Thanks for visiting the Gay League! Got a question? It might be answered below (just click any question to reveal the answer), so try checking there first. But if not, please submit a question in the form at the very end.
The Gay League has been around in some form or another since 1997, with its beginnings in the old AOL chat rooms, where a few LGBT individuals found and connected with each other. Most people who have read comics all of their life know that being a comics fan can sometimes get them treated like a pariah. That attitude’s changed in recent years — thank goodness –with the growth of “geek” culture, and the popularity of superhero films, Comic-Con, and genre TV. But it wasn’t always that easy, and comics fans often sought each other out.
When you add LGBT on top of that, you fit into an even SMALLER circle of people, and sometimes it’s hard to connect with other comics fans who don’t share the same experiences/point of view as you. That’s why we created the Gay League in the first place, so LGBT fans could have a group they can more easily connect with. Is the world becoming a more accepting place for LGBT individuals? Absolutely! (Although it still has a long way to go). Some people may think a group like this is completely unnecessary in today’s world, but we still think the LGBT comics fan experience is unique, and we want to create a safe place for those fans to congregate.
No, of course not! We’re an inclusive group, and honestly… ANYONE can join. BUT — they MUST be LGBT-friendly (and be okay to have a profile that starts with “gayleague.com/members/….”), and we will absolutely NOT tolerate anyone who joins with the intention of spreading hate speech or engaging in bullying behavior. We moderate this site heavily, and anyone involved in inappropriate behavior will have their profile and any of their content deleted, and their e-mail and ISP banned.
(P.S. — Yes, we really are inclusive off all genders and orientations despite the name “Gay League.” We weren’t very forward thinking before registering the domain name almost two decades ago).
Yep — absolutely 100% FREE. Unlike other social sites, your personal info is never shared or sold to other services. You can also control the visibility of your Profile information (public, members only, or only you). We will also not bombard you with a bunch of annoying ads. (There are absolutely none for now, and there won’t be for some time — but we MAY have non-invasive ads at some point in the future, and if so it would only be for stuff that we’re absolutely sure our community would want to know about).
We hope that if people like what they see, and enjoy all the features the site has to offer, that members will donate a little something to help keep the site running. The site will run no matter what, so you don’t need to worry about joining and then it all suddenly goes away — but ANY donations definitely help the Gay League staff from paying out-of-pocket every month. Find out more about donating by clicking HERE. You can also help by purchasing products from the Gay League store (still to come — watch for an announcement soon!).
A lot of what we offer is already covered in the JOIN THE GAY LEAGUE page, but it only scratches the surface. We’ll be continually adding new features in the future, with more and more ways for LGBT fans to connect and discuss the stuff that matters most to them. Our goal is to get fans more connected not just online, but offline in meetups as well.
A lot of what we have to offer can only be discovered once you become a member — so what are you waiting for?? Register now!
MISSIONS are just a fun little way to encourage more activity on this site, and for people to be more social. The more you engage in certain activities (friending other members, engaging in discussions in forums/groups, etc), the more MISSIONS you will complete, and more badges you will require. HONORS are special badges you get for special activities (such as completing a certain number of missions or donating, with more to come in the future).
The badges are simply fun to collect for now, BUT — we may be doing something really special with them at a later date. There are always possibilities that we may have a limited number of freebies to give out in the future, or other incentives — and the number of badges that one has collected will definitely have benefits in that regard.