I don't give a shit about the rules
That let us be who we wanna be
Cause it don't mean fuck
We're allowed to suck cock
When the cops knock knock
For probation fees that never were paid
Those motherfuckers took away my friends
Those motherfuckers caught us all on tape
Cause we didn't have the cash
And we couldn't pay the fash
They can show up in a flash
No we’ll never be free while they
Givin’ our employers the control of our faces
And gentrifyin’ away all our spaces
Value our lives less than those of racists
Put us in the hospital for complications
Queer lib is class struggle
Unless you're livin’ in an airtight bubble
Seize the means on the double
If you got the money, honey, you're in trouble
Look out!
Class Struggle by Dog Park Dissidents
In these times where terms like Pink Pound and Pink Washing are the norm, I sometimes find myself in some sort of nostalgia for those times I never knew, only read about in books or heard stories on history walks, those private, hidden, criminalised spaces where one could find other working class queers to build community with. Looks like all we have left now is the internet, full of self victimising discourse, infighting and grandstanding. Maybe it was like that in person, too, I just don’t know about it because I’m a burnt out millennial.
Where can one exist as a working class queer? It’s definitely not in those all inclusive Gay™️ resort packages in Maspalomas, another case of mass tourism and gentrification which destroys housing prospects for the local population of Gran Canaria (by the way, the Canary Islands rank second in Spain for income inequality). It’s not at the big Pride®️ parades which have stripped any connection they had with the spirit of the 1969 Stonewall Riot to offer a sanitised, corporation and straight friendly day out, where having money and looking nice is more important than if you got bullied at school or are routinely harassed by cops for walking while trans.
We don’t feel at home in those places. And we probably don’t want to (I know I don’t). Our place is at that anti-fascist demo fighting against the TERFs, at the sex workers’ breakfast, getting hold of hormones and fundraising for surgeries with trans mutual aid groups, sharing with and caring for our own communities, as we can’t really trust the State and the mainstream (L)G(BT) charities to do it for us. Our place is, and always has been, with Lumpen journal, so now we want to hear from you!
A few writing prompts I came up with that you might find inspiring, or might not. Perhaps I’m opening a massive can of worms but..
Queer and, especially, trans people, experience higher rates of poverty and unemployment, due to workplace discrimination and breakdown of family ties, amongst other things, but are those who grew up with more and lost it (downward mobility) the same as those who didn’t have much to begin with?
Are you one of those working class fem/butch dykes Joan Nestle and Leslie Feinberg wrote about (or dream about being a part of that scene)?
Do your BDSM practices include regular household items or toys you made yourself because you don’t have the money to splurge at a sex shop?
Do you not have a place to take sex partners to since all the dark rooms closed down in your town and the gay bar is now a show for straight women on hen dos? (another Dog Park Dissidents song)
Are you constantly torn over accepting or turning down requests to perform in full drag for a pittance because maybe some money is better than nothing?
Have you or your friends been sued by a mainstream (L)G(BT) charity for denouncing their dodgy practices?
Some of these are oddly specific, I know. You don’t have to relate to any of these. Any submission from working class and poor queers will be considered.
We especially encourage submissions from those often excluded from class discourse in the UK. These groups include:
Additionally, we want to assure you that if you have never been published before, this will work to your advantage! As always, we welcome all levels of writing and language skills: if we think improvements are needed, we will work with you in a friendly, non-judgemental manner.
Some house rules:
How to submit:
Deadline: 7th May 2026
All submissions and questions should be sent to editor@theclassworkproject.com
If you are not sure about your submission idea and would like to discuss it before sending it in: do get in touch! We will discuss it with you and do what we can to assist you to develop it and make it as great as it can be. Our editor is here to help you, so don’t hesitate!
Full disclosure: this issue will be edited by a working class fem(me) dyke with some technical help from a more experienced straight woman editor.
Image credit: Aloyisius, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons