Geek Herring

In one of our most emotional episodes to date, we talk about why we can no longer support the Harry Potter franchise because of JK Rowling's hateful transphobic agenda. This is our explanation and our break-up. 

This episode is emotional, heartfelt, and raw. We cry, we rant, we talk about why it's more important to support and love our trans friends and trans rights than to continue pouring love into a franchise that doesn't love everyone.

It's no longer a safe haven.
 It's no longer a place you can be yourself.

If you're breaking up with the Wizarding World, too, we understand what you're going through.

If you're trans and you're feeling justifiably attacked by Rowling's vitriol, you are valid, you are loved, and you are always welcome with us.

This episode is conveniently coming out during Trans Visibility Week. We stand with you yesterday, now, and always. Trans rights are human rights. Trans women are women. Trans men are men.

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If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please check out some of our others!

• Episode 70: Geek Discussion: The Hogwarts Problem with Lark & Jessie from The Gayly Prophet
• Episode 116: Geek Interview: Gender Identity and Fluidity with Frazley and Sascz of Translucidity
• Episode 105: Geek Discussion: Why Geek Community Matters

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Geekily yours,
 Amanda & Monika

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Loving the skin you're in doesn't always come easy. Sometimes it comes with daily affirmations, doing things for yourself, and accepting that somedays, body neutrality is the place you'll be in that day. FrankthePegasus joins us for this intimate, inspiring, and hilarious episode about body positivity.

About Frank the Pegasus

Frank the Pegasus is a full-time content creator on Twitch and YouTube. She focuses on on sex positivity, body acceptance, and mental health advocacy! She's been streaming for almost 5 years, is super queer, and is a big lover of simulation and collection games. 

Fank and Monika geek out for a really long time about birds and plants. It's incredible. You're welcome.

Geeking about about loving ourselves is so cool, honestly. We talked about the importance of doing things for YOU, that light YOU up and make YOU feel good - like seriously, friends, when's the last time you prioritised YOURSELF!? Tell us the truth!

How absolutely sick are you of those bullshit fatphobic stereotypes we get from the media? Because we're furious about them. It's exhausting watching fat bodies be protrayed as evil, lazy, unkempt and unclean, and a whole host of other stereotypes. We can do better than this.

Frank's best advice? Take care of yourself because you love yourself!!! It seems like such a simple concept, but we all know it's easier said than done. What do you do for yourself just to show you that you love you? That's a lot of yous but we really wanna know!

A huuuuge topic of discussion here is removing the value you give to society from the way you look. You are more than your looks, you're more than your body, you're more than face. You don't owe society or anyone for that matter anything. And your value is NOT ABOUT how you look. We promise you that!

Have you ever practiced Positive Body Affirmations? Frank says they're one of her daily rituals to remind herself how much she loves the skin she's in. If a positive body affirmation seems too far for you, what about a neutral statement - Frank recommends "I have arms" and we love that!

We'd also like to remind you to surround yourself with bodies of all shapes and sizes. This is especially important right now, when we're all living our existence online. Curate your social media feeds, especially the visual based ones like Intsa, to have more body types on there. We read a study once that asked you to scroll through your Insta feed and to count how many posts you passed before you found a body that didn't look like you. If it's more than 10, your feed is simply not diverse enough! Have you ever done an experiment like this? It's a LIFE. CHANGER. Please do it!

Frank also wants you to do the things that make your internet experience better. That's not only curating your feed, but it's also choosing not to go on any triggering sites, removing toxic people and words from your timelines and follow lists, and making a point to create a positive environment for yourself.

But what about those days on stream when you just don't feel like showing your face? Let's normalise not being on camera. Women are under so much pressure to look a certain way in order to succeed on Twitch, but honestly - why? Like, we don't owe you pretty. We also don't owe you our face all the time. If we're not feeling it, we're just gonna have that camera turned off.

We also talk about the importance of body neutrality, which is sooooooooooo gooooooood and something we need to talk about more - it doesn't always have to body positive!! Plus the dangers of SnapChat (for example) filters that completely change the way you look.

And most importantly? PLEASE be GENTLE with yourself. You are so, so loved and so valued.

What helps you on your bad days? Why on your good days do you feel good?

Quotes

"If you're listening to this and the only reason you play games is to enjoy a game, that's a good enough reason to play a game."

"If your feed is lacking fat bodies, it's hard for you to normalise fat bodies. Get more fat bodies on your feed."

"All I want to do is accept the body that I'm in and accept it as the meat sack that is carrying me through my life."

"Even if you don't love yourself, you are loved. Sometimes putting confidence in somebody else's love of you is the thing that helps you get through that day. You love them and you trust them, so they can't be wrong."

Find Our Guest Online

Find FrankhePegasus On Twitch!

Find FrankthePegasus on Twitter | YouTube | Discord | Instagram

Check Out Geek Herring!

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Love Geek Herring, please hop over to Apple Podcasts and leave us a review!

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If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please check out some of our others!

• Episode 113: Bodies and Radical Self-Love with Gemma
• Geek Interview: Plus Size Nerding it up with Nancy Basile!
• Episode 110: Geek Discussion: Fit is a Feminist Issue with Geek Girl Strong, Robyn Warren

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Love Geek Herring, please hop over to Apple Podcasts and leave us a review!

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You can find us Online / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Patreon!

Geekily yours,
 Amanda & Monika

Special Guest: Frank the Pegasus.

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What is grief if not love preserving?

** THIS EPISODE IS FULL OF SPOILERS OF WANDAVISION SEASON 1 **

WandaVision is a heartbreaking story following Wanda's experience with grief. We see throughout the season glimpses into her life and just how much trauma this one woman has endured.

It's a lot. It's sad. And, we dunno about you, but we feel more connected to Wanda and Vision than ever, ever before.

We talk about those first three episodes - you know, those 1950s/60s/70s style ones, based on Dick Van Dyke, Bewitched, I Dream of Jeanie, and the Brady Bunch. What did we think of them? Well, what did YOU think of them? These three episodes are definitely the most controversial of the entire series - you either LOVE them or HATE them.

Moni? They were a big nope.
 Amanda? Episodes 1 and 2 were super, but 3 was triggering and traumatic AF. No thanks.

We also gush about our love of the penultimate episode, ep 8, that looks back at alll the shit our beloved Wanda has gone through in her life.

We wanna keep these notes relatively spoiler free, unlike this episode, so... we stopping here.

Tell us what YOU think about WandaVision!

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Love Geek Herring, please hop over to Apple Podcasts and leave us a review!

Support Geek Herring on Patreon!

If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please check out some of our others!

• Episode 41: Geeking Out About Marvel’s Phase 4
• Episode 112: Geek Discussion: Imposter Syndrome in the Age of Experts
• Episode 117: Geek Girl Reviews: Wonder Woman 1984…. Because -Someone- Has To

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Geekily yours,
 Amanda & Monika

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Geek Girl in the News looks at the awesome or not so awesome news that will make you go either: "YAY" or "OMG I can't believe that." 

The latest and greatest geek girl news from February 2021 covers the abuse allegations gainst Marilyn Manson and Joss Whedon, racism in the World of Warcraft raiding community, a complete lack of diversity - STILL - in Hollywood's Golden Globes, Gina Carano being held accountable for her actions and dropped from Disney, Lucasfilm, and her Publicist, The Last of Us actors REVEALED, and Henry Cavill's SHOCK new role!

** Before we go further, we have two content warnings with timestamps. **

• Sexual Abuse, Assault, and Domestic Violence 4:30 - 28:08
• Violent Racism in Gaming 28:30 - 35:51

Our first story is about the multitude of women coming forward with accusations of abuse and assault at the hand of Brian Warner, AKA Marilyn Manson. Evan Rachel Wood finally disclosed the name of her abuser, Brian Warner, on her Instagram account, describing what equates to domination, psychological and sexual abuse, and domestic violence. 

Amber Heard confirms Wood's claims by remembering an interview Manson did back in 2008 where he details calling Wood 158 times one day and describes fantasising about physically assaulting her. Since Wood's revelation, 15 other women have come forward (so far) with allegations against the metal musician.

Did Manson get away with his open statements of abuse because he is a shock artist? Maybe we didn't take it seriously because was it real or was it all an act? Whatever the reason it went on for so long was, it's out in the open now and we hope it won't be brushed back under the rug.

Like our next story focused on the abuse allegations at the hands of creator Joss Whedon. Charisma Carpenter who played Cordelia on Whedon's hit shows, Buffy and Angel, released a statement detailing the abuse she faced from the director. She's been publically supported by most of the cast to varying degrees. And further news has come out that younger actress Michelle Tractenburg, who played Dawn Summers, was not allowed to be alone in the room with Whedon.

Yikes forever.

Hopefully these Whedon abuse allegations are too public to be pushed back under the rug now.

Next, we're talking about the rampant and violent racism that's perpetuated in World of Warcraft, especially some of the top NI raiding guilds. Screenshots of chat logs with violent racist language appeared on Reddit showing the truth of what's going on behind the scenes. But it's not just behind the scenes, it's been disclosed that in raiding applications, questions are posed that essentially state in order to be on the team, you need to be okay with violent racist language (and preferably participate in that, too).

It's time we stop breeding these racist gaming cultures within Warcraft - and other MMOs. We need to take a hard stance against this, call out this violence, and hold perpetrators accountable for their actions.

Then, to absolutely no one's surprise, the Golden Globes committee is facing backlash again about a lack of diversity on their board. Not to mention a lack of diversity in their nomiations! This is getting EXHAUSTING, white Hollywood. The rest of us want to celebrate BIPOC in film and TV, can you get a mitt and get in the game? Thanks.

But in a bid of good news, Disney and LucasFilm have held Gina Carano, known for her role as Cara Dune in The Mandalorian, accountable for her absolutely toxic bullshit garbage she spouted on Twitter. We're not going to repeat it here, but THANK YOU to these companies for setting a precedent that this behaviour will not be tolerated.

We're ending the episode with some GREAT news!

Our current faves Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian) and Bella Ramsey (Game of Thrones) are teaming up as Joel and Ellie from The Last of Us! HBO are creating a live-action TV show based on the best-selling game of all time. No news of a release yet but we are fucking HERE for it.

Last, but definitely not least, Amanda's biggest hearthrob, Henry Cavill, teased us with an Instagram photo of him in a makeup chair holding a new script. Yes, it was blurry, but since when does that stop the internet?! The internet sleuths were out in full fucking force and have (hopefully!) successfully deduced that Mr Cavill seems to be making an appearance in a forthcoming Mass Effect live action. Helloooo yes please!!

What do YOU think about these news stories? We'd love your take! Let us know in the comments of wherever you see this episode!

In this episode of Geek Girl in the News, we covered these news stories:

• Marilyn Manson: All The Allegations Of Abuse, Assault We Know So Far
• Amber Heard speaks out on Marilyn Manson sexual assault allegations
• Charisma Carpenter's Twitter Statement About Joss Whedon Abuse
• Buffy staffers ‘feared and idolised’ Joss Whedon, who ran the show like a ‘high school’
• Buffy star Nicholas Brendon won’t comment on Joss Whedon allegations as he undergoes surgery for paralysed penis
• Buffy star Nicholas Brendon breaks silence on abuse claims, saying he loves Joss Whedon but ‘there were transgressions’
• Sarah Michelle Gellar speaks out as Buffy co-stars accuse Joss Whedon of ‘toxic’ abuse
• Buffy star James Marsters ‘heartbroken’ by Joss Whedon ‘toxic’ abuse allegations
• Buffy showrunner Marti Noxon speaks out on Joss Whedon abuse allegations: ‘I would like to validate their story’
• World of Warcraft's community is grappling with allegations of widespread racism in its top-end raiding guilds
• Time’s Up, Celebrities Call Out Golden Globes for Having Zero Black Members
• Gina Carano Has Been Fired From "The Mandalorian" Following Offensive Social Media Posts
• Game of Thrones’ breakout star Bella Ramsey to star as lesbian icon Ellie in HBO’s The Last of Us
• Henry Cavill teases ‘secret project’. And super sleuths say it has something to do with Mass Effect

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The Queen's Gambit took Netflix by storm when it released in late 2020. Finally, something to distract us from the shitshow that was the worst year ever! It was smart, sassy, addictive, and made chess cool again.

Like, did you know that chess sales rose significantly because of how popular The Queen's Gambit was?

Both of us absolutely loved this show. We thought the characters were perfect - and perfectly cast - and that the plot was intriguing and definitely captivating. We actually thought it was based on a true story, that's how fab it was!

If you haven't seen it yet, a little Cole's Notes summary: We follow Beth Harmon after she's been orphaned at 9 years old. She ends up at a very strict orphanage where she makes friends, gets hooked on focus drugs, and learns chess from Mr. Shaibel, the orphanage's caretaker. 

Beth is good good at chess. So good, she starts competing nearly right away! And we follow her career from orphanage, to adoption, to local competitions, to nationals, to world championships.

We love and hate the friends she makes along the way. We love and hate her adoptive mother. 
 Honestly there's just so much about this show.

It's incredible. It's honest. It's thrilling. It's about friendship. It's about family. It's about addiction. It's about loneliness. It's about love. It's about competition. It's about chasing happiness.

We get deep into it in this episode. And end by saying: if you haven't seen The Queen's Gambit yet - what the hell are you waiting for!? Stop what you're doing and go check it out right meow.

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If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please check out some of our others!

• Episode 64: Geek Interview: Smart is the New Sexy with Kate Wiswell
• Episode 88: Geek Discussion: Learning and Growing in these Challenging Times
• Episode 72: Geek Interview: Literally Surrounded by Dudes with ZiggySera

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 Amanda & Monika

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Like most geeks around the world, we were uber hyped for Wonder Woman 1984 to FINALLY come out. But now that it's out and we've wasted our time watching it... we wish it had stayed unreleased forever. How can one film make you feel so disappointed!?

Here's your spoiler warning: Basically spoilers throughout this entire episode which is really just one big long rant. Because how can you talk about one of, if not the WORST, superhero movies ever made without hitting into spoiler territory for the whole thing? Ya can't.

In this ode to a shit movie, we really do our best to make the rant humourous (totally unintentional) and think this might be the most entertaining 50 minutes of your entire week. You are WELCOME.

The best part of the movie is, very literally, the beginning with young Diana. 11 minutes of greatness. And then... it just goes downhill. All the fucking way downhill until it's rolling around in the mud and getting stuck and can't get it's footing back.

So what's wrong with it? In short:

• Female characters being reduced to appearance, hero worshipping, changing themselves to be someone they're not. GROSS. We are TIRED of this narrative!! Especially in what's supposed to be a superhero movie full of female empowerment.
• Diana being reduced to a love-sick puppy. The entire theme with Steve is dis-gust-ing and not at ALL the Wonder Woman we've come to know and love, especially after her first movie! We for real-real are not down with this storyline!
• The Dream Stone just doesn't make sense and how the heck does Max Lord know all about it when two highly intelligent women and scientists and researchers had never heard of it. Let's just leave that there, okay? This makes NO SENSE.
• Steve posessing some RANDOM AF dude, who doesn't even get a name, and does allll the sex with Diana. Um, hello?? Bodily consent??! Absolutely not okay with this scenario.
• Okay now they're in Egypt following the cheesiest scene in the history of cheesy scenes. Also, 1940's fighter pilot Steve now knows how to fly 1980's aircraft with NO PROBLEM AT ALL. Okay thennnnn.
• Gal Gadot's questionable AF heroic save of Egyptian children being "coincidentally" parallel to some Israeli bombinb of the Gaza Strip. GROSS. NOT OKAY. 
• Barbara - Cheetah - the ACTUAL villain is basically just a sidekick to Max Lord. She's not living up to her full potential and it's disappointing AF.

Okay so you can see where we're going with this, right!? 

Here's Some Resources

• Wonder Woman 1984 and the Exploration of Steve Trevor and Diana Prince
• Wonder Woman 1984′s Cheetah Is All Wasted Potential and Bad Implications
• Things We Saw Today: ‘Wonder Woman 3’ is Confirmed
• Wonder Woman 1984 Expects Me to Believe That THE Wonder Woman Has Spent Six Decades in Mourning and That Doesn’t Sit Well With Me
• I Thought We’d Moved Past Every Movie Led by a Woman Being a Referendum on the Very Concept
• Patty Jenkins’ Disappointing Response to Criticism of Body-Swapping Storyline in Wonder Woman 1984
• Wonder Woman 1984’s Major Misstep With Steve Trevor
• Screen Rant: Wonder Woman 1984 Pitch Meeting

Quotes

"The least superhero move and least empowering move I've ever seen in a movie about empowering women in their own choices." - Moni
 "As if the timeline is the fucking problem in this movie, let's be honest." - Moni

"Women are craving nice representation. Women are craving superheroes for them. And then we get THIS freaking bullshit." - Moni

"Make better choices than Wonder Woman 1984!" - Amanda

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If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please check out some of our others!

• Episode 104: Geeking Out About DC: New Trailers, Wonder Woman, & More!
• Episode 107: Geek Interview: Creating Feminist Characters with Game Developers Genese Davis and Seb Le Touze
• Episode 69: Geeking Out in Times of Crisis: Rise of the Geek

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You can find us Online / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Patreon!

Geekily yours,
 Amanda & Monika

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This episode is so personal and emotional with both Sascz and Frazley sharing their experiences in transitioning away from their assigned genders at birth. It hasn't been an easy journey with both our guests talking of the emotional and hurtful experiences they've both had.

About Translucidity

Frazley and Sascz started the podcast Translucidity to talk about all their experiences as transgender people. The podcast is for everyone to learn more about trans issues affecting them and the larger population.

Please note, that at the time of recording this episode, Frazley identified as non-binary. But, as gender and sexuality are totally fluid, Frazley recently came out as a trans woman with she/her pronouns. We love you, Frazley!

About Gender Identity and Fluidity

Sascz and Frazley bring up:

• when they knew they were trans
• navigating coming out
• how gender and sexuality is fluid
• how they feel now that they've transitioned away from their assigned gender at birth

This conversation is so important and empowering. Thank you to both Sascz and Frazley for being so open with us and our audience.

We finish this with: Trans rights are human rights. Trans men are men. Trans women are women. Got it? Okay, good.

Find Our Guest Online

Find Frazley On Twitch!

Find Frazley on Twitter | YouTube | Discord | Facebook | Instagram

You can find Sascz Online / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter

Check Out Geek Herring!

Follow Geek Herring on Twitch!! | Join the Geek Herring Book Club

Love Geek Herring, please hop over to Apple Podcasts and leave us a review!

Support Geek Herring on Patreon!

If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please check out some of our others!

• Geek Interview: Life as a Professional Feminist with Virginia Mendez from The Feminist Shop
• Geek Interview: Plus Size Nerding it up with Nancy Basile!
• Geek Herring Reviews Feminists: What Were They Thinking?

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Love Geek Herring, please hop over to Apple Podcasts and leave us a review!

Join us on Discord!!

You can find us Online / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Patreon!

Geekily yours,
 Amanda & Monika

Special Guests: Frazley and Sascz Herrmann.

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Geek Girl in the News looks at the awesome or not so awesome news that will make you go either: "YAY" or "OMG I can't believe that." 

The latest and greatest geek girl news from January 2020 covers the United States Presidential election (hellooooo policy reform and KAMALA HARRIS!), the wild ride that GameStop and Reddit shares have been, Activision Blizzard's diversity hiring policy, and Resident Evil's latest BABE of a vamp!

We spend entirely too much time in this week's episode talking about Joe Biden and Kamala Harris's Inauguration Day and everything they've done so far. BUT HONESTLY. After four years of utter horse shit from the previous administration, it's such a breath of fresh fucking air to actually BE ABLE To shout and celebrate.

No, they're not perfect. No politician is. We also acknowledge that there are a lot of issues regarding Native land agreements that are not being upheld and that very much should be. But right now, we are breathing a big sigh of relief that the Cheeto in Chief has flown down to Florida where he'll hopefully be held accountable for his actions of the last 4 years.

Biden and Harris? We are holding you accountable to all your promises. You've done a lot of good so far in the 13 days you've been in office - let's keep that momentum going and DO EVEN BETTER.

Okay, but that's not the only American news making headlines this month! A Reddit user started a subreddit encouraging people to buy stock in GameStop. Amanda's utterly rubbish explanation doesn't do it justice - but honestly this is AMAZING and we all need to know about it. The stock market is not just for old boys and their billions - us normal folk can play the system and make some money and eat the rich in the process.

We also talk about Activision Blizzard's bizarre statement when it comes to interviewing diverse candidates. One of their lawyers claimed that applying the Rooney Rule (interviewing ONE diverse candidate for each role) is impossible. Insert major eye roll here. After some serious and well deserved backlash, President and COO Daniel Alegre released a statement that not only was that lawyer incorrectly quoted, they do, in fact, AGGESSIVELY hire diversly.

Calm down, there, Dan.

Finally, we talk about all the fans losing their absolute shit over Resident Evil Village's latest lady of the night. Lady Dimitrescu is the tallest vampire babe the franchise has probably ever seen, clocking in at nearly 10 (yes 10) feet tall. Yeowzer! We see her just at the end of the RE Demo that's available on PS5 and that Monika is absolutely going to play live on stream soon!

What do YOU think about these news stories? We'd love your take! Let us know in the comments of wherever you see this episode!

In this episode of Geek Girl in the News, we covered these news stories:

• Lady Gaga’s Inauguration Performance IS the Gay Agenda
• Inaugural poet Amanda Gorman delivers a poem at Joe Biden's inauguration
• Here's the full list of Biden's executive actions so far
• Watch 13TH on Netflix
• Stephen Colbert Gives GameStop Saga The Hollywood Trailer It Needs
• Activision Blizzard says interviewing diverse candidates for every opening "unworkable"
• Resident Evil Village launches May 7th! Everything you need to know from the Resident Evil Showcase
• TWITTER STATEMENT: Your love for Lady Dimitrescu is loud and clear.

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If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please check out some of our others!

• Episode 53: Geek Discussion: Hong Kong Protests, Blizzard Entertainment, & Cancel Culture
• Episode 58: Geek Discussion: VKLiooon, & the Future of Women in eSports
• Episode 102: Geek Girl in the News: US Election Anxiety; AOC + Among Us = Love; & Barbie, the Role Model

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Love Geek Herring, please hop over to Apple Podcasts and leave us a review!

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You can find us Online / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Patreon!

Geekily yours,
 Amanda & Monika

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Tabletop RPGs are historically the territory of cis, white men, full of the types of issues that cause concern to many groups of people. That's why it's time to change the narrative surrounding these games, making them a more welcoming, acceptable, and inclusive environment. We're joined by community and convention organisaer, Kate Bullock, who talks about how she's creating safer spaces within the TTRPG community.

About Kate Bullock

Kate Bullock is a community and convention organizer with a passion for creating safer and more inclusive spaces within the TTRPG community. She’s one of the main organizers of Breakout Gaming Convention, community manager for Magpie Games, co-owner of Unicorn Motorcycle Games, and the outgoing president of the Indie Game Developer Network. 

You can find her blog, Bluestocking’s Organic Gaming, filled with in depth analyses of the gaming community and what we can do to make it better. Kate is a consultant for safety and inclusion in the RPG world, as well as a content editor for RPGs to ensure they meet industry standards around inclusion and safety. You can find her games Crossroads Carnival, Savior, Remember Me, and more on drivethru, or see her work in Atlas Animalia, Flames of Freedom, and After the War.

About Changing the Tabletop Narrative

Kate Bullock joins us to talk about her work in changing the common racist and misogynistic narratives that are so often found in tabletop roleplaying games. This is a challenging, male-dominated industry to work in, yet alone make substantial changes in, but Kate's certainly making the changes she's set out to do.

Kate explains why this change is so gradual: for an industry with so much general interest, the net profit margins are slim, making significantly less than the video game industry.

But Kate doesn't let this deter her mission and works full-time in the industry, dedicated to change. Unfortunately, since she's now creating the games, she doesn't get to play as often as she'd like to.

Kate's also a committed community manager. She strives to ensure the communities she manages are inclusive and safe for everyone, especially marginalised ​groups of people. She's recommended some great books, too, if you're interested in inclusive community management:

• I Hope We Choose Love by Kai Cheng Thom
• Are We Done Fighting? by Matthew Legge
• Nonviolent Communication by Marshall Rosenberg
• Conflict is Not Abuse by Sarah Schulman

And Just a Few TTRPG Resources Kate Mentioned:

• Camdon.com
• Mork Borg

Find Kate Bullock Online

You can find Kate Bullock Online and Twitter
Fine Unicorn Motorcycle Games Online

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If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please check out some of our others!

• Episode 95: Geek Interview: Redefining Genres with New York Times Bestselling Author Madeleine Roux
• Episode 105: Geek Discussion: Why Geek Community Matters
• Episode 107: Geek Interview: Creating Feminist Characters with Game Developers Genese Davis and Seb Le Touze

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Geekily yours,
 Amanda & Monika

Special Guest: Kate Bullock.

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The Body is Not an Apology by Sonya Renee-Taylor is one of the best books we've ever read about body positivity. We're sharing our first discussion, coinciding with chapter one of the book, that was recorded live on Twitch - and not originally intended to be a podcast episode, so please note the sound quality is not 100% up to our usual standard.

Opening up about our own experiences with our bodies was like going to group therapy with your best friends. Being joined by our community friend and moderator, Gemma, who brought her experience with disability and fatness added another very important element to this discussion.

Learning that we don't need to apolgise for existing in our bodies is revolutionary and, as Sonya Renee Taylor states, radical. This conversation is so important to have, that's why we're sharing it on our wider podcast.

Just some of the topics we bring up:

• Fatness
• Body shame
• Disability
• Neurodiversity
• Loving our bodies where they are
• Self-love
• Filling our own cup
• Guilt
• SO MUCH MORE

We'd love to know your thoughts! Have you joined book club yet? Are you reading along with us?

Quotes

"We just need to be and be becoming." - Gemma

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If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please check out some of our others!

• Episode 110: Geek Discussion: Fit is a Feminist Issue with Geek Girl Strong, Robyn Warren
• Geek Interview: Plus Size Nerding it up with Nancy Basile!
• Episode 94: Geek Discussion: Naked on the Twitch Set!

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Geekily yours,
 Amanda & Monika

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