{"id":128572,"date":"2022-10-03T23:36:18","date_gmt":"2022-10-03T23:36:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.microsoft.com\/?p=447248"},"modified":"2022-10-03T23:36:18","modified_gmt":"2022-10-03T23:36:18","slug":"bringing-lgbtqia-history-to-life-in-the-metaverse-and-through-open-source-design","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2022\/10\/03\/bringing-lgbtqia-history-to-life-in-the-metaverse-and-through-open-source-design\/","title":{"rendered":"Bringing LGBTQIA+ history to life in the metaverse and through open source design"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bringing LGBTQIA+ history to life in the metaverse and through open source design.<\/em><\/p>\n

By Aleksey Fedorov<\/p>\n

It feels like it\u2019s about to rain. Dark silhouettes of skyscrapers shape the horizon. I can hear the chants and feel the energy of a nearby crowd. As I walk toward Stonewall Inn, I\u2019m repeating the steps millions have taken before me and though I\u2019ve been here countless times before, this time is different. I\u2019m here in my VR headset, virtually experiencing Christopher Street Park in the metaverse.<\/p>\n

Many of our community\u2019s memories are tied to places and events \u2014 like that fateful night of June 28, 1969, at Stonewall Inn \u2014 and to honor LGBTQIA+ History Month, we wanted to bring history to life in an accessible way. We\u2019re excited to invite everyone into this living museum, which is filled with rich stories, collective memories, and poignant interviews.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"Christopher<\/div>\n<\/div>
Christopher Street Park has been re-created in AltSpace VR for everyone to experience and discover.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Creating the future we want to see can only happen if we decide to make history together, which is why we\u2019re also open sourcing the Pride flag we released this past June! We\u2019ve long been believers in the power of democratic design<\/a> \u2014 in people coming together to define their own narratives and futures \u2014 and we were so inspired and humbled by the global response to the flag design that we want to share it beyond our own borders. By open sourcing it, we\u2019re eager to see how you remix it as a way of continuing to create and define the future of our movement.<\/p>\n

Here is the story of these two new experiences.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"The<\/div>\n<\/div>
Pride flag now represents 40 LGBTQIA+ communities and is open source, available for everyone to build on.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A Banner of Pride
<\/strong>The Pride flag is one of the most visible symbols of the LGBTQIA+ community. Originally created by Gilbert Baker in 1978, it has gone through many updates and changes over the years to reflect the ever-growing and expanding movement.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to show how large our community is. Intersectionality. Solidarity. Unity. They are important, we need them more than ever,\u201d said Andre Bazire, one of the people behind the new Pride flag that Microsoft introduced this year.<\/p>\n

Those themes resonated deeply with our global community, and your reactions defied our wildest imagination.<\/p>\n

\u201cFlag discourse is over, this is the new flag now,\u201d said dieDoktor<\/a> in response to the flag design. \u201cIt\u2019s a vibe.\u201d \u201cIt\u2019s so chaotic, I love it.\u201d The first comments came in quickly and within hours, there were thousands of likes, retweets, replies, and new comments that gave us all the feels. \u201cInto the queerverse,\u201d \u201cBi not afraid,\u201d \u201cBiblically accurate Pride flag.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"Twitter<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
\n
\"Tweeter<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
\n
\"Twitter<\/div>
A few of our favorite reactions and tweets to the Pride flag we shared earlier this year.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

In this avalanche of emotions one thing was clear: people loved the representation the flag brought to light \u2014 and the daring, unapologetic way we celebrated LGBTQIA+ unity and impact.<\/p>\n

We believe in the collective power to make change. Pride for us is not a private project. Inspired by your response, we\u2019re making our 2022 Pride flag design available to every person on the planet \u2014 to use, build on, and share. Together.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re releasing source files and ready-made assets on GitHub<\/a> and Figma<\/a> under Creative Commons licenses, from wallpapers for laptops, tablets and phones, to assets that you can make wholly yours.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re also making updates to the original flag design to further advance LGBTQIA+ visibility and representation. With the addition of Aroace, Ambiamorous, Aroflux, Aceflux, Demiromantic, and Unlabeled flags, this Pride flag now represents 40 LGBTQIA+ communities<\/a> in all \u2014 and our passion for expanding LGBTQIA+ visibility and representation doesn\u2019t stop here. We hope you\u2019ll continue building and evolving this flag yourself, as a symbol of Pride that unites and grows beyond borders.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"The<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
\n
\"The<\/div>
From left to right, the new Pride flag and the original version with Ally flags. The new flag features updated flag colors and six more LGBTQIA+ flags.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Living history
<\/strong>What happened at Stonewall Inn changed our history. At a time when some are trying to reverse the progress of the past decades, Microsoft designer iAsia Brown felt compelled to act. \u201cIt\u2019s so important for us to know our history. Where we came from, what we fought for, and use that as a starting point for action today,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

We know that proximity drives empathy, so Brown, together with a few Microsoft designers and industry experts, set about re-creating Christopher Street Park in VR. \u201cWe didn\u2019t just want to build another street. We wanted to create a living museum. A place you can keep coming back for more and keep learning.\u201d<\/p>\n

The street is walled with video screens showing footage from the riots. Interviews with activists intersperse with stories and audio snippets, and there\u2019s a timeline of key milestones of LGBTQIA+ history. And, like in a real museum, there are real visitors \u2014 just like you, too.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"A<\/div>\n<\/div>
Microsoft designer iAsia Brown narrates a short, guided tour of Christopher Street Park, accessible for everyone on <\/em>YouTube<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And because history should be shared, we are making this experience available for everyone on the planet<\/a>. You can join on Windows, Mac, or in a VR headset and experience it with others. We are also excited to release a short, guided tour narrated by iAsia herself.<\/p>\n

Honoring LGBTQIA+ people every day of the year
<\/strong>The power of human history lies in the visceral ties between the past, present, and future. The past remains alive in the present and it\u2019s from the present that we imagine the future we want to build together.<\/p>\n

Pride history is alive every single day and as we strive to uplift LGBTQIA+ people worldwide, we\u2019re leaning into the power of the metaverse and open source design. We hope these new experiences inspire you to continue creating and defining our shared history and we\u2019d love for you to join us on this journey here and on Microsoft Unlocked<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bringing LGBTQIA+ history to life in the metaverse and through open source design. By Aleksey Fedorov It feels like it\u2019s about to rain. Dark silhouettes of skyscrapers shape the horizon. I can hear the chants and feel the energy of a nearby crowd. As I walk toward Stonewall Inn, I\u2019m repeating the steps millions have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":128573,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[58,50],"class_list":["post-128572","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-microsoft-news","tag-diversity","tag-recent-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128572","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=128572"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128572\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/128573"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=128572"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=128572"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=128572"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}