Editor: Mandy Burkhead
Inkd Publishing
Works Featured: “The Lindwyrm” by G.D. Burkhead, “A Midwinter Night’s Escape” by Mandy Burkhead
This is a set of fabulous short stories focused on queer characters by a diverse group of talented authors.
Introduction
The first major theme of all of these stories is that they have a queer main protagonist. But why do we use the term queer specifically?
Queer was once used an insult by those outside the community to refer to homosexuality and gender nonconformance as strange, weird, or unnatural.
Identifying as gay or lesbian gave way to the acronym LGB in the 1990s with the recognition of bisexuality. These letters have since expanded to include T (transgender), Q (queer or questioning), 2S (two-spirit), I (intersex), A (asexual/aromantic/agender), and + (and more). That’s a lot of letters and symbols! (Some detractors like to make fun of this by calling it the alphabet mafia, but in this queer’s humble opinion, that’s actually a pretty badass term.)
In recent years, queer has become a preferred term, especially among millennials and younger generations, to identify anyone outside of the cisgender, heteronormative sphere and create a community for ourselves.
No matter what label you use, though, the most important thing to remember is that these labels are descriptive, not prescriptive. Labels can help us to identify ourselves when all our lives, we have only felt that we are different, strange, or unwelcome. They can help us to find a community of like-minded folks so that we know that we are not alone.
But we should never feel that they are strict boxes that limit us and how we express ourselves. Sexuality and gender are fluid, and the whole point of identifying as queer is to separate ourselves from the strict labels assigned to us at birth by society.
That’s one part of the title, but what about the “Yay!” part? The second major theme of this anthology is that all of the stories in it celebrate queerness. Being queer is not an insult, nor is it unnatural (though some of us may embrace our own strangeness or weirdness). It is, in fact, something to be celebrated.
As much as possible, I wanted to focus on stories of queer joy, as for too long, our media has primarily presented queer people in tragedies and as villains.
Does that mean that all of these stories have a happily ever after? Not necessarily. Does it mean that they are devoid of conflict? Certainly not! But in the end, all capture the essence of embracing and celebrating queerness.
So whether you identify as queer, are an ally, or just love a good story, we hope that you enjoy this anthology.
Disclaimer: This anthology is not owned by Burkshelf, and we do not make any money from the purchase of the anthology by following the links above.
