FOR READERS Today’s reader topic comes from QSFer Scott: Humans with robotic parts – what are some of your favorite queer cyborg stories, and why? What is the definition of human? Writers: This is a reader chat – you are welcome to join it, but please do not reference your own works directly. Thanks! Join the chat: FB: http://bit.ly/1MvPABVMeWe: http://bit.ly/2mjg8lf
When NASA sends humans to the moon for the first time in more than half a century, one lucky astronaut will go down in history for becoming the first woman on the moon. Then it won’t be long before we see the first woman on Mars, and she just might beat the first man there, according to NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. “We could very well see the first person on Mars be a woman,” Bridenstine told reporters on Friday (Oct. 18) during a news conference about the first all-woman spacewalk. “I think that could very well be a milestone,” he … Read more
Some unusual embryos may soon be growing in Japan: those of human-mouse and human-rat hybrids, news sources are reporting. A research group in Japan received approval from a committee in the Japanese government on July 24 to move forward with an experiment that will put a type of human stem cells (cells that can grow into almost any cell) into animal embryos. Once inside the embryos, the human cells — called induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells — may grow into specific organs. If all goes well, the researchers plan to eventually grow human organs in other animals, such as pigs. … Read more
FOR BOTH READERS AND WRITERS Today’s topic comes from QSFer J. Scott Coatsworth: I recently came across the term “skoliosexual,” meaning someone attracted to nonbinary (transgender, agender, genderqueer, etc.) partners. Another recent acquisition for my vocabulary – “enby” – or NB – non binary. There are so many terms these days for different kinds of folks across the queer spectrum that many of us loose track. I thought it would be great to bring up a bunch of these terms and what they mean. If you fall into a category that many folks aren’t yet familiar with, share it and … Read more
Today’s writer topic comes from QSFer Matthew J. Metzger: For ace: is the tendency of asexual characters to be non-human actually damaging perceptions of asexuality rather than providing positive representation? That’s an interesting question. Yes, I know it may be a shock to some of you, but there are asexual people among us. Ace ranks way down the totem pole on LGBTIQA rights and awareness. I didn’t even know that I knew any ace folks until fairly recently. So my questions today: Why is there such a scarcity of ace characters in queer fiction? And why are so many aliens? … Read more
I’m wrapping up a short story about spaceman and wolf shifters, and one of the things that’s come up during the writing of the story is how wolves (or at least shifter wolves) think and act while they are in Wolf mode versus how they think and act in human mode. For instance, in some shifter stories the human mind is entirely subsumed by the Wolf mind, and the shifter acts entirely is an animal, or almost entirely, when in Wolf mode. In other stories, the Wolf is essentially a human in wolf form. And of course there are all … Read more