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The issues of representation in the LGBTQ+ wargaming community have been stirring for years, but recent events, especially including a certain paragraph in Games Workshop’s Horus Heresy book, have brought them to a head.

We wanted to take a deep dive into LGBTQ+ wargaming issues, so this week I’m interviewing several members of that community.

Today, we’re interviewing Kay, who goes by the Twitter handle @KayTeigyr. Kay is a non-binary pansexual tabletop gamer from the Isle of Man, who uses they/them pronouns.

How Did You Get Into the Wargaming Hobby?

Kay: I got into the hobby Christmas 1996 when I received the 5th edition two player boxed set with lizardmen and Bretonnians, and I’ve never looked back. I had seen various Games Workshop products in my local Toymaster shop and was fascinated by the brightly coloured fantasy figures. I built all the models on Christmas day, using my mother’s coffee table which she was not a fan of.

I immediately set about getting all my friends on board, and we began playing Fantasy pretty much every weekend, right up until Fantasy ended in 2015. I have collected, built, and played with tabletop miniatures ever since, and currently work in the industry as well.

The Horus Heresy Statement

The Wargame Explorer: I want to talk about the recent Horus Heresy statement that Space Marines need “The hormonal and biological make-up of the human male”. What message do you think this sends to the community? How did you feel when you read it?

Kay: The Horus Heresy statement about the creation of Marines very closely echoes the language of transphobic people on the internet.

I am online constantly, and being gender nonconforming myself I am exposed to a lot of that rhetoric. Seeing it repeated in an official Games Workshop was disappointing. Their stance about male space marines is well documented, and repeatedly argued over and over. The Only Mans attitude being re-stated this edition was sadly expected, but the *manner* in which it was published was quite alarming. Whether or not that wording was intentional is impossible to say.

I’d argue that it too closely matches the language of the so called ‘Gender Critical’ movement, but also, that hate group is absolutely rife in British Media at the moment, and has been for several years. The continuous barrage of transphobic hate published even in supposedly more moderate papers has inevitably had an effect on wide swathes of the population, who will have absorbed the terms used, even if they don’t agree with the message.

I’d certainly like to hope that it was an accident. As *the* pre-eminent tabletop gaming company, GW really has a duty to be careful in how it presents its lore, and itself, to its massive platform of customers.

I personally strongly disagree with the male space marine only argument, it doesn’t really work in the lore, or in real world science. But regardless of your opinion, no harm is done by being more careful about the words you use to present those ideas.

Female Space Marines

The Wargame Explorer: We have long heard talk about better representation within the Space Marines. Why do you think we see female Stormcast Eternals and female Imperial Guard and female Leagues of Votann, but no female Space Marines?

Kay: Stormcast presented GW with a blank slate to work on, an entirely new faction with background that could be created from the ground up in its entirety, and I’m glad they took that opportunity to include female Stormcast.

Lore changes over the years, but the decision to make space marines male only carries a lot of momentum to it at this point, and there is clearly a reluctance to make the necessary changes, despite the fact it wasn’t in the lore from the beginning, as many assume. The Imperial Guard have a long history, particularly in Black Library novels, of having female soldiers. The miniatures have been unacceptably slow in showing that, and it’s something I hope they move faster on when new Guard models come along in future.

Much like the Stormcast, Leagues of Votann, whilst not entirely new, are a ground up reimagining of the ancient Squats. So the inclusion of female Votann members is similarly welcome.

Warhammer Is For Everyone

The Wargame Explorer: Games Workshop has famously said “Warhammer is for everyone”. Do you think that Games Workshop is being sincere, or is it a marketing message?

Kay: Games Workshop’s message about Warhammer being for everyone is not, I think, just a marketing strategy. For a corporation to explicitly state that not everyone is welcome, that bigots will not be tolerated, is inevitably going to annoy those fringe customers.

All too often companies are cagey about supporting specific, often marginalised groups. You only have to look at public statements by video game companies in America against the overturning of Roe vs Wade and the angry comments that they have received by the thousand. Publicly supporting typically left wing positions of inclusivity, equality, and the like, will unfortunately draw inevitable criticism.

As such I think Game Workshop’s statement was a reasonably brave one. The recent appearance of Nazi symbols at a Spanish Grand Tournament shows just how vital such statements are, and I sincerely hope other tabletop companies follow suit.

What Makes You Pessimistic About the Wargaming Hobby?

The thing that makes me pessimistic at this point is just how far we still have to go in order to see better representation and equality in the hobby.

Some years ago GW made a statement addressing their lack of female models, and promised to do better. I know first hand how long the model production cycle takes, and it was reasonable to allow a few years for those changes to filter through into new releases. But as more and more time has gone by, the changes are still few and far between.

There is also the attitude of players and customers. The sheer level of hate directed at women willing to be openly hobbyists is appalling. I’ve witnessed gamers who insisted women not be allowed in their club space. People who claim to be gamers on Twitter who go out of their way to harass and belittle painters, gamers, and hobbyists of all types. I personally know a great many women and gender nonconforming people who love tabletop gaming, who do not feel safe in clubs and stores, or even publicly online. This attitude must change.

A broader, more inclusive player base means more customers, more money invested, more models, more games for everyone. The idea that ‘woke’ people are trying to muscle into the hobby in order to make changes is laughably nonsense. I’ve been here 26 years, and am not stopping now. People have made the same ridiculous claim about Disney, Marvel, Star Wars, the list goes on. It is always completely untrue.

What Makes You Optimistic About the Wargaming Hobby?

If there is one thing that makes me optimistic, it’s that we are seeing changes nonetheless. Despite the backlash from a vocal far right minority, despite the hate online, we’re seeing a steady growth in diversity among public players.

I remember being in forums with only one or two female members, now across all forms of social media I see women and gender nonconforming people feeling safe enough to step forward and talk about their hobby love. Despite the efforts of some, the hobby space is improving. There are some absolutely fantastic painters and hobbyists to follow on Twitter, doing some incredible paintjobs and being lauded by the Warcom team in community articles.

What Message Would You Send to Games Workshop?

If I could say something to Games Workshop directly, it would be that they need to listen to valid concerns from customers, and be mindful of what they promote. They need to follow up their ‘Warhammer is for everyone’ message, both by repeating it regularly, and backing it up with action. It must not be a flash in the pan that gets swept aside and forgotten.

There is a genuine issue at the moment with far right wing players of the game, and the 40k lore itself has shifted away from being a satire of fascism, to presenting an uncritical view of it. That humour was a strong reminder to people that the Imperium of Man is not something to aspire to, that Space Marines are not the heroes. Now the background is all grimdark, all the time, and that satire has been lost, making the setting much weaker for it. The funny box out stories, the margin cartoons, that’s what they are missing.

Don’t take it too seriously. It is after all a game about pushing toy soldiers around. I want to believe that their language in the Heresy rulebook was accidental. I want to believe that their statements are sincere. Now we need to see evidence of it. I want to see new core infantry sets like guard regiments, Eldar guardians, Cities of Sigmar troops etc with a 50/50 split of male and female minis.

I hope they do so with the Old World in particular. Warhammer Fantasy was my introduction to this hobby 26 years ago. If The Old World comes out with nothing but male models, male characters, then the company has not learned anything at all in that time.