Queer Lit

You may think that second wave feminism and trans activism are mutually exclusive but guess what: there is actually a whole lot of diversity in second wave feminist theory, writing, activism and print culture. Emily Cousens has done lots of archival research to highlight trans thinking and the way it has informed and shaped second wave feminism. Listen to our conversation to learn more about the g...

If you would like to be a part of the Queer Lit winter tradition, let me know about the queerest thing you did this year and/or any queer winter/holiday traditions and reading recommendations by the end of November. Can't wait to hear from you at queerlitpodcast@gmail.com!

We’re so done with scary trans villains and monsters – or are we? Cáel Keegan explains why we might be able to learn lessons about trans liberation from Buffalo Bill and why The Silence of the Lambs , upon its release, was actually protested for homophobia. Cáel speaks about transfixing and spellbinding media, from The Matrix to Buffy to video games. Dark Willow makes an appearance. Not to be miss...

Get the garlic, sprinkle the holy water, but please, leave the antiqueer racism out of my Gothic romance! Dr Maisha Wester (Sheffield/Indiana University) explains why Horror films are so interesting to study, what Brexit has to do with Zombies, why King Kong film posters reveal blatant racism, and why ghosts are not always gay but most definitely queer. Lusty lesbian vampires, Cat People (are thos...

It’s time to be real. In this episode with queer studies luminary Heather Love, it’s all about what you find, what you feel, what you knooooow(-ah) to be real. We talk about feeling and looking backward while shifting paradigms, about the semiprivate space of the queer classrooms, about the entanglements of queer, trans and disability studies and so much more. Tune in now and follow @queerlitpodca...

Have you asked yourself lately: What could I do to make my October really super extra queer? Sarah Boira and Vedrana Velickovic have THE festival for you. Listen to this episode to learn all about The Coast is Queer, the UK’s first LGBTQIA+ literary festival that celebrates all texts queer. Some of the events to get excited about: a panel on queer Ukraine, an event about invisible identities, a zi...

This episode takes us deep, deep into the queer ocean. Alexis Pauline Gumbs submerges us in Black feminist thought, takes us on a deep dive into queer creativity, and, most importantly, allows us to rethink our breathing through gills, lungs, mouths, and bills. Listen now to learn about how Audre Lorde, June Jordan and M. Jacqui Alexander have influenced Alexis Pauline’s work and why marine mammal...

Did you know that yew trees can (and do) change sex? And that many trees are nonbinary? Genderqueer greenery is only one of the fascinating (tree) topics this conversation branches off into. If you want to em-bark on a journey into queer ecologies, this is the sapisode for you. Cate talks about leafing through the herbal archives at Kew Gardens, the role of storytelling in understanding ecologies,...

What did queer life look like in Soviet Russia? Rustam Alexander has written two whole books about gay oppression in Russian history and is here to share what they learned in the archives, from diaries, and from doctors’ records. From the revolution to the ‘gay propaganda’ law of 2013, Rustam talks about the state and the history of Russian queerness. We discuss gay activism, the medicalisation of...

A dog walks into a lesbian bar. I am not sure there is a punchline but there is definitely a podcast episode here. Listen to this chat with my lovely friend and colleague Maria to hear about the conference we will be hosting together, about queerness and/in the city, about seriality and sexuality, and about Maria’s fascinating take on TV and identity. Follow @queerlitpodcast on Instagram and help...

We know that queer and trans people have always been around, but how do you go about finding them? Diane Watt is here to show us how it’s done: all you need is lesbian methodology, queer philology, and tiny curtains. Intrigued? Tune in to learn more and to listen to Diane and I discuss shared butch lesbian and transmasculine histories, lesbian nuns, and medieval dildos. If this all sounds too good...

Join @DrNChakrabarty and I in the magic teapot at @OutandWildlgbtq to talk about reading in queer spaces, writing about race hate crimes, and community at queer events. We also reflect on academic structures and queer encounters, critical race theory and cultural differences in talking about race. It was such a pleasure running into Elizabeth again and if you’re not a fan already, you will be afte...

In this trip to the Queer Lit archives, (the) Prof Terry Castle (Stanford University) joins me to discuss a corpus I don’t usually think about: lesbian content produced by cis-male authors. We talk about what’s great and not so great about these texts, which moments in literary history opened new doors for queer representation and why literature is such an apt medium to understand the fluidity of...

If you haven’t been to the Common Press yet, you’re missing out! But not to worry, Alfonzo and I will transport you there. The Common Press is an intersectional bookshop and event space at the end of Brick Lane and I wish I could live there because the curation of events and books is amazing and the chai latte is fabulous and I found all of my favourite new reads there. References: Chris Mounsey V...

In one of the first Queer Lit episodes ever, I got to chat with LaVelle Ridley (University of Michigan) about her doctoral research on black trans life narratives in this one and I must say, she’s a tonic. From important observations on the role of storytelling in political and community activism to the deeply personal process of healing that appropriate representation can initiate, LaVelle covers...

Do you think you can tell someone is queer by listening to their voice? Dr Fabio Fasoli is here to tell us all about gay voice stereotypes, auditory gaydar, and voice-based bias. We talk about gay voice acting in 90s sitcoms, learn surprising facts about lesbian voices and employability, and discuss the intersection of foreign accents and gender-nonconforming voices. References Fasoli, F., Dragoje...

Hold on to your pussyhats! The incredible Prof Susan Stryker joins me for this whirlwind through trans histories, nows, and futures, in which we talk about the power of narrative and affect in research and media and about what transness might teach us about possible ways of existing in the world. Susan shares rather entertaining insights from her ground-breaking publications and films, as well as...

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...