Queer Archivist Code of Ethics

Principles for ethical, liberatory, and trauma-informed queer archival practice.

Hi Friends,

It’s been a minute since my last post. I hope you’re all finding ways to care for yourselves and each other amid the ongoing violence and systemic attacks on trans and non-binary lives in the U.S. and beyond, the ongoing genocide of our siblings in Palestine, and the deepening crises that continue to harm the most vulnerable in our communities. I’m holding space for the grief, rage, and exhaustion many of us carry in this moment. I’m also holding onto the belief that resistance persists, that care is revolutionary, and that another world is still possible. Liberation is not a destination, it is a daily, collective practice.

Recently, I shared that I was laid off from my role as an archivist (you can read that note below). In the days that followed this devastating shift, I’ve been reflecting on what it means to be a queer archivist and how to continue this work with integrity and purpose.

What follows is an attempt to name some of the values and ethics that are guiding me in this moment. It’s not a definitive list. I’m still learning, still growing, still reframing, still finding my way. But this is where I’m starting.

I love this work. I’ve studied, reflected, and dedicated time to it, and I take it seriously. I believe that our history has the radical potential to ignite resistance and to remind us that we have always found ways to fight, to celebrate, to survive.

In my previous role, one of the things I cherished most was helping others access this history for their own projects, research, and healing. I’m still figuring out how to keep doing that work on my own terms, and in new ways. I hope what I’ve written here resonates with you.

- Queer Archivist

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Illustration from Gay Revolution Party Manifesto (1970)

A Queer Archivist Code of Ethics

1. Centering Queer Voices & Community Agency

The histories of LGBTQ+ people belong to the community first. Prioritize collecting, preserving, and sharing materials in ways that respect the agency, autonomy, and desires of queer individuals and communities. This can be a complex multilayered approach to collecting that always involves community members in the decision making of the archive and any of it’s operations. An anti-hierarchical approach allows for this the best. A community archivist should not hold more power than the community member on matter pertaining to their materials. Community agency comes first always.

2. Ethical Stewardship & Accountability

Archival materials are not commodities. Whether working with physical or digital materials, queer archivists have a responsibility to act as stewards rather than owners of queer histories. Collections should be preserved and shared in ways that prioritize community access and prevent exploitation or commercialization of queer lives.

Archives are not neutral. Acknowledge the power inherent in archival work and commit to ethical stewardship that prioritizes transparency, community consultation, and accountability. Question institutional biases and actively work against archival violence, such as misnaming, deadnaming, or pathologizing queer lives. If these thing occur, taking accountability and working on repair is expected and should be a central component of a queer archivists code of ethics.

3. Accessibility & Radical Sharing

Queer history should be accessible. Work to remove barriers that prevent queer people, especially the most marginalized in our communities, from engaging with their own histories. This means challenging gatekeeping, paywalls, and restrictive practices. At the same time, honor the need for consent, privacy, and community control in making decisions around how and when to share. Radical sharing is really about connection, care, and creating conditions where queer memory can circulate safely and meaningfully.

4. Consent, Privacy & Boundaries

Queer history is often deeply personal, and archival work must honor the privacy and boundaries of individuals and communities. Consent should be prioritized when collecting, digitizing, or sharing materials, particularly when dealing with personal narratives, sensitive documents, or items related to living individuals. If consent cannot be obtained, ethical judgment should be exercised to minimize harm. If harm occurs, reparative work is expected.

5. Anti-Oppression & Intersectionality

Queer archiving must be actively anti-racist, anti-colonial, and trans-inclusive. Center the voices of Black, indigenous, people of color, disabled, working-class, undocumented, and other marginalized queer and trans people who have historically been sidelined in both mainstream and queer archives. Acknowledge and challenge the ways oppression is embedded in archival practices.

6. Community-Driven Archiving

Archival work does not belong solely to institutions. DIY, grassroots, and independent queer archivists play a crucial role in documenting histories that might otherwise be ignored. Zines, mail art, oral histories, personal collections of queer ephemera, and community-led projects should be recognized as valid archival practices. Traditional gatekeeping should be challenged in favor of collaborative, accessible, and non-hierarchical knowledge-sharing.

Archival work should not extract stories from communities without giving back. Support community-led archival initiatives, redistribute resources, and share skills whenever possible. Work collaboratively with grassroots organizers, artists, and activists to ensure preservation efforts align with community needs.

7. Ethical Representation & Narrative Integrity

Avoid framing queer history solely through trauma or struggle. While acknowledging hardships, uplift joy, resistance, and the full complexity of queer life. Challenge heteronormative, cisnormative, and sanitized retellings of queer histories.

8. Archival Futurity, Legacy Building & Sustainability

Queer archivists must think critically about the long-term care of queer materials. Digital fragility, institutional neglect, and rapidly changing technologies and political contexts all threaten access and preservation. To protect these histories, we must prioritize sustainable strategies—both digital and analog—that are community-informed, resilient, and adaptable. Sustainable preservation strategies—both digital and analog—should be prioritized to ensure that queer histories remain available for future generations.

9. Rejecting Institutional Gatekeeping

It is essential to challenge the gatekeeping, bureaucracy, and elitism that prevent queer people from accessing and preserving their own histories. When institutions fail to adapt or refuse to invest in this work, turn to alternative models rooted in community care—DIY archives, zine making, independent digital collections, and oral history projects. These grassroots practices are powerful tools for safeguarding queer memory on our own terms.

10. Ethical Disruption & Archival Activism

Queer archiving is an act of resistance. Embrace an activist approach when necessary, whether by challenging dominant historical narratives, reclaiming space, or intervening in archival spaces that misrepresent or commodify queer experiences. Fight for resourcing that reflects the true value of this work. And when institutions divest, disinvest, or discard queer archival labor, remember: that betrayal is not a reflection of our worth. We continue this work anyway—in community, through refusal to give up, and in the belief that our memory practices can be both liberatory and transformative.