Say ‘Hi’ to Gayming Magazine’s new Editor-in-Chief, Aimee Hart

Hi Gayming Magazine, I’m Aimee Hart, your new editor-in-chief. Welcome to the home of queer geek culture!

Back in August 2019, I met my future boss (who doesn’t like being called that, but I’m refusing to call him M’Lord,) the brilliant Robin Gray and we sat and talked about the future of Gayming Magazine. At the time of us talking, Gayming hadn’t been fully live for more than a few weeks but I’d already had a piece published. Naturally, it was about exploring your identity with the tabletop game, Dungeons and Dragons. I’m nothing if not predictable.

Robin described to me a site that was not only exciting, but one that would challenge the gaming space in a hard-hitting way. An LGBTQ+ gaming site that would focus not just on queer video games and the people behind them, but the way video games let us explore who we are through a queer, critical lens. Even more exciting is that we’d create an Awards show to celebrate those games! It’d take a bit of time, but it’d get there and as you already know, it did with the inaugural Gayming Awards this year. I was already sold, and very willing to jump into the seat as Gayming Magazine’s deputy editor. I had the experience of being a freelance video game journalist for two years at the time, and I knew my way around SEO. And I loved video games, particularly the gay ones. So you know, I was the perfect fit.

I’d like to say Gayming Magazine burst to life back when I took the reins in September 2019, but that wouldn’t necessarily be true. It was more like planting a seed and through a lot of trial and error – so much trial and error – becoming pleasantly surprised at how much the little tike had grown after nearly setting it on fire twice. It turns out that being a freelancer really doesn’t prepare you for everything, after all! There were many times I failed. Sometimes it’d be two weeks until I got back to a freelancer, and they would understandably be pissed. Sometimes I’d mess up on SEO. Once I even messed up putting an old article draft up and not the new one and didn’t notice until a freelancer called my attention to it. I was mortified and under a lot of pressure. There were obviously some things I wish I had done better, but ultimately I can’t change the past.

And now I’m Editor in Chief of this whole darn place! Talk about nerve-wracking, right?

In all seriousness, I think it’s important to talk about mistakes and strive to do better. And well, Gayming has always been great at bolstering queer voices and offering new opportunities for writers to talk about the things that mean something to them. But I don’t want it all to stop there. I want Gayming Magazine to be the home of queer geek culture, a place people go to when they want to hear what LGBTQ+ folks think about their media, whether that be finding out about the latest Marvel film, DC comic, and even the esports scene with the queer community that is vibrant and thriving there. And, of course, my vision also includes what we cover now: video games. This, of course, includes indie gaming which due to the absolute mindf*ckery of SEO, often gets lost in the hype of big, triple-A games. 

I can’t promise that we cover each and every single queer indie game, but we’ll do our damned hardest because I believe that everyone deserves a chance to see their work in the spotlight – especially queer game developers. We’ve been told that we ‘don’t sell’ so many times, that it feels strange to have video game companies flip the argument and say ‘diversity is profitable’ now. And to be honest, I don’t know how to feel about that. But I’m going to find out, because if Gayming is good at one thing then it’s getting to the heart of something and looking at it from a different perspective.

So, now that I’ve sounded fancy for a few minutes you might be wondering what’s changing now that I’m in charge. Well, nothing much. Robin would be the first to tell you that I’ve practically been in the leading role with Gayming’s site since I started. I’ll still be accepting pitches and I’ll still be working through to make sure queer games are at the forefront of our coverage, whether it be through news, features, or even op-eds.

However, if Gayming Magazine is going to be the home of queer culture then it’s going to be looking at more than just video games. Not only will we be looking at comics, tabletop games, film, and TV, but queer fandom, communities, esports, and something that often gets looked down upon: mobile gaming.

There are so many gay games out there, and it’s so easy to think that the only way you can find them is on consoles and/or PC. That’s simply not the case. One of the most popular games in the world is PlayChoices, a game that can only be played on Android and iOS devices. It has a thriving fandom, but you wouldn’t think so considering it’s rarely covered on mainstream websites. And that’s not a dig, that’s just a plain fact. We want to expand the LGBTQ+ medium for our readers, and so a step towards queer mobile gaming is not just beneficial for us, but for you.

Even outside of our coverage though, my biggest goal is that I want Gayming to be even more inclusive than it is. LGBTQ+ media and publications have always focused too much on the cis, white, skinny side of things and all it’s ever pushed is a feeling of inadequacy among other members and, to be frank, isn’t even remotely accurate of who makes up the LGBTQ+ community in the first place. 

I do not want Gayming to fall in that same hole. Gayming isn’t just cis, white and skinny. Gayming is fat. Gayming is trans. Gayming is BIPOC. Gayming is for everyone. 

But as of now, my statement is just words. The only way to show that I’m serious is through action and I hope you, dear readers, will follow me and Gayming as we go on this journey.

About The Author

Aimee Hart

[She/They] Aimee Hart specializes in queer fandom, video games and tabletop, having started her career writing for numerous websites like The Verge, Polygon, Input Magazine and more. Her goal now is to boost LGBTQ+ voices in the video games industry.

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