Hair Nah: A Momentary Release from the Personal Space Invasion

by | Nov 20, 2017 | Features

Two weeks ago, my nine-year-old came home from school in tears because people wouldn’t stop touching her hair. We live in a rural town that is lacking in diversity. Her kinky, curly, amber tresses are quite unusual. She understands that what makes her unique also makes her a subject of curiosity. But my child is not a pet and people invading her personal space serves only to bring out the mama bear in me.

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Heated Gaming Moments: What’s Acceptable? (Not Racism)

by | Sep 21, 2017 | Uncategorized

Felix Kjellberg once again has said something racist. In a livestream last week he used a racist slur. Noted buffoon Ian Miles Cheong chose to mischaracterise this as understandable; as Kjellberg, also known as PewDiePie, let loose the term whilst in a “heated gaming moment”–angry because he was momentarily losing at a game–Cheong suggested that both the phrase and its use were meaningless. In fact, of course, what a person has allowed themselves to become comfortable proclaiming (internally or externally) is what will come out of their mouth when they are excited and cross. If Kjellberg is comfortable with racist language, that is what he will say. And he did. This is why people call him “racist.” It’s very simple mathematics.

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Diversify Tabletop: Finding Diverse Designers Among the d20s

by | Sep 23, 2015 | Interviews, Tabletop Games

Recently, I noticed a new hashtag pop up on my Twitter feed: #DiversifyTabletop. I took notice because I’ve seen a couple of attempts to make lists of tabletop games made by women, PoC, and members of the LGBTQ community. The assumption is that these type of creators are not as visible as the traditional straight white male designer. There are a lack of resources, promotion, and cultural support for those outside of this mold. Tanya D. and Emily Care Boss are trying to fix that through their initiative “Diversify Tabletop.” (more…)