they need to host in order to maintain and please that audience. Additionally, BAGLY knows how to present information in an accessible way, making their events seem all the more appealing. Though BAGLY’s social media presence is not the strongest, having only a few thousand followers on Twitter and Instagram, their audience is so niche there is no need for a massive online following.

BAGLY is effectively serving targeted sub-communities of Boston’s LGBT+ population through digital programming in order to support underserved queer youth in need of a safe space and I would highly recommend checking out their online content!