How Geeks OUT Put Queer Community at the Center of Geek Culture

For LGBTQ people who find community in comics, gaming, science fiction, superheroes, and other forms of “geek” media, New York City is home to an organization built specifically with them in mind. Geeks OUT, a nonprofit founded in 2010, works to strengthen queer representation and connection within geek culture.

The organization’s focus extends across the media and hobbies that shape contemporary fandom. Its website has covered comics, video games, tabletop gaming culture, television, film, and science fiction through an LGBTQ-focused perspective. That approach treats queer fans and creators not as an afterthought within fandom, but as a community with its own voices, interests, and cultural influence.

Geeks OUT’s work began with an effort to bring a more visible queer presence to local comic conventions. Since then, the organization has expanded its activities beyond New York, holding events in five major cities and appearing at conventions around the country, according to the reference material. Its most prominent project is Flame Con, described as the world’s largest LGBTQ comic convention.

Flame Con gives queer creators, readers, artists, and fans a dedicated setting for meeting and sharing work. The convention also reflects Geeks OUT’s broader role: connecting LGBTQ identity with the expansive communities that form around comics and speculative storytelling. Rather than separating queer culture from fandom, the organization presents the two as naturally intertwined.

Geeks OUT has also participated in national conversations about LGBTQ representation and inclusion in popular entertainment. In 2013, it helped launch the Skip Ender’s Game campaign, urging audiences to avoid the film adaptation of Orson Scott Card’s science-fiction novel. Promoted through the hashtag #SkipEndersGame, the campaign drew international attention and demonstrated how queer fans could organize around concerns about a creator’s public views while debating how, or whether, to engage with a major franchise.

The group’s publishing work has further supported queer creative voices. Geeks OUT is identified as the publisher behind “Power! An Anthology of Queer Creators,” extending its mission from events and advocacy into print.

Taken together, these efforts have given Geeks OUT a lasting place in both LGBTQ organizing and geek culture. Its New York City roots remain central to a model that combines community-building, media criticism, convention programming, and support for queer creators. For local fans, the organization offers a reminder that representation is not limited to who appears on screen or on a comic-book page; it also includes who gets to gather, publish, organize, and shape the culture around those stories.

Source and reuse information This backgrounder adapts factual material from “Geeks OUT” on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geeks_OUT The adapted text is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International license (CC BY-SA 4.0): https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/. This story has not been independently reviewed or fact-checked.

Further links listed by the Wikipedia page (not independently checked): - https://web.archive.org/web/20180323222713/http://skipendersgame.com/ - https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/enders-game-boycott-planned-orson-581693/ - https://www.wired.com/2013/07/orson-scott-card-boycott/ - https://www.latimes.com/books/la-xpm-2013-jul-11-la-et-jc-orson-scott-card-antigay-enders-game-boycott-20130711-story.html - https://web.archive.org/web/20151108111305/https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/compost/wp/2013/07/10/why-skipping-enders-game-because-of-orson-scott-card-is-a-bad-idea/ - https://slate.com/culture/2013/11/enders-game-adapted-from-orson-scott-cards-novel-reviewed.html Image rights Original illustrative artwork created from story keywords. It is not a documentary photograph.