I am super excited to be part of San Diego Comic-Con Special Edition! With my colleagues, we will share on X-men as an allegory for the marginalized. The X-Men cartoons, comics, and films have impacted generations of people who feel like outcasts and perpetually misunderstood. Some of us grew up in environments where our unique gifts and innate traits were perceived as threats to those who did not understand. Some of us grew up with the message that being different is a burden and something that makes us broken. We learned that we were only accepted if we hid parts of who we were, we masked who we truly were and hid behind shame and fears of rejection. We may have lived for the approval of others, and it created feelings of self-hatred, confusion, sadness, anxiety, anger, or resentment.
Xmen and other references have been the source of escape, healing, and empowerment for so many. Knowing that there is beauty in diversity and increased representation, we can learn to cultivate acceptance for our unique differences as well as see others more wholly and compassionately. Many times we fear what we do not understand, and that can make countless people feel less than. It can create cycles of misunderstanding, pain, and rejection.
As pop culture has evolved in terms of diversity, inclusion, and antiracist practices, it is important to honor where we come from. This panel will explore the personal narratives and insights of Leo Partible, Tara Avery, Lorran Garrison, and Boontarika Sripom (me). We will share on perspectives of BIPOC, Neurodivergent, and LGBTQIA community members and professionals in the creative industry, educational, mental health, and helping professions.
We will also remind and highlight spaces that offer solace and community to geeks and misunderstood. Comic shops, cons, meetups, Discords, online games, a friend’s house to play D&D—these are all hubs for safety and escape from a world that reminds us too often that we are “broken". Being misunderstood is not the same.
We get that reminder when we find community, that there are others like us. There is hope to thrive when our experiences are honored.
How to Apply the X-men & Other References: Learning & Supporting the Needs of the Neurodiverse, BIPOC, & LGBTQIA+
Sunday November 28 1-2pm, Room 2
San Diego Comic-Con Special Edition
SOCIALS:
Lorran Garrison, School Psychologist Instagram
Leo Partible (Storyteller, Film, Comics, Music+) Instagram
Tara Avery (Stacked Deck Press) Instagram
Boontarika Sripom (Therapy-Informed Life Coach) Instagram
X-Men ‘97 logo, Marvel Studios
UPDATE!: X-Men ‘97 is coming to Disney+
This panel will also help celebrate X-Men ‘97 coming to Disney+ in 2023. The animated series empowered generations of people who felt misunderstood. Many of us continue to feel misunderstood, like mutants. We attempt to speak our truths and seek safety in community. Having shared narratives of difference, compassion, struggle, survival, and thriving are what makes X-Men and other heroic sagas so influential and lasting.
We see ourselves when we need to be seen. We see possibility to fight for who we are, and that others have and will go through similar battles just to exist. We also see that there are those who will stand up and fight for others, uplift, mentor, and protect.
Here’s to another generation of mutants being able to embrace their differences in a world that isn’t always made for us. Here’s to hope that we continue finding one another to create our own schools for gifted youngsters.
How to Create Safe Spaces in the Geek Community During Traumatic Times: Survive the Zombie (Covid) Apocalypse (Lorran Garrison, Robert Rice, & Jamila Mahfudh)
How to Create Safe Spaces in the Geek Community During Traumatic Times: Survive the Zombie (Covid) Apocalypse
Saturday November 27th 1-2 pm Room 2
My colleagues Lorran Garrison & Jamila Mahfudh are on another panel with Robert Rice discussing how geek culture saved us during pandemic, and ways to integrate back into society after experiencing the Covid apocalypse. We cannot go back to how things used to be. There are things learned and wonderful gifts of connection and story that can empower us towards something better.
SOCIALS
Lorran Garrison, School Psychologist Instagram
Jamila Mahfudh (Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist)
Robert Rice (actor, singer, co-producer of DemonHuntr)
