GeekGirlCon Blog

A Rainbow of Panels at GeekGirlCon ’14

From Orphan Black to Doctor Who to the Young Avengers, queer characters have been popping up more and more in genre media, and at GeekGirlCon ‘14 there’ll be many ways to celebrate, critique, and discuss your favorites and your not-so-favorites.

Doctor Who’s Madame Vastra and Jenny
Image source: Frontiers LA

For decades, fans kept the queer flames burning with little ‘canon’ support by bringing the subtext to the surface and pouring their creativity into works like fanfiction and fan art. Mainstream publishers, studios, and networks are finally catching on, sometimes to positive effect, and sometimes in cynical ways. Join us in “21st Century Boys: Slash in the Mainstream!” to discuss both sides of this coin and explore the future of queer fandom.

“Queerbaiting in Genre Television: Representation or Exploitation?” will look at what happens when creators clue in that fans want to see queer representation but don’t fully commit. When queer characters were few and far between, fans were happy to clutch at any straw of subtext; in an era of increasing LGBT acceptance, is all representation good representation, or is subtext no longer enough?

Of course, LGBTQ creators don’t have to wait for other people to represent them. Queer authors have been writing fabulous speculative fiction for decades, and in “Gaylaxy Quest: Exploring Queer Fantasy and Science Fiction” co-hosts Gay City Health Project, Queer Geek, and Gay Romance Northwest bring you a whole panel of them.

Malinda Lo’s Huntress, a fantasy YA novel in a Chinese-influenced setting.
Image source: MalindaLo.com

Fans of Yaoi (Boys’ Love) and Yuri (Girls’ Love) anime and manga will find plenty of interest in “Is The Seme Always Taller?” Panelists will cover the history, themes, sexual roles, and social impact of the genre.

As always, GeekGirlCon ‘14 has some more general diversity panels that touch on queer issues as part of their discussion. “Why Isn’t Bilbo a Girl? Talking to Kids About Media Representation” will help navigate what to do when kids ask, “Where are the characters like me?” while “Diversity in Young Adult Fiction” shines a spotlight on the lack of LGBTQ and people of color protagonists in YA novel–and what we can do about it.

Finally, if all those panels have only whetted your appetite for more queer fiction, you can stop by the tables of queer publishers Blind Eye Books and Northwest Press in our exhibitor hall.

Written by GeekGirlCon Copywriter Winter Downs

Winter Downs
“Rock On!”