Q-niverse Informs, Empowers NYC LGBTQ+ Students on Their Rights

A new video series and Spotify playlist are helping LGBTQ+ students in New York City learn and protect their rights at school.

JOAN Studios announced it has partnered with the Queens Community House to produce The Q-niverse, a four-part video series that simplifies the federal, state, and local laws codifying the rights of LGBTQ+ students into easily accessible and digestible videos aimed at the very students whose rights are currently under assault.

The animated Q-niverse (the Q stands for queer) has a retro-animated look and feel. The five original characters, each one named after the law it is explaining to students, break down the myriad of complex rules and regulations regarding pronouns, bathrooms, locker rooms, hate speech, and bullies (students or teachers), and how victimized LGBTQ+ students can fight back to protect their rights.

"JOAN Studios has an all-encompassing focus on diversity, from our makers and collaborators to the communities we reach," Cheri Anderson, managing director, said in a statement. "And imagination is our key ingredient. This effort was spearheaded by a team that includes some of our most inspiring LGBTQIA+ creators, and everyone who worked on this project, including an international team of queer animators, was eager to bring their best ideas to the table for a vital cause."

"We wanted to develop something creative and lively around the [Department of Education] guidelines that protect LGBTQIA+ children," Lindsey Duel, QCH Generation Q program director, said in a statement. "The rules are listed on the DOE website and have been in place for some time. However, it can be wildly difficult to make sense of them, and some students and parents don't even know they exist. JOAN Studios understood our vision and the value of this message right from the start."

JOAN Studios animated the Q-niverse n partnership with Panic Studios. The campaign also features a special Spotify playlist featuring songs from LGBTQ+ artists including The Village People, Sam Smith, George Michael, Queen, Frank Ocean, and more.

You can watch a preview of the Q-niverse from JOAN Studios in partnership with Queens Community House below.