Girls Like Us #15: The Vortex

‘The Vortex’ brings together new writing, conversations and visual works from the family and allies of Mothers and Daughters – a lesbian & trans bar*. Who after eight years of operating as a community project for trans and lesbian people in Brussels and around, is wrapping up. This issue serves as a celebration of Mothers & Daughters, an honouring of those who came before and those who joined us, a vessel for some of our thoughts, an outline of our wild vortex and a gathering place for resources for future trans and lesbian organising in Brussels and beyond.

While researching Brussels queer archives in the context of the first ‘real’ edition of Mothers & Daughters in 20181, we stumbled upon a Flemish lesbian publication from the ’70s, called Gebundeld Zweet. It translates to English as something like ‘bundled sweat’. That’s exactly what this issue of Girls Like Us is, too. The bundled sweat (and of course a lot of fun, drama, ups, downs, tears of joy and heartbreak and everything in between) of trying to bring together the queer collective effort that was Mothers & Daughters – A Lesbian and Trans bar*.