Activity
Mon
Wed
Fri
Sun
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
What is this?
Less
More

Memberships

Game Master's Laboratory

407 members • Free

Rare Magic Membership

11 members • Free

Rare Magic Collective

91 members • Free

1 contribution to Game Master's Laboratory
An Observation of the Good News/Bad News Type
I'm at Origins in Columbus, OH. It seems to me like a place where a lot of people from all across the sex/gender spectrum feel comfortable being their genuine selves. I don't know everyone's story but I've seen a *lot* of people signalling pretty openly about things from kink to sexual orientation to gender identity. There are a lot of rainbows here and while some of them are attached to unicorns or rain clouds, many of them are on lapel pins, suspenders, decals on laptops, etc. There are also the more subtle things like hearing to 50-something guy who was teaching me the character creation process for a new (to me) RPG, excitedly talking about a recent character of his, who was a 20-something woman who had been a star athlete in high school and who now used those gifts and training to fight crime. There are enough people walking around in cosplay or fantasy armor that I can't always spot the kinksters, but they're definitely here. That (all) is the Good News. I spent part of today trying to find a friend of mine. I knew what company he was working for and I went looking for him at their booth (vendor hall isn't open yet, but Iget access during set-up). He wasn't around. We exchanged some messages and I found out where he was -- or where I thought he was. I wandered the Gaming Hall looking for him, going up and down 1-2 aisles where I thought he would be. I thought I spotted him a couple of times -- because he's a P.O.C., and there were few enough that any time I saw someone it was noteworthy. Now, it's early in the con and that means there are fewer people here overall, but that shouldn't change the proportional makeup of the people here. And I know we're in Ohio, but I also know this event draws people from all over the country. There are all different aspects of Gaming represent here -- trading card games, LARPs, Escape rooms, board games, kids games, social deduction games, RPGs, etc. I'm not casting aspersions on any one segment of the the gaming world -- but I think we all can and should do better. I don't have a solution and I don't have it in my power to fix it. But I'm hoping that by gently pointing out the wildly disproportionate representation here -- at least for one segment of the population -- we'll all try to do better.
2 likes • 13d
@Alex Newman I have had this exact thought at nearly every convention I've been to in the last few years. I think PAX and GENCON are a little better, but not much, and Origins is especially egregious in that regard. I brought it up with an industry person once and... I'll just say I was not impressed with their response. I decided to skip conventions altogether this year for a lot of reasons, but I certainly don't miss the feeling of noticing who's not in the room.
1-1 of 1
Elizabeth Roberts
1
3points to level up
@elizabeth-roberts-1667
Gamer, adventurer, amateur human

Active 56m ago
Joined Mar 14, 2026
Powered by