Pippa Palmer (Image: BBC)

I Kissed A Girl star Pippa Palmer is launching a new LGBTQIA+ community app, Queer Connected, designed to help people find events, create local groups and match with new friends.

As per DIVA, Queer Connected is billed as a place for LGBTQIA+ people to make friends, find events, read about queer joy and launch their own meet-ups. Palmer, who is non-binary, said the idea grew out of their own experience of queer loneliness and the anxiety of turning up to spaces alone without an existing friendship circle.

“I had always searched ‘how to make queer friends’, but I could never see an easy, clear way to do it,” Palmer said.

They also described how difficult it can be to discover events if you are not already plugged into the right social media feeds: “I’ve tried to find events and massively struggled. Unless you’re following them on Instagram or happen to have it on your TikTok feed, a lot of the time you will never find these events.”

A key feature is a UK-wide listings section promoting FLINTA* (Female, Lesbian, Intersex, Non-binary, Trans, and Agender) events in one place. The app also includes a group page where users can create local meet-ups, from a yoga class to a book group, alongside a friend-matching service similar to Bumble BFF.

Palmer said they grew up in a predominantly straight, heteronormative area and did not have access to a queer friendship group. “I didn’t have any queer friends until a year and a half ago, when I moved to East London. I met some queer friends by hosting this dinner party. It wasn’t until I’d made those friends that I realised just how important these friendships are,” they said.

Palmer appeared on the BBC’s queer women and non-binary dating series I Kissed A Girl, and is still with their partner from the show now.

Palmer encouraged people to take the initiative when community feels out of reach: “Just do it. Sometimes, when finding your own queer community, you need to make that first step,” adding: “As soon as you find one or two queer friends, it’s such a snowball.”

They said early response has been strong. “Everyone who’s commented has said how needed they think the app is. There are already 1,000 people on the waitlist,” they said. People can find out more via @queerconnected_. Queer Connected launches on 15 August.

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