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Disney Theme Parks Drop “Boys and Girls” language to Make All Kids Feel Welcomed

Disneyland - Deposit Photos

Disneyland and Disney World have dropped a gendered “boys and girls” greeting as “part of a broader effort” to promote gender inclusivity. Fireworks shows at Disneyland and Disney World in Florida formerly began with: “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, dreamers of all ages.” But the new announcement drops the gendered terms and instead simply welcomes “dreamers of all ages”. Visitors were first greeted by the new inclusive message on Thursday (1 July) when the fireworks show was tested at Walt Disney World in Florida, according to the Orange County Register. Disneyland and Disney World fireworks displays had … Read more

New Racing Game Forza Horizon Adding Pronoun Options

Forza Horizon - Xbox

Forza Horizon 5, the next entry in the Xbox exclusive racing series, will include pronoun options in its character customiser. The game was revealed at the Xbox E3 showcase, though further details have been uncovered in an FAQ on the game’s website. Various new modes will be included in the game, such as the EventLab to create your own races and a story campaign. Most interesting is not just car customisation, but player character customisation. The character customiser has been “improved to provide players with a more diverse cast of selectable characters” reads the FAQ. Full Story from Pink News

FOR READERS AND WRITERS: Queer AI

Queer AI - Deposit Photos

FOR READERS & WRITERS Today’s writer topic comes from QSFer Scott: Queer Artificial Intelligence – is this a thing? Readers, read anything like this? Writers, have you written it? What would it look like? Writers: This is a reader/writer chat – you are welcome to share your own book/link, as long as it fits the chat, but please do so as part of a discussion about the topic. Join the chat: FB: http://bit.ly/1MvPABVMeWe: http://bit.ly/2mjg8lf

Lego’s First LGBTQ Pride Set

Lego Pride Set

Lego has announced its first-ever rainbow set, just in time for Pride month. The Danish toymaker announced a new set called “Everyone is Awesome,” which will feature 11 monochromatic, non-gendered figurines that come together to form a rainbow with black and brown stripes and the transgender flag colors. “I wanted to create a model that symbolizes inclusivity and celebrates everyone, no matter how they identify or who they love,” said LEGO set designer Matthew Ashton. He said that he designed the set a while back just to display on his desk at work, and when the company had the idea … Read more

VIDEO GAMES: Petition Launched to Add Pronoun Options to the Sims

Momo Misfortune / The Sims

A petition has been launched for EA to add pronoun options to The Sims. Twitch streamer Momo Misfortune has been tweeting the publisher for 51 days requesting the addition. Now an official petition has been launched on Change.org that has rapidly gained thousands of signatures within a month. “If we could have the option to choose pronouns for our sim or for the team to switch older game texts to be gender neutral like current pack dialoged [sic] it would be impactful for those of us who are still unable to truly feel represented in the game by having our … Read more

ANNOUNCEMENT: Iron & Brass – Chris Fain

Iron & Brass - Chris Fain

QSFer Chris Fain has a new queer dark urban fantasy/horror book out (gay, gender fluid, genderqueer): Iron & Brass. Ramona Stone is a retired boxer and cancer survivor barely getting by in a faded Rust-Belt town—until she unwittingly frees a jinni from a thrift-store teapot. Now her cat has the power of speech, an ultra-powerful being is bunking on her couch…and her snow-locked community is set to become a battleground between our reality and a magic netherworld beyond. For the shapeshifting cannibal ghul Ashera has vowed to pursue Izi al-Samoon from the frozen vales of urban West Virginia to the … Read more

Rainbow Space Magic Starts Today!

It’s here! The virtual Rainbow Space Magic con is the brainchild of Olivia Helling, and Angel, Valerie, Monique and others worked hard to bring it to fruition. It’s a queer con (as if you couldn’t tell) for fantasy, sci-fi, paranormal, and horror readers and authors, and most of the content will be posted to the RSM YouTube channel once the con is over. And it’s FREE (but we encourage you to donate to one of our featured charities). Some highlights: Jewelle Gomez is our Keynote Speaker, at 3 PM Pacific Today Tons of author readings Vendor pop-ups Saturday and Sunday … Read more

VIDEO GAMES: “A Long Journey to an Uncertain End” Gets Gender Diversity Right

A Long Journey to an Uncertain End

Like so many games, A Long Journey to an Uncertain End begins with character creation. But, unlike many games, this one actually gets it right. Over the years, character creation tools have changed and improved to better reflect the diversity of the tens of millions of people that play games every day. If a game wants us to be ourselves, we need the tools to achieve this. Yet there remain some limitations. Many games still assign character traits based on gender, for instance. Most recently, Cyberpunk 2077 has offered more extensive options when it comes to allowing us to pick … Read more

Video Games That Broke New Ground for LGBTQ+ Representation

The Sims lesbian couple

It’s LGBT History Month, so we’re here to give you a quick lesson in gaming history with eight queer video games you really should know about. LGBT+ representation in games has definitely picked up steam in recent years, with indie developers in particular offering fun, authentic and thought-provoking queer games. But since the 80s the LGBT+ community have been visible in video games – even if you haven’t heard of them… Caper in the Castro For many years, Caper in the Castro was thought to be lost. Originally released in 1989, it is widely considered to be the first LGBT+ … Read more

ANNOUNCEMENT: The Fifth Horseman – Frida Kilmari

The Fifth Horseman - Frida Kilmari

Frida Kilmari has a new queer reverse harem fantasy romance out: “The Fifth Horseman.” No name. No past. One giant future? The only thing worse than suddenly waking up in a magical house with the insanely gorgeous Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse? Being the Fifth. With no memory of who I am, where I came from, or what I’m doing here, I’m thrust into a new life with four people who I might want more from than just friendship. But with no past, how can I possibly plan for a future? The only clue as to who I am? Four … Read more