Recognizing LGBTQ History at ReggieCon

NORMAL, Ill. – A monthly event involving comic book and convention-culture is recognizing LGBTQ history in October.

October is LGBTQ history month and ReggieCon is ready to tackle this topic. ReggieCon which prides itself on deconstructing gender ethnicity and race through movies and comic books, will be taking a dive into a graphic novel called The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen. The story follows a mother and her gay son who are struggling to communicate with each other through a language barrier. 

Dr. Scott Jordan, a professor at ISU for the Department of Psychology, along with other panelists have been putting on ReggieCon for three seasons. When creating the convention Dr. Jordan said the group was concerned with giving voices to those who may be oppressed and aren’t able to stick up for themselves. 

“It’s not just another Con, it’s a con that celebrates diversity, celebrates equity, celebrates inclusion,” said Jordan.

More importantly the monthly zoom meetings provide a forum for conversations to take place. While on the surface, ReggieCon may seem like any other comic book convention, but its focus on adult discussions surrounding difficult topics sets Dr. Jordan’s convention out from others. 

“Seeing a group of diverse adults discuss a difficult topic with love, respect, compassion and disagreement,” said Jordan. “I’ve had ReggieCon panelists say to me ‘Scott, I’m going to have to back you up on that’ and they say their bit, but it’s done with love, it’s done with respect, and I think for me it’s important for the world to simply see that.”

Dr. Jordan saw a lack of recognition of social issues in the world, not only online or at the University. 

“Showing the world that we’re not into right and wrong, it’s not what we do,” said Jordan. “For me personally, it’s just so important, because we’re not talking like adults as a culture and if the University can’t do it, who’s supposed to? For me, it’s a personal mission to put out there for the world and for our students…”

This month’s ReggieCon will take place on Wednesday, October 19 at 7 p.m. The event will be on zoom and the link can be found at IllinoisState.edu.