Lindz Amer | Maine Arts Fellowship - Portland, Maine

Artist Statement 2021

I am an independent LGBTQ+ digital creator and activist specializing in queer storytelling and performance in children’s media. I originally fell in love with this particular (ly niche) brand of media when I was an undergraduate studying Theater and Gender Studies. I gravitated towards the classes and faculty focused on Theater for Young Audiences. I was hooked by the simplicity and heart of the storytelling and the impact it could have on young lives. When I started coming out and grappling with my sexuality and gender, I discovered a play called fml: how Carson McCullers saved my life by Sarah Gubbins about an out lesbian high-schooler. That play made me think about how my life might have been different if I had seen a play like that when I was younger. My senior year of undergrad, I directed a play called The Transition of Doodle Pequeño by Gabriel Jason Dean about an undocumented immigrant boy who befriends a neighborhood boy who likes to wear dresses. We tried to tour the play to local elementary schools, but most of the performances were cancelled because of “inappropriate content.” I knew then that I’d stumbled on important work.

A few years later, I started the project that would launch my career. I created a webseries called Queer Kid Stuff where I make LGBTQ+ and social justice educational videos for all-ages on YouTube. Since then, I’ve written, produced, and co-hosted four seasons and more than fifty episodes of the series earning over 3 million lifetime views. The series has been recognized by national publications, received prestigious grants, and been recognized by important LGBTQ+ organizations like GLAAD. For the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, I produced a pride music video and campaign to #SpreadQueerJoy and celebrated the diversity of the queer community. I tour the country doing live (and virtual!) performances based on the series at museums, libraries, and schools, directly impacting the lives of young queer people and their families. My TED Talk on the importance of this work was featured on the front page of TED.com and has now accumulated over 2.5M views and I am now turning that talk into a progressive parenting book for St. Martin’s Press.

The webseries and these incredible opportunities have given me a platform to continue making LGBTQ+ and social justice media for kids. It’s a different world today than it was when I started Queer Kid Stuff and there were no other resources for kids of its kind. Now, those resources exist and can support the work I want to do. I want to tell stories about non-binary kids and queer families. I want to show kids that you can be queer and live a joyful life. And I want to sort through the messiness that can come with that.

Visit Lindz Amer's website.

Work Samples

I recently served as a project consultant for Nick Jr resulting in these two videos:

1) A Blue’s Clues Pride Parade featuring drag queen Nina West. The video went viral and trended #9 on Twitter:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4vHegf3WPU&t=126s

2) A Mailtime video with Blue and Josh featuring kids from queer families:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yv0jgT98kMI&t=200s

My TED Talk where I speak to my body of work and the importance of talking to young kids about gender and sexuality:

https://www.ted.com/talks/lindsay_amer_why_kids_need_to_learn_about_gender_and_sexuality/up-next

Episodes of my webseries, Queer Kid Stuff:

1) Our #SpreadQueerJoy music video created for the June 2019 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5Hv6EKmrj8

2) Our episode featuring a drag queen!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhNbGTnA53s&t=11s

3) Our episode on what LGBTQ+ means!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnTSSbS7Dgk&t=58s