“Sweet Union" is the motto of the third edition of Sofia Queer Forum that focuses on the topic of the family. As it strives to use the word "queer" rather as a verb, as an action in a particular situation, and much less as a noun and a definition, “Sweet Union" is the motto of the third edition of Sofia Queer Forum that focuses on the topic of the family. As it strives to use the word "queer" rather as a verb, as an action in a particular situation, and much less as a noun and a definition, this year’s Forum offers a wide platform for sharing different problems and perspectives focused on the family. 

Some of them deliberately seek to pass beyond the circle of issues which in the public mind are most often associated with LGBT themes. In this sense, the formulation of the topic is far less associated with the field of activism or with specific political goals, issues of equality, rights, legislative initiatives, and is much more attempting to make its way beyond the cultural momentum by seeking some subtle links, crossing points, and shared problems. That is precisely why queer and LGBT issues are placed in the context of feminist and various marginal perspectives, not least in relation to the changing roles within the heterosexual matrix. The crossing of these borders represents a crossing of different languages, which define the generation of knowledge and the means of presentation in the public space. This in turn opens ground for building up and imagining different possible structures of togetherness, of "we"; in the very sharedness of these “we”-s specific private forms of self-determination and relations between "I" and "you" can be found.

The event relates to the situation in Bulgaria by seeking the points of intersection of the local context with either the Eastern European framework or with common and shared problems of the present day. At a closer look, the Forum questions some dominating attitudes in the public environment, such as the “tolerance” of the Bulgarian society which often masks social apathy and/or personal and civil passivity;  it also expresses doubt about the (perfect) idea of role allocation inside the patriarchal family structure which is itself undergoing internal changes under the influence of social dynamics, the modern means of communication, the lifestyle and quality of living. Last but not least, the Forum directly opposes the clich?d mindset of all this not concerning “us” but happening always to “the others’’ or “somewhere else”, which conceals a great deal of the existing problems behind what is deemed normal.
 

Everyday forms of violence include not only violence against those who are seen as different, but affect also what is "familiar" and normal, as they present as adopted ideas and expectations which bring comfort or discomfort and are associated with fulfillment  or, on the contrary , with disappointment and frustration. To grasp the dynamics between the inherited, acquired ideals of self-assertion, realization and successful life, and personal projects and desires, the Forum deals with two main perspectives regarding the family, reviewing it both in terms of intimacy and as a field in which different social models and processes are reflected. It explores the boundaries between the family-as-law meaning mostly the social institution and traditional (ideal) notions, and the family-as-project, which is associated with personal desire and choice.

Vladiya Mihaylova, curator of Sofia Queer Forum 2015