Queer Lit

Seeing double? This here podcast just so happens to share its name with a brilliant LGBTQIA+ bookshop, located in the heart of one of the queer places to be in the UK: Manchester. I met Matthew, the owner, and Jasper, the beagle, in the shop for a chat about their origin story, their book clubs and their exciting next move… Don’t delay, listen (and visit) today! References https://www.queerlit.co....

Queer time flies! Especially when talking to Elizabeth Freeman, who is here, now, to talk about her ground-breaking work on queer temporality, kink, care and kinship. In this momentous episode, Beth minutely lays out her thoughts on temporal drag, deep lez, erotohistoriography and chrononormativity, while also commenting on the relevance of feminist scholarship that is sometimes perceived as dated...

Dreams really do come true! In this episode, I get to chat to the legendary originator of the feminist killjoy herself: Sara Ahmed. We talk about who the killjoy is, what she can do for us and why it is important that you can both be her and have her as your companion. Sara talks about the people who inspired her in her work on complaint, happiness, and killjoy feminism: readers, students, poets a...

‘Cause we are living in a material world, Kadji Amin is here to talk about trans materialism! Kadji’s work is all about exploring what being trans means beyond gender identity. What are material reasons to transition or transgress gender expectations? How did our trancestors live as their chosen gender? And why does the history of trans women look quite different from that of trans men? In this ep...

A whole entire episode about thriving queer spaces? I know I’ve been waiting for it. Come follow Jack Gieseking and I down the queerness hole, through the d*king glass, right into C+ntoland. The extraordinarily lovely Jack and I chat about transdisciplinarity, queer geographies, Eve Sedgwick, accessibility, hot water bottles and lesbian poetry. Jack explains what queers want from their spaces, why...

Run, don’t walk! Lindsey Freeman (Simon Fraser University) joins me for a sprint through their most recent book on running. We talk about running while queer, running while female-bodied, running while gender-nonconforming… and we discuss all the wonderful things that a little jog can do. If you’re in for the long run, follow @lindseyafreeman on Twitter or @atomic_lindsey_freeman on Instagram. Que...

What do inkblots have to do with activism? And where can I do a Master’s in that? The incredible Katherine Hubbard (University of Surrey) is here to tell you! Kat works in queer history, sociology and psychology and does a lot of brilliant scholarly and activist work about the complicated historical relationship of queers and psychology. She is also one of the people who have created the brand-new...

Who is your favourite queer Black character with a disability? Whether you can think of ten or none, this episode is for you. I had the most fun chatting with D’Arcee Charington Neal (Ohio State University) about all the places we can find queer Black characters with disabilities and the wondrous ways in which they shape narratives. As a researcher and creative writer, D’Arcee is interested in aud...

This fortnight, we’re going east (and back in history) with fabulous historian Tuğçe Kayaal (Furman University). Tuğçe explains how she queers history and the archives, how she researches homoerotic intimacies in poetry and advice books, and what religion has to do with morals, relationships and friendships. She talks about the most frequently misunderstood aspects of the Ottoman empire and what i...

In this dynamic discussion, Dr Gabriel Knott-Fayle (University of Calgary) and I talk about cisgenderism, heteronormativity and masculinity in sports and sports media. We discuss how trans* and queer bodies are treated and medicalised in narratives surrounding different sports but also how (amateur) sporting environments can be affirming and create safe spaces. Although as queers so many of us hav...

Legend-alarm! We have queer anthropology’s parent on the podcast: Prof Esther Newton joins me to talk about queer spaces, drag shows, lesbian festivals, and about how all the lesbians ended up in Cherry Grove. Esther explains why every queer person should experience being in the majority at least once in their life and how this might allow you to see things you have never quite seen before. She ta...

Be it about Marmite or podcasts, I’ve always believed that more is more, so here is part two of the end-of-year special, where I ask former Queer Lit guests: What is the queerest thing you did this year? Featuring: Susan Stryker, Nick McGlynn, J.P. Der Boghossian, and Jas Morgan. What a cast!

Oh, yes, you heard right: It’s a festive end-of-year special! Making resolutions and rules is not very queer, so we are celebrating the year in all its gaiety instead! Tune in to hear about the queerest things my Queer Lit guests did this year. References: Dyking Out “Queer Rural Spaces and Asexualities” with Joe Jukes https://www.spreaker.com/episode/48480045 CTSG Centre for Transforming Sexualit...

Have you ever thought about how your queer life is connected to the land that you live it on? In this episode, Joshua Whitehead (University of Calgary) will take you on a Two-Spirit Indigiqueer journey from Stonewall in New York to the Forks in Winnipeg. Josh talks about how healing communion with the land is, how the stories of our queer bodies need to be read and told in relation to place, and a...

Let’s get magical! In this episode, Prof Jes Battis (University of Regina) explains why magic is queer (or why queerness is magical?) and how wizards and witches live out their queerness in medieval texts as well in contemporary retellings. Jes also conjures up wonderful examples of how neurodiversity, queerness and witchcraft are all linked. Side effects of listening to this spellbinding episode...

Spoiler alert: Jane Traies is the best. And this episode is proof that if you don’t know any older, wiser lesbians already, you’re missing out! Jane talks to me about (in)visibility across queer generations, about queer kinship and (very efficient) lesbian networks, about the stories of LGBTQIA+ asylum seekers and about biphobia and exclusionism. From being friends with your ex to Peg Cruikshank’s...

Once upon a midnight dreary, Queer Lit pondered all things eerie… and believe me, this episode is quaint and curious queer horror galore! Horror writer and researcher Lucy Holmes take us on a trip down vampire lane and chills me to the bone with everything from 1930s gay directors to 1970s lesbian bloodsuckers to nonbinary and trans representation in contemporary horror shows. Lucy also reminds us...

It’s crossover time! In this week’s episode, Queer Lit enters a unicorn union with This Queer Book Saved My Life!, a brilliant new podcast by J.P. Der Boghossian. Before we get to the books that were our personal saviours, J.P. and I talk about The Queer Armenian Library – a digital resource of queer Armenian texts, shows, films, poetry and so much more. In addition to creating incredibly impactfu...

Oo-De-Lally! Dr Amy Louise Morgan (she/her, Surrey University) tells me tales of feminist dragons, gender-nonconforming foxes, wild princesses and all kinds of other queer characters from Disney’s medieval(ish) films. We compare favourite VHS tapes, most fantastic princesses, and try to figure out whether we (or was it just me?) wanted to be, or be with, Robin Hood. Amy also tells me all about Dis...

Listen up, glitterati, we have some eco-friendly scholarship coming your way: Prof Nicole Seymour (California State University, Fullerton) shares her thoughts on queer ecologies, trans ecologies, petrol masculinities, trashy environmentalism and, most importantly, glitter. In a sparkling synopsis of all things queer environmentalism, Nicole explains why the doom-and-gloom narrative of climate just...

Join us on the Lesbian beach for a sapphic special episode with someone I am very lucky to call a friend: Leah Davidson. Leah is a queer therapist, a hiking dyke, a lesbian mom, an extremely clever reader and an absolute joy. On the beach in Skala Eressos, we talk about the early days of the lesbian* community that travels to Lesvos every summer, in search of connection, queer roots, and poetry. T...

Sweet Christmas, darling gays! (It’s a superhero catchphrase. I looked it up.) Prof andré carrington (UCR) brings us truth, justice and a queerer tomorrow in this Queer Lit quest. With great knowledge comes great responsibility and andré is ready to take it: he takes us on a deep dive into queer black comics, fan studies, queer cartoonists, and introduces me to awesome characters from Aqualad to J...

One episode more! In this bonus track, Nemo Martin (Royal Holloway) tells me about their research on race, racism, and racist tropes in Hugo’s classic Les Misérables, but also in the fanfiction based on Hugo. Nemo kindly shares some insights on how these depictions of race are entangled with nonnormative genders and asexuality. What Nemo doesn’t mention in the recording is that they’re also a bril...

Imagine a publishing world in which your editor is a Black trans person, your publicist is a queer person with autism, and your graphic designer is a two spirit queero. And guess what: it’s real and it’s called queer publishing. Alex DiFrancesco is a trans author and editor who has worked with several radical and progressive publishing houses over the years and joins me for a chat about their work...

Brighton’s first radical queer bookshop finally opened its doors! The Queery is a very special trans and queer cooperative that is a workshop space, a pay-as-you-can vegan café, a community venue, and (this is where it gets really dreamy) a very gay bookshop and library! The selection is on point, with lots of former Queer Lit guests and their reading recommendations in stock, as well as merch by...