Life & Experience | Feature Spotlight
Quaint Coastal Town Provides a Safe Haven for LGBTQ+ Youth
Appy Here! Learn More Below!
Imagine a place where pride flags fly high in the coastal breeze. The crossroads are painted in the 6 unmistakable colors of the rainbow. A place where queer locals are the majority, and heterosexuals are the minority. A place where LGBTQ+ tourists travel to in droves every year for how welcoming it is of our community. Sounds like a dream, right?
Well, such a place exists, and it’s Provincetown, Massachusetts. Positioned at the tip of Cape Cod, with its year-round Pride events, warm and welcoming queer community, and beautiful views of the Atlantic Ocean, Provincetown has become something of a LGBTQ+ escape.
It comes as no surprise that Provincetown plays host to some of the most anticipated queer events such as Frolic Weekend. The 6-day celebration is recognized for bringing together queer men of color from all over the world to participate in events from beach parties to social mixers. Frolic weekend is “dedicated to providing you QTBIPOC (Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous, People of Color) centered experiences that are fun, safe and full of joy!”
Provincetown is also home to the Womxn of Color weekend which is similarly “curated to elevate, strengthen, educate and celebrate” women, trans, nonbinary and genderfluid persons of color. This initiative started in 2007 with an intention of initiating change within the culture of Massachusetts.
Notably, Provincetown provides the backdrop to the Summer of Sass. The Summer of Sass (SoS) program is an initiative that offers a safe haven and a break from daily life to queer youth that reside in oppressive towns or areas in the US, (especially the south). LGBTQ+ youth between the ages of 18-20 are provided the opportunity to find work and reside in the queer sanctuary of Provincetown for the summer that often results in transformative and life altering positive experiences.
One “Sasser’s”, (as the programs residents are often called), testimonial stated that “I love myself now. I don’t feel shame anymore. And it was this openness – this whole energy from Provincetown that’s so happy and accepting.”
The Summer of Sass program started in 2016 as a eureka moment from comedian Kristen Becker. Raised in the conservative town of Shreveport, Louisiana, Becker relates heavily to the engrained oppression that exists, especially towards the queer community, in the Deep South of the USA.
The program gives the residents an opportunity to earn money, pay rent and live in a safe environment which allows them to fully explore their sexual orientation, sexuality and gender identity without fear of persecution.
Summer of Sass will assist with initial costs to help sassers get settled, and will also help them get connected to local employers and offer outings as well as mentorship to help foster their self-exploration and discovery.
The Summer of Sass has officially opened its application process and hopes to engage more LGBTQ+ youth of color in their program. The first step in the application process can be found here. Any frequently asked questions can be found here.
The Summer of Sass is facilitating a whole new world for our LGBTQ+ youth by providing the foundation for safe, fun and healthy self-exploration. This program has and continues to change the lives of many individuals who otherwise may not have been able to access the resources for an experience such as this one.
So Gayes, if you know of, or if you are a queer person between the ages of 18 & 20 that could benefit from a safe place for the summer, please encourage them to check out the Summer of Sass program!
