NL - De wereld is queer. Altijd geweest. Ideeën over gender, seksualiteit en relaties veranderen voortdurend. Niet zonder strijd, maar onmiskenbaar in beweging. Het is een heerlijke, vrije, nieuwe wereld voor wie het omarmt.
Verschillende queer organisaties, collectieven en stemmen uit Brussel (en beyond) tippen hun favoriete boeken en verhalen.
Met tips van...
EN - The world is queer. Always has been. Ideas about gender, sexuality and relationships are constantly evolving. Not without struggle, but unmistakably in motion. It's a vibrant, liberating new world for those who embrace it.
Various queer organizations, collectives, and voices from Brussels (and beyond) share their favorite books and stories.
With reading tips from...
Bebe Books
Wat begon met zelfgemaakte zines, groeide uit tot een queer praktijk die zich uitstrekt over publishing, design, installaties, workshops en publieke programma’s.
Voor Bebe Books is publiceren meer dan boeken maken: het is een manier om mensen samen te brengen, uitwisseling op gang te brengen en alternatieven voor institutionele normen te verbeelden.
Via boeken, tentoonstellingen, feestjes en ontmoetingen creëren ze ruimtes voor collectiviteit, experiment en zorg — plekken waar queer cultuur, kritisch denken en collectieve verbeelding kunnen floreren.
“This book is simply a pleasure to read. It speaks beautifully about what it means to be creative today: how we build relationships with others, how we move through institutions, and how we try to maintain joy within artistic life.”
“This is far from a conventional encyclopedia. Each entry is written by a different contributor, making the book feel layered, collective, and full of unexpected perspectives. It reflects an approach to knowledge that feels close to our own interests in collectivity, care, and shared authorship.”
“This is not a book about solutions. Instead, it offers language for climate anxiety and for the contradictions that come with living in the present moment. (…) The book has also inspired a new artwork that we will present at Muntpunt.”
View in catalogue: EN
Brussels Ass Book Fair
Brussels Ass Book Fair brengt onafhankelijke makers, uitgevers, kunstenaars en collectieven samen die boeken, zines en publicaties maken buiten de klassieke lijntjes. Met een sterke focus op LGBTQIA+ stemmen creëren ze een plek voor ontmoeting, experiment en verhalen die je niet overal tegenkomt.
De volgende Brussels Ass Book Fair vindt plaats van 4 tot 6 december 2026 in Kanal - Centre Pompidou.
Deno Vogelaers
Deno Vogelaers (die/hij) is een trans, non-binaire onderzoeker, educator en community organizer, actief in Brussel en Berlijn. Je kent hen misschien van collectieven als Critical Queer Solidarity, Creature Kin en Honkey Donk. Zijn voornaamste interesses zijn trans embodiments, safer spaces, queer educatie en transformerende rechtvaardigheid.
Dyke* March Brussels
Since 2025, the collective Dyke* March Brussels organizes a protest march advocating for the visibility and rights of dykes in all their forms and identities. They bring together lesbians, trans dykes, queer and questioning sapphics in a safe and open space where everyone can be themselves. Rooted in the tradition of the Dyke Marches, they stand against exclusion and violence while building a warm and supportive community centered on connection, care, and solidarity.
The second edition of Dyke* March Brussels took place on Friday, May 15, 2026.
“Niamh Ní Mhaoileoin schrijft vanuit haar eigen ervaring als queer persoon afkomstig uit een vroom Katholiek gezin in Ierland. Het boek is daarom in de eerste plaats erg relatable voor queer personen die opgegroeid zijn in een religieuze omgeving en/of religieuze instituties die niet altijd even vriendelijk zijn tegenover de LGBTQIA+ ‑gemeenschap.”
Bekijk in catalogus: EN
“Een coming-of-age verhaal over liefde, verlies en queer magic, tijdens de AIDS-epidemie in Londen. Het hoofdpersonage blikt terug op zijn eerste liefde, en beschrijft daarmee niet enkel zijn eigen verhaal, maar ook een community in crisis. Een mooie herinnering aan hoe verzet verschillende vormen kan aannemen, en zich evenzeer manifesteert in de kleine dagelijkse handelingen als in grote politieke acties.”
Bekijk in catalogus: EN
“Elk verhaal [in deze bundel] biedt een verassend nieuw perspectief. Van een transvrouw die haar ex-situationship tegenkomt temidden van een apocalyptische dystopie tot een stoere boomhakker die zijn homosexualiteit ontdekt tijdens een verborgen, illegale kapping. Torrey Peters kan je als geen ander meenemen in de gedachtenwereld van haar personages – hoe ver of dicht die beleving ook bij de jouwe staat.”
Jezebel Studio
Jezebel Studio is een queer (paal)dansruimte in Molenbeek, geworteld in de geschiedenis van paaldansen binnen sekswerkers- en strippergemeenschappen. De studio biedt een inclusieve en veilige plek voor beweging, performance en community, met bijzondere aandacht voor queer personen, mensen uit de Global Majority en andere gemarginaliseerde groepen.
Met solidaire prijzen en laagdrempelige lessen wil Jezebel Studio bijdragen aan meer verbinding, welzijn en toegankelijke fysieke ruimtes in de stad.
“We recommend [this book] for its exploration of care, connection, and collective healing. The book challenges dominant ideas of intimacy and offers tools to build deeper, more ethical relationships - values that align with our focus on community, embodied practice, and creating safer, affirming spaces.”
View in catalogue: EN
“A sharp critique of age norms and exclusion. The book invites us to rethink time, growth, and belonging through a queer lens, aligning with our commitment to inclusivity, intergenerational community, and challenging limiting structures around bodies and movement.”
View in catalogue: EN
“[A great book] for its focus on accountability, care, and collective growth. The book explores how we can address harm and conflict through compassion rather than punishment, offering tools for building stronger, more honest relationships - values that resonate with our commitment to community, embodiment, and transformative practice.”
Johannes Cools
Johannes Cools (he/him) is a gender expert and policy officer in the field of international solidarity. Drawing on his own experience and expertise, he engages in critical and constructive conversations about how we understand concepts such as gender and sexuality. Rather than searching for an “ideal”, he explores a diversity of perspectives that can challenge and expand our ways of thinking.
“Brandend actueel, zeker sinds Senegal de straffen op homoseksualiteit dit jaar opnieuw opdreef. Mohamed Mbougar Sarr beschrijft hoe diepgeworteld homofobie verankerd kan zitten in een samenleving, en hoe moeilijk de strijd van een enkeling hiertegen kan zijn. Of: hoe moedig een schrijver kan zijn. Of het nu over het hoofdpersonage of Mbougar Sarr zelf gaat.”
Bekijk in catalogus: NL / Daisy-luisterboek NL / FR
“Als kind schreef Lou Sullivan al: I wish I were a boy. Dat er een woord bestond voor wie hij was, wist hij niet, dus schreef hij zichzelf in bestaan. Dertig jaar lang, ongehinderd en zonder publiek in gedachten. Het levert fundamenteel leesplezier op, dat zich niet richt op wat hij niet wou, maar vooral op wat hij vooral allemaal wel wou – en het genot dat erbij kwam kijken als hij dat effectief bereikte.”
Bekijk in catalogus: EN
“De man die z'n volk seks leerde hebben. En hoe! Sinds hij in een pre-aids tijdperk ‘The Joy of Gay Sex’ schreef, bracht Edmund White een hele reeks boeken waar een erotische coming of age nooit ver weg was. In z'n laatste memoires ‘The loves of my life’ – dat een paar maand voor z'n dood verscheen – blikt hij feestelijk terug op dat wat er voor hem het meest toe deed: z'n duizenden sekspartners.”
Bekijk in catalogus: EN
Queers on the Move
Queers on the Move is een in Brussel gevestigd collectief op het kruispunt van queer-zijn en migratie. Dit grassrootscollectief wordt volledig gedragen door vrijwilligers en brengt queer mensen samen die “not from here” zijn. Vanuit gedeelde ervaringen bouwen ze aan warme en toegankelijke ondersteuningsnetwerken voor queer personen met een achtergrond van gedwongen migratie.
“Did you ever dream of living in a bubble world where friendship is at the center of everything? Where your phone shared your values, instead of prodding you with its capitalist boner all the time? A world where centaur BDSM subculture thrive, and everyone is queer without the need for tear-jerking coming-out arcs? This is my number one for anyone new to queer literature and baby readers.”
View in catalogue: EN
“‘I Will Always Be Looking For You’ is a search for the queer Arab in the archive. A book for every queer kid from the Global South who has been denied the chance to see versions of ourselves reflected in the histories of our countries. Created amidst immense grief for the ongoing violence in the region from the Beirut explosions to the war in Sudan to the genocide in Gaza and the attackes on southern Lebanon, this book is a kiss to the land.”
“When you want to feel your feelings, this is the one. How gay, how devastating, how beautiful! And the characters so compelling, you will miss them for a while. Five queer women carving out a tiny slice of freedom together, and their love that quietly keeps the world from falling apart.”
RoSa
With a collection of more than 21,000 non-fiction books in English, Dutch and French, the RoSa library is the place in Brussels to explore gender and feminism in depth. Looking for information, inspiration, or a place to study or work?
Their reading room at Zennestraat 40 is open from Monday to Thursday, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. All books can be borrowed for just € 1 per year!
Together with Sophia, RoSa organizes the montly Collective Feminist Reading Gathering in Muntpunt.
“De titel van het boek is een ode aan de roman ‘Stone Butch Blues’ van Leslie Feinberg. Net als de inspiratiebron onderzoekt ‘Hijab Butch Blues’ hoe het is om een genderqueer activist te zijn en zich een weg te banen door racisme en klassisme binnen queer kringen. Een moedige memoire over genderdiversiteit, islamofobie en homofobie, en wat het betekent om moslim, queer en Zuid-Aziatisch te zijn in de gemeenschappen waar de auteur deel van uitmaakt.”
Bekijk in catalogus: EN
“[Dit boek] onderzoekt hoe homofobie binnen families blijft voortbestaan en wat hen ertoe aanzet gezinsleden uit te sluiten. Met sociologische inzichten en persoonlijke getuigenissen laat ze zien hoe uitsluiting werkt, ondanks de groeiende zichtbaarheid van queer personen. Een krachtig pleidooi om het leed binnen de familiale sfeer te doorbreken.”
“Duik de geschiedenis in om de diepe wortels van haat tegenover trans vrouwen bloot te leggen. Historicus Jules Gill-Peterson onderzoekt hoe trans misogynie zich wereldwijd heeft ontwikkeld, van de 19de eeuw tot vandaag, en stelt de prikkelende vraag waarom die zowel door ultraconservatieve bewegingen als door ‘progressieve’ feministen wordt verspreid.”
Bekijk in catalogus: EN
Shabbes 24/7
Shabbes 24/7 is a queer, anti-zionist Jewish collective, with members brought together by their anti-racist feminism, queerness, a commitment to building communities of care, and pride in their status as Jewish people living and organising in Belgium. Since its launch in 2020, the collective has published four zines with art and writing on topics including queer joy, changing your mind, and lived experiences of being queer Jews in Belgium.
Sophia
Sophia, het Belgisch Netwerk voor Genderstudies, is een tweetalige netwerkorganisatie die onderzoek en onderwijs bevordert binnen genderstudies, intersectionaliteit en queerstudies. Met verschillende activiteiten stimuleert Sophia de uitwisseling en samenwerking tussen de academische wereld, middenveldorganisaties, beleidsmakers en de verschillende taalgemeenschappen.
Samen met RoSa organiseert Sophia de maandelijkse Collective Feminist Reading Gathering in Muntpunt.
“This engaging and thought-provoking work explores how psychoanalysis has traditionally relied on a rigid gender binary. Drawing on a 2009 speech, the author shares his perspective as a trans man to question these frameworks and their limits. Both accessible and challenging, the text invites readers to reconsider how gender is understood, advocating for a more open and inclusive view that embraces diversity without pathologizing it.”
View in catalogue: EN
“This insightful and accessible book unpacks how ‘gender’ is framed and used by anti-feminist and anti-trans movements to stir moral panic, strengthen authoritarian agendas, and undermine human rights. Butler clearly maps the key actors involved while offering readers tools to understand these dynamics. Urgent and engaging, it also calls for solidarity and coalition-building among those affected by these rising challenges.”
View in catalogue: NL / Daisy-luisterboek NL / EN
“Blending memoir and science writing, Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian reimagines the natural world through a queer, intersectional lens. Drawing on her experiences as a queer, migrant, and neurodivergent mycologist, she challenges heteronormative views of nature and invites readers to see it differently. Original and thought-provoking, this book will appeal to fans of 'Braiding Sweetgrass' and anyone curious about new ways of understanding nature.”
View in catalogue: EN
Susan from Grindr
Susan from Grindr is de drag persona van Jérôme Depriestre, een Belgische performer die theater, humor en activisme met elkaar verweeft. Susan verwierf bredere bekendheid als finalist van Drag Race Belgique (seizoen 1) en belichaamt een scherpzinnig en androgyne personage — een mix van cabaret, comedy en queer storytelling.
“More than a book, ‘The Big Reveal’ is a memoir, an art book and a cultural manifesto. Sasha Velour is an incredibly smart story teller who blends personal anecdotes and experiences with queer history, always teaching you something new while staying a fabulous and gorgeous drag artist. Just like me!”
View in catalogue: EN
“Easily one the best novels I've ever read. This achingly beautiful gay love story comes to life thanks to Jedrowski's clear and fresh writing style, and is set in communist Poland. A must read for all the Western queers that want to know more about Eastern Europe and are in for an emotional rollercoaster.”
“British elegant prose and emotional depth. Hollinghurst explores themes such as class, race and sexuality, making it stand out for its intersectionality. It's a bit more quieter than my two other recommendations, but for all the queers that are in need of something more reflective and beautifully written, give this one a chance!”
View in catalogue: NL / Daisy-luisterboek NL / EN / E-book EN
Nog veel meer tips... vind je in Muntpunt
Find more books in Muntpunt
A small recap...
Foto's: Katia Vassilieva
DO 07.05
18:30 - 23:00
Muntpunt
gratis
Bekijk de video's van Trut
Trut Magazine is een onafhankelijk tijdschrift dat nostalgische tienermagazines nieuw leven inblaast met een mix van popcultuur, humor, roddels en zelfrelativering. In november komt hun tweede nummer uit.
Trut kwam langs op de Whole New World Celebration en draaide er enkele filmpjes.
Programme
© Bebe Books
Opening by Bebe Books
18:30 - 19:00 • Tribune (Agora 0) • EN • free • by Bebe Books
Bebe Books and rapper i.m.polite present a new performance that departs from Nikolaj Schultz's book ‘Land Sickness’, a meditation on climate anxiety, displacement, and the impossibility of refuge. i.m.polite will develop an original song that responds to the book's central questions: what does it mean to inhabit a world in crisis? Bebe Books will translate these ideas into a spatial and material practice through costumes and scenography that will remain on display at Muntpunt. Together, they ask: How do we create in a time of collapse? What do we leave behind? And what does it mean to remember something that hasn't finished disappearing?
Bebe Books is an independent publishing practice and artistic platform that approaches publishing as a space for gathering, friction, and collective imagination. Through books, installations, and public programmes, they create contexts for critical dialogue and exchange. This collaboration extends that practice into performance, using the body, the voice, and the stage as sites of reflection.
i.m.polite is a Belgian rapper whose work moves between introspection and quiet rebellion. Her sharp, self-aware lyrics draw from the overstimulation of everyday life, transforming small moments into uncensored reflections on choice, consequence, and the fleeting nature of being.
© EPO Uitgeverij
They Want Us Out: A Conversation with Poppers Fairy and Layla Samara
19:00 - 20:30 • Tribune (Agora 0) • EN • free, with advance registration • by Queers On the Move
‘They Want Us Out’ is part survival manual, part bureaucratic exposé, and part raw, radical love letter to every queer migrant in the crosshairs of European immigration systems. Join Queers On the Move for a conversation on queer migration and storytelling as a form of resistance with Poppers Fairy and Layla Samara.
Author Poppers Fairy (a.k.a. Amr, he/him) is a self-proclaimed Egyptian Fairy, researcher, activist, community creator and system disruptor.
Guest speaker Layla Samara (she/her) is an artist and her public engagement is shaped by her experiences as a trans woman and by political disoplacement. She is the author of ‘Qantara’, a collection of folktales from the oral tradition in Palestine.
The conversation will be moderated by Sarah Kadry (they/them), a feminist researcher, translator, writer and organiser from Cairo.
The books will be available for purchase throughout the event.
© Shabbes 24/7 Collective
Reading Zines with Shabbes 24/7
19:00 - 20:30 • Leeslamp +2 • EN/NL/FR • free, with advance registration • by Shabbes 24/7
Shabbes 24/7 is a queer, anti-zionist Jewish collective with members brought together by their anti-racist feminism, queerness, a commitment to building communities of care, and pride in their status as Jewish people living and organising in Belgium. Since its launch in 2020, the collective has published four zines with art and writing on topics including queer joy, changing your mind, and lived experiences of being queer Jews in Belgium.
We invite you to a cosy informal evening with members of the collective. Enjoy a glass of tea or wine, listen to us read aloud from the zines and (if you want) join in a relaxed reflection about the texts and about what it means to be queer and diasporist in Belgium today.
© Sophia
Collective Feminist Reading Gathering: Pride is a Protest
19:00 - 20:45 • Literair Salon S1 • NL/EN/FR • free, with advance registration • by Sophia & RoSa
This reading session will focus on reclaiming pride as a political project fostering liberation and solidarity. Facilitator and community organizer Deno Vogelaers (they/he) will moderate the gathering. They're a member of the collectives Critical Queer Solidarity, Creature Kin and Honky Donk. His main interests involve trans embodiments, safer spaces, queer education and transformative justice.
A collective reading gathering is not a book club. We'll come together around a long table with printed excerpts from selected texts spread out across its surface. You'll pick a place to sit, read, and write. All that's needed is a bit of willingness to dive into a text and to collectively explore thoughts around this topic. Prior knowledge of the subject isn't needed.
© Michelle Geerardyn
Dyke* March Workshop
20:45 - 21:45 • Leeslamp +2 • EN • free, with advance registration • by Dyke* March Brussels
The Dyke* March is a protest march for the visibility and rights of lesbians, trans, bi, pan and questioning dykes*, and those who challenge the binaries of gender. We are committed to creating a platform for those who lack public spaces to be present and heard, to share, exchange, and love. To celebrate the many aspects of dyke* lives, and demand their rights.
This year, we're organising the second edition of the Dyke* March in Brussels. How do you even start? How do you get people involved? How do you make it safe? How do you turn an idea into someting that lives and breathes in the streets?
In this workshop, we'll explore all of that together. It's a space to ask questions, exchange knowledge, and support each other. We'll make room for our stories, our anger, our joy, and our power. Get crafty, share experiences and give each other the tools to carry that forward beyond the workshop.
© Thanasis Tsimpinis
The Jezebels Movie: Screening & Talk
20:45 - 21:45 • Tribune (Agora) • EN • free, with advance registration • by Jezebel Studio
After two years of ‘sluttifying’ Brussels, the founders of Jezebel Studio – joined by students, friends and allies – come together for an unapologetic deep dive into the Jezebel universe. ‘The Jezebels’ by Thanasis Tsimpinis is a vibrant video portrait of the Brussels-based queer pole dance collective, redefining movement through avant-garde artistry, from their first stept to their latest challenges.
After the movie, we'll have a panel talk with film and documentary makers on documenting activism and queer archiving. Together, we reflect on how stories, bodies and movements are recorded, remembered, and shared. We explore the power and limits of visibility, and how community-led archivers can resist erasure while honouring complexity, care, and lived experience.
© Marit Galle
Performance: Jezababes
21:45 - 22:45 • Agora 0 • free • by Jezebel Studio
The evening ends with three bold performances by the students and teachers of Jezebel Studio, each bringing a totally different style and energy to the stage. Expect a playful mix of sensuality, experiment, and personal storytelling. Guided by an MC, who will share context and insights into the values of the studio, the performances unfold as more than just a show; they're an invitation into a world of movement, experession, and collective care.
© Chiara Steemans
Food by BARONESS
18:00 - 19:00 • Agora 0 • by BARONESS
Enjoy (free) snacks by BARONESS, a catering company that stands out from all the others by a strong emphasis on the empowerment of women, people of color, trans and non-binary individiuals, and LGBTQIA+ communities. The very first ingredient is inclusive hospitality, served with a smile.
In addition to being an entrepreneur, founder Britt Jent is an artist, mixologist, flair bartender, teacher at a hospitality school, and the driving force behind Brussels-based queer non-profit Match Belgium.
Bedankt / Thanks / Merci
Illustraties: Loulou João