Gaylaxicon

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Convention
Name: Gaylaxicon
Dates:
Frequency: annual
Location: shifting and international
Type: fan-run fan con
Focus: GLBTQ SFF
Organization: Gaylactic Network, The Gaylaxians
Founder: The Gaylaxian Science Fiction Society (GSFS)
Founding Date: 1988
URL: 2004 con
2004 mailing list
2005 con
2009 con
2012 con
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Gaylaxicon is an annual international Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror convention for gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, transgender people and their friends. Gaylaxicon was begun in 1988.[1]

Rodger Gonder was head of the art show up until 1992.

1988

1989

1990

flyer for 1990

The two guest of honors were Melissa Scott and Hannah Shapero.

1990: Con Report

I went to Gaylaxicon, where I was an invited guest. This is a con for Gay people and their friends." I was on several panels. One of the most interesting was one on "why Lesbian women like to see men make it." I found out that even some of the most "feminist" and "politically correct" Lesbians have the same desire to read stories about Gay male relationships Several reasons were given: 1) Lesbians like to read and write stories about any sort of Gay relationship, whether it involves men or women 2) Writing about Gay men puts just a bit of "distance" for a Lesbian writer: writing about Gay women can get just a bit too personal. 3) Many women like
 to write about men, perhaps to make them more "romantic." I've heard the 
criticism of slash that "real Gay men don't act this way." This assumes,
 stereotypically, that all Gay men are obsessed with sex and physical 
appearance, that no Gay man can bear monogamy or romantic relationships. I
 know plenty of Gay men, and know this stereotype to be FALSE. Anyway, yet 
another reason for wanting to read and write about Gay men is to deal with 
such "women's" topics as rape and incest. A split occured in the panel, 
between those who were into rape fantasy and those who felt they needed to
 deal with rape and incest as real and personal issues in their lives. The 
tension got a bit high at this point. I am one of those people who simply
 can NOT fantasize about rape. I got the distinct impression that some women 
like to fantasize about male rape because they can then take the role of
 the rapist; they can turn the whole scene around and make a man into a 
sniveling, humiliated victim. I can't relate to this, either.


One rumor to lay at rest: Ellen Kushner was at this con, and she made it
 clear that SWORDSPOINT is based on her original characters, NOT on any
 media characters (a popular rumor has it that SWORDSPOINT started as a
 Bodie/Doyle novel. Not true).

Other interesting panels included
 world-building, Lesbian characters, and a slash workshop. I met more slash
 fans, including a few Gay male fans. There is an organization called the 
Gaylactic Network, and they are preparing a special issue of their 
bulletin, based on slash. I just sent in an article concerning Bodie/Doyle
 fandom. [2]

1991

1992

1993

There was no con this year due to the death of Rodger Gonder.

1994

This con was the sixth "Gaylaxicon."

Guest of Honor was Jewelle Gomez, Artist Guest of Honor was Tom Howell, Jr. Special Guest was Forrest J Ackerman.

1995

1999

2004

The 2004 convention was held April 8–11 in San Diego.[3]

2005

The 2005 convention was held July 1–4 in Boston.[4]

2009

The 2009 con was held in Minneapolis. Doctor Who fan Jason Tucker helped to run the con during this year.[5]

2012

The 2012 con was held in Minneapolis. Doctor Who fan Jason Tucker helped to run the con during this year.

References

  1. ^ Miriam Boon (June 7, 2006). "I don't think we're in Kansas anymore". Xtra. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  2. ^ Susan Douglass in Short Circuit #3 (October 1990)
  3. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20040404030822/http://www.gaylaxicon.org/2004/
  4. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20040404071601/http://www.gaylaxicon.org/2005/
  5. ^ Queers Dig Time Lords book - "He helped to run Gaylaxicon, the annual GLBT science fiction and fantasy convention in 2009 and 2012, when it was held in Minneapolis."