We've launched a membership model!
gal-dem has a membership model - read why here.
gal-dem has been at the forefront of change in the media industry for almost five years. Starting out as a voluntary organisation when most of the team were in their early 20s, we have always created spaces where people feel like they can be themselves, have their voices heard and challenge dominant narratives around race, gender and politics. Now, as a fully-fledged platform, we have built a progressive newsroom that is the first of its kind in the British media landscape.
Today, for the first time, we are asking our readers to give back. We’re launching a membership model, which provides a way to directly support our mission of platforming the stories of women and non-binary people of colour and uplifting our communities. With plans starting from £4.99 (Opens in a new window) a month, becoming a gal-dem “sugar”, “spice” or “nice”, means you’ll receive perks and benefits which could include a free copy of our print magazine, access to a curated, members-only WhatsApp group and exclusive invites to future events.
“gal-dem has always been about community and so since going ‘legit’, launching a membership model has been high on our list of priorities,” says Liv Little, gal-dem’s CEO and founder. “It’s an important step in solidifying gal-dem’s future which takes up 99% of my brain space. I’m constantly thinking about how, as a small business, we can simultaneously shake up an entire industry and build solid foundations.”
Rather than remove access to our core content for those who aren’t in a position to support gal-dem with cash, it was important for us to create an attractive way for our readers and supporters to get behind us and be rewarded along the way, so we can move into a stage where there is less pressure to make money from one income stream. Ultimately, we believe our journalism should remain free and accessible to all.
It’s time for the media industry to move forward. Since its inception, gal-dem has published over 2,200 articles by women and non-binary people of colour and put £250,000 into the hands of our community. We want to do more. By becoming a member, you’re helping us to secure our future in an industry that rarely allows women and non-binary people of colour to flourish. Journalism is 94% white and 55% male (Opens in a new window) and is institutionally designed to disempower, discredit and silence our voices.
We’re living in strange times and we need good journalism more than ever. From our deep dives into the treatment of trans people of colour (Opens in a new window) in refugee camps, our scathing political commentary on Boris Johnson (Opens in a new window), our irreverent columns on love, sex and dating as black women (Opens in a new window) and our annual print magazine (Opens in a new window), it’s our intention to make sure you get to read the essential stories that need to be told.
Our voices as women and non-binary people of colour also need to be supported in the era of coronavirus. The disease has taught gal-dem a lot over recent weeks. “It’s been an unsettling time as a publication whose main income stream comes from events, shoots and other IRL activities,” says Liv. “But it’s encouraged us to think differently.” Alongside regular coronavirus content onsite through the medium of columns like Decolonising Healthcare (Opens in a new window), we will also be offering a specially curated wellness mailer in addition to our original membership perks.
As put by Kimberley Drew, the curator and founder of Black Contemporary Art (Opens in a new window) on Tumblr and one of gal-dem’s official fans, “gal-dem is an essential space because it is a platform for telling our own stories on our own terms.”
Help us continue uplifting the voices of writers and creators from marginalised backgrounds and telling the stories that matter. Become a member today (Opens in a new window)!
