Topic: Flavor

Articles surrounding identity issues, travel and multinational topics, spirituality, and all points in between. Hold tight, it’s about to get real.

  • The Paragon & The “Psycho” Pathologist

    The Paragon & The “Psycho” Pathologist

    In this week’s installment of Chasing at Shadows, we’ll address the characters of Wonder Woman and Harley Quinn: their hidden similarities, their stark differences, and the importance of their influence on what it means to be a well-rounded, well-written female character in comics.

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  • Culture and Gender Norms

    Culture and Gender Norms

    Revisiting the topic of gaming once more, today we look into the evolving tribalism of gaming, gatekeeping and accessibility on multiple fronts. “Power to the Players” should be and is more than just a slogan.

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  • Role-Playing Gays – Tabletop RPGs

    Role-Playing Gays – Tabletop RPGs

    Our third installment of Play It Loud delves deeper into the world of tabletop gaming, specifically queer representation in RPGs. We’ll draw upon precedent from other media, and earmark some of the podcasts and streamed “live plays” that “get it right”. We’ve also got some examination on the nature of good representation, and how it’s not Calculus if you’re not performative.

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  • Everything’s Bigger in Texas?

    Everything’s Bigger in Texas?

    Welcome back to Fandom Without Borders, where we take a look at my travels across the United States and beyond in search of cities and towns that welcome nerds, geeks, and weirdos in their own ways. This installment sees us examining one of the larger cities in Texas, the Dallas-Fort Worth Area.

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  • Restoring Faith

    Restoring Faith

    Fat-bodied individuals are woefully underrepresented in media, and seeing them positively showcased is even rarer. As lighting rods for vicious stereotypes, this has profoundly negative effects on how fat people, and fans as a whole, relate to media. Let’s dig a bit deeper, into insidious effects on self worth, and positive steps for the future.

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  • Roll for Representation: Tabletop Gaming

    Roll for Representation: Tabletop Gaming

    In today’s Play It Loud, we explore the group activity of tabletop gaming. While considered a straight boys’ club until relatively recently, we’ll examine the journey to create more inclusive, Queer-friendly adventures where are players feel welcome, included and represented.

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  • Play it Loud—Series Conspectus

    Play it Loud—Series Conspectus

    Fandoms haven’t always been the most welcoming to outsiders, ironically enough—given their history in Americana. Join us on an exploratory tour of this inter-sectional paradox, through the various demographics and their respective welcome (or lack thereof) to the LGBTQ community, through the eyes of one who traverses both worlds. From board and tabletop gaming, to pop culture and new media, this exposition strives to be comprehensive, yet digestible.

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  • Bleaching the Kool-Aid

    Bleaching the Kool-Aid

    Representation matters, and how People of Color are represented in speculative fiction and pop culture matters even more. Join a former U.S Navy electrician, father, cosplayer and African American public speaker as we take a look at African American Stereotypes Appropriated in Fiction: Cowboy Bebop, Space Dandy, and The Lone Ranger.

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  • The Pride

    The Pride

    Welcome back to our post-millennial analysis of the current state of fandom. Today we examine a superhero comic where each character is based upon a gay/queer archetype. The Pride and its efforts at satire may sometimes land flat, but its exploration of diversity and acceptance makes it worth the read.

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  • Bright Lights, Big City

    Bright Lights, Big City

    An epic journey for our exclusive travel blog, examining various geeky and nerdy scenes. Today we’ll examine all the great opportunities New York City has for appreciating fandom.

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