For Creativity, Sapphic Society!

Sapphic Society is a creative space of love dedicated to building a future where sapphics thrive—loudly, unapologetically, and together.

Founder/s: SAVVY, cyberangelfairy, and HOTTOGOW
Founding Year: 2025
Images: Yel Capinianes

“So much of sapphic and lesbian history has been lost or left undocumented … Creating spaces that preserve our stories and experiences matters more than people realize.”

What is one hill you would die on? Even if it’s controversial or goes against the grain of the typical queer or female experience, what is the one thing you refuse to compromise on?

Sapphic art deserves to exist loudly and beyond what is considered “marketable” or palatable to mainstream audiences. There are already so few spaces for sapphic creatives, whose stories are often overlooked or pushed aside, so our advocacy has always been to intentionally create opportunities where their work can be seen and celebrated.

We also strongly believe that financial limitations should never prevent an artist from sharing their work. Too often, queer creatives are expected to self-fund their visibility or pay high registration fees just to participate. Whenever possible, we prioritize lessening those financial barriers and creating spaces that value artists beyond their ability to pay.

Community building isn’t always rainbows. It’s hard work. What is one growing pain your group has faced, and how did you navigate it while keeping yourselves and your space safe?

One of the biggest growing pains we’ve faced as a team is funding. Creating consistent spaces for sapphic creatives requires time, labor, money, and heart much of which falls on our small team of three. From the beginning, we committed to keeping our events accessible for both artists and attendees because we never wanted expensive registration fees to become barriers for a community that already has so few spaces available to them.

That commitment means working within tight budgets while still making sure our events feel safe and welcoming. To navigate this, we’ve become intentional with planning, leaned on community relationships, booked affordable but comfortable venues, and worked with volunteers who believe in what we’re building. Many times, we’ve also personally covered costs just to make events possible.

Community-building involves a lot of invisible labor, but even with limited resources, we’ve always made sure the people who enter our spaces feel supported and cared for.

What is one thing you still wish to see in the community? Whether it’s a physical space, a project, or a radical culture shift—tell us what’s missing and why you think it’s worth dreaming about.

There’s no single answer to this because there’s still so much to do and so much we’re longing for! 

One thing that immediately comes to mind is archiving. So much of sapphic and lesbian history has been lost or left undocumented, which is why this website already feels like such a huge win for us. Creating spaces that preserve our stories and experiences matters more than people realize.

We’d also love to see physical spaces that are truly ours, because that puts us on the map. Literally. Lesbian bars, cafes, community spaces in the Philippines where sapphics don’t just gather for one night and then wait weeks or months for the next thing, rather, a reliable space we can continuously return to. A place we can call our home.

Another, we rarely see ourselves reflected in mainstream media. Or at least have meaningful representation that’s made with care. So, yeah. There’s still so much! And to us, it’s not just worth dreaming about – it’s worth fighting for and building towards.

Here comes the “how do you see yourself in the future” question. If you achieve everything you set out to do, what do you think the world, or at least the Philippines, would look like? What is the ultimate dream state for your collective?

Sapphic Society started out because we noticed a lack of an actual space or initiative to highlight sapphic art. While there are spaces and events that include sapphic artists, there are very few that center that as its main goal. So the ultimate dream state for our collective would be a sustainable physical space where sapphic artists can regularly showcase their art without worrying about physical or financial limitations.

The dream state would also mean we’ve created a culture shift that makes sapphic art normalized rather than treated as an afterthought. A world where we as sapphic artists no longer have to say, “Hey, we’re here; please notice us!” People just already expect us to be there.

Write a little love note! What’s one message you wish to tell any gay/girl who will come across this page?

Go out there and find your people! Being in community with people who truly see and understand you can be life-changing. I know it changed our lives. 

And if you can’t find them… pay attention to that feeling because sometimes the ache for something that’s missing exists for a reason. If there’s a space you wish existed or a kind of care and community you’ve been searching for, honor that instinct because it’s pointing to a gap that someone needs to fill… and that someone could be YOU.