He's creating a safe space for queer people — in the metaverse.
Brut spoke to Joshua Zeke Thomas, one of the partners of Qtopia: the first metaverse by and for the LGBTQ+ community.
Thanks to AlphaVerse.
Brut spoke to Joshua Zeke Thomas, one of the partners of Qtopia: the first metaverse by and for the LGBTQ+ community.
Thanks to AlphaVerse.
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NewsTranscript
00:00As a kid of privilege and growing up with my dad,
00:05I definitely felt like I had a bulletproof vest on
00:08or a Superman cape.
00:10But those things quickly change when you remember
00:14you're black and queer.
00:15You worry about governments and white supremacists
00:37and all that stuff.
00:39How do you police it?
00:40How do you take care of it?
00:45It's very cool that it is being intentionally built
00:54for the user.
00:56You can be whatever you want, whoever you want.
00:59Let yourself escape.
01:00Let that part of you be able to express whatever it is
01:05you want to get out at the time.
01:07As queer people, we need safe spaces.
01:11And Q-topia is a safe space.
01:27I believe the goals of Q-topia are to make a queer space
01:33that is inviting to anybody who enjoys Web3 and future thought.
01:39To make a safe space for people to come and interact with
01:45and express their ideas and play music and build things.
01:51The Web3 space is forward thinking.
01:53The blockchain is forward thinking.
01:56Cryptocurrency is forward thinking.
01:58Everything's a disruptor.
02:00I love to be a disruptor as well.
02:03Learning and constantly striving to learn.
02:08That's what brought me into this.
02:21I was sexually assaulted at 12 and raped at 27.
02:25I don't like to call myself a victim.
02:27I am definitely a survivor.
02:29I survived and I persevered and I've continued to grow.
02:35I very intentionally am in therapy two times a week.
02:40If I live in that past, oh, I can feel it.
02:43If I live in the future, I worry.
02:45I get anxiety.
02:46But if I stay present, and I do take deep intentional breaths
02:50because they slow me down.
02:51If I stay present, I can handle it.
02:59I didn't realize that my DMs would be filled with other survivors
03:04or people relating on me.
03:06I knew I had to speak up for others so that many more people
03:12could potentially heal from my story or potentially avoid my story.
03:17That's what I'm here for right now, to lead.