Have you ever thought about your age as being assigned at birth? In this episode, Simon(e) van Saarloos and I explore how queer thought might allow us to move beyond preconceptions of age, but also about the manifold and intersectional consequences of ageism. Simon(e) reflects on how trans narratives might work without reliance on linearity and why age is such a powerful category when it comes to agency. CW: Around minutes 11 to 13, there is a nongraphic mention of sexual violence.   References: Simon(e) van Saarloos’ Against Ageism: A Queer Manifesto (2023) Simon(e) van Saarloos’ Playing Monogamy (2019) Simon(e) van Saarloos’ Take ‘Em Down: Scattered Monuments and Queer Forgetting (2021) Simon(e) van Saarloos’ Give Piss A Chance: A Willing Suspension of Consequences Trans Despair (2027) Samantha Nye MU Hybrid Art House in Eindhoven Mona Eltahawy Ira Kip KIP Republic Denise Ferreira Da Silva Roe vs Wade Crip time Mel Y. Chen Chrononormativity (Elizabeth Freeman) Alison Kafer JJJJJerome Ellis Fred Moten Fumi Okiji @svansaarloos Jordy Rosenberg’s Night Night Fawn Saketopoulou, A. (2026). Exigent Sadism. Social Text, 44(1), 25–51. https://doi.org/10.1215/01642472-12195785   Questions you should be able to respond to after listening: -      What does Simon(e) mean by ‘change-phobic’? -      I really love when Simon(e) explains that “linear time is mapped onto the body and we call that age.” – How could we understand age in other ways? What might a queer approach to age be? -      Simon(e) mentions age-segregated institutions. What are examples of these and how does age shape institutions? -      How do race and colonialism play into age? -      How often do you think about age? Do you perceive age differently in and outside of queer and trans community?

We all know that trans people have existed throughout history, but what about before that? S.K. Marley does fascinating research on queerness and transness that predates written history and joins me to speak about what antler headdresses and wooden dolls might teach us about transness. We also discuss how transness, walking and wellbeing are entangled, which landscapes are the most nonbinary, and why ‘prehistory’ is a contested term in itself. Since we’re chatting in a beautiful park in York, this episode has some bonus bird song and squirrel mischief.   References: Out and Wild  https://www.outandwild.co.uk/ Our Transcapes  https://skmarley.co.uk/our-transcapes/ Ballachulish Goddess Braak Bog Figures The Wittemoor Figures Shigir Idol https://skmarley.co.uk/ @sk____marley Our Flag Means Death   Questions you should be able to respond to after listening: -      What does ‘prehistory’ mean? -      Why does S.K. speak about being trans and being in nature? What does this have to do with wellbeing? -      S.K. speaks about notions of truth in contemporary trans debates and about colonial perspectives in academia. Why is their focus on British prehistory important in both of these contexts? -      Why are the antler headdresses S.K. talks about a turning point in their research and their thinking about duality? -      Why are bogs trans? What is the most trans or nonbinary landscape you have ever encountered?

What does sound have to do with sexuality? C. Jade MacDonald has some fascinating insights on the queerness of noise, on trans voices in hyperpop, and on sound in literature. Learn about the queer kinship created by remixes and covers in contemporary music, but also about which sound technologies are historically entangled with sexology. My favourite bit: hearing about how Gertrude Stein resonates with SOPHIE.   References: C. Jade MacDonald (2024) “The Alien Resonances and Queer Obscurities of Hyperpop’s 100 gecs” Journal of Popular Music Studies, 36.2, pp. 76-98. C. Jade MacDonald (2025) "https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bloomsburycollections.com%2Fmonograph-detail%3Fdocid%3Db-9798881897543%26pdfid%3D9798881897543.0012.pdf%26tocid%3Db-9798881897543-chapter7&data=05%7C02%7Cl.mattheis%40surrey.ac.uk%7C464f8f3ee1c14bae0bd908dedd14fee8%7C6b902693107440aa9e21d89446a2ebb5%7C0%7C1%7C639191279408114163%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=aiCW1Mo1zxe9gkcJazKbfMOZR8fYELwqMvgKxVAp7jY%3D&reserved=0https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bloomsburycollections.com%2Fmonograph-detail%3Fdocid%3Db-9798881897543%26pdfid%3D9798881897543.0012.pdf%26tocid%3Db-9798881897543-chapter7&data=05%7C02%7Cl.mattheis%40surrey.ac.uk%7C464f8f3ee1c14bae0bd908dedd14fee8%7C6b902693107440aa9e21d89446a2ebb5%7C0%7C1%7C639191279408139285%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=8Agl65Bi%2B5dVt%2FG%2F%2BIt6CZTV1SjItH65KabhxniDBmk%3D&reserved=0" in The Crossroads of Music and Literature: New Essays on the Muse of Song, edited by Kelly Baron and Andrew DuBois, pp. 113-28. C. Jade MacDonald (2027) "Their Lover's Noise: Modernism's Queer Phonographies" in Routledge Companion to Literature and Sound, edited by Birgitte Stougaard Pedersen and Maria Engberg. Foucault’s The History of Sexuality Saidiya Hartman Julie Beth Napolin’s "Unrecordable Sound: Media History, Technology and the Racial Unconscious" in Anna Snaith, ed. Sound and Literature (Cambridge UP, 2020) Jonathan Sterne’s The Audible Past: Cultural Origins of Sound Reproduction (Duke UP, 2003) Sara Ahmed’s Queer Phenomenology Althusser Gertrude Stein SOPHIE 100 gecs’ “money machine” Wendy Carlos Dorian Electra Charli xcx A.G. Cook Kodwo Eshun’s More Brilliant Than The Sun: Adventures in Sonic Fiction (Quartet Books, 1998) alien sonorities Alice B. Toklas Edmund Husserl Alexander G. Weheliye’s Phonographies: Grooves in Sonic Afro-Modernity (Duke UP, 2005) Grace E. Lavery’s Pleasure and Efficacy: Of Pen Names, Cover Versions, and Other Trans Techniques (Princeton UP, 2023) Perverse sincerity  Simon & Garfunkel Shakira Gorillaz “Feel Good Inc” @C.jademacdonald cameronjade.macdonald@utoronto.ca Aoife Josie Clements’ Persona (Little Puss Press, 2026)   Questions you should be able to respond to after listening: -      Why might noise be queer? -      How is voice usually perceived in music? What might the distortion and non-human quality that hyperpop can lend voices signify in relation to transness? -      What does Jade say about remixes and covers? Do you see them as queer kinship? -      Why does Jade speak about 100 gecs? What is this example illustrating? -      Please listen to at least one musician that you heard about on this episode and think about whether you can hear any ‘alien resonances’.

Listen, this episode is as delightful as it sounds. Audiophile Stacey Copeland tells me all about feminist soundwork, radical radio, and lesbian podcasts – all of which Stacey writes about in the excellent new book Lavender Sounds. Tune in for the sonic histories, stay for the moment when Stacey illustrating the crafted intimacy of podcasts will make you a little weak in the knees. If you are interested in the politics and potential of audio media, you will absolutely love this episode.     References:  Stacey Copeland’s Lavender Sounds: From Lesbian Radio to Queer Feminist Soundwork (University of Michigan Press, 2026) Amplify Network Copeland, Stacey "Sustaining queer joy and potentiality: Through independent production with homoground music podcast." Journal of popular music studies 35.4 (2023): 111-124. Betty Friedan Lavender Menace Michele Hilmes Bluestockings Cooperative bell hooks Hannah McGregor The Lesbian Show Fonds are held at the City of Vancouver Archives https://searcharchives.vancouver.ca/the-lesbian-show Kaitlin Prest Jennifer Lynn Stoever’s The Sonic Color Line (NYU Press, 2016) Silva Tenenbein’s original interview with Stacey aired on FemRadio in 2018 https://soundcloud.com/scopeatryerson/the-lesbian-show Dykes on Mykes is back on the airwaves at CKUT Montreal https://ckut.ca/playlists/DM The ArQuives - https://arquives.ca/ ‘Temporal drag’ is a reference from Elizabeth Freeman’s Time Binds: Queer Temporalities, Queer Histories (Duke University Press, 2010) The Heart’s “Lesbian Separatism is Inevitable” - https://www.theheartradio.org/solos/2020/1/15/lesbian-separatism-is-inevitable NK (Nicole Kelly) Phoebe Unter staceycopeland.com Forbidden Love: The Unashamed Stories of Lesbian Lives - https://www.nfb.ca/film/forbidden_love/ Studio D – The women’s film studio founded in 1974 under the NFB (National Film Board of Canada)    Questions you should be able to respond to after listening: -      How does Stacey define lavender sounds and why is the colour lavender connected to queerness, historically and politically? -      What is soundwork? What is feminist soundwork? -      Why is audibility important to consider, not just visibility? -      What does Stacey mean when speaking about the everydayness of soundwork? -      Why does radio hold radical potential? -      How does sound relate to time in Stacey’s work?

Meet Ayse, founder of Queer Girls Book Club, defender of the heated debate, and dyke of the people. In this live recording from the amazing Out and Wild festival, Ayse tells me about why running a queer book club is not just about putting LGBTQIA+ titles on your reading list, all the work she is doing to nurture her bookish community, and a why disagreeing is a good skill to have. To quote Joelle Taylor: That’s community, babe!   References  Out and Wild https://www.outandwild.co.uk/ Housmans Joelle Taylor’s The Night Alphabet Emily Witham Grace Flahive Polly Shute Gillian Anderson Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home and Spent Gay on Wye Carol Ann Duffy’s Rapture and “Forest” Jackie Kay Lamya H’s Hijab Butch Blues Zoë Berryman   Questions you should be able to respond to after listening: -      Why did Ayse start Queer Girls Book Club? Have you ever thought about starting a group? What was/would have been your motivation? -      What does Ayse say about contributing to community? How do you feel about this? -      We speak about literature as being a protected space to practice debate and disagreement. Have you ever experienced this? Which example does Ayse give? -      How does Ayse speak about marginalised voices in the publishing industry? What can we as readers do to promote change? -      Are you coming to our next live recording?  

In the sapphic launderette play Spin Cycle, the washers are loaded and so are the questions. Penned by Zofia Zerphy, Spin Cycle is an absurdist exploration of intense connections, queer memory and lesbian storytelling. In this summer special, I am joined by Zofia and Rhiannon Bell, who play the main characters and speak to me about crafting a play in queer community, why queer narratives can operate in different realms of sense and meaning making, and why exploring flawed characters is vital to queer and trans representation.   References: Berserk Theatre The L Word Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Mitski’s “Washing Machine Heart” Act On Tap Bethan Rose Edinburgh Dyke Bar Ros Watt’s Trans People Are Awful Radclyffe Hall’s The Well of Loneliness Joe Carstairs   Questions you should be able to respond to after listening: -      Zofia and Rhi speak about the different responses queer and non-queer audience members had to the play’s absurdist elements. What do they say about queer narratives making sense and what is your take? -      Which trope(s) of sapphic storytelling do we mention in the episode? -      We speak about Spin Cycle using memory and forgetting in queer ways. What could queer memory mean? What does it mean to you? -      Rhi highlights the importance of showing flawed trans and nonbinary characters on stage. How do you feel about this? Can you think of another example of a flawed LGBTQIA+ character in literature or theatre? -      Have you ever seen yourself represented on stage? What was that like?

Who coined the term cis and why are some people calling it a slur? Amazing return guest Perry Zurn joins me to discuss what the concept of cis does, why it’s helpful to look at its origins and etymology and where it might oversimplify the project of gender. Not one to be missed!   References: Perry Zurn’s Cisgender: Disorienting a Category (Duke UP, 2026) Perry Zurn’s How We Make Each Other: Trans Life at the Edge of the University (Duke UP, 2024) John Hollister Riva Lehrer’s Golem Girl Marquis Bey’s Cistem Failure: Essays on Blackness and Cisgender (Duke UP, 2022) Stephanie Clare’s Nonbinary: A Feminist Autotheory (Cambridge UP, 2023) Jonathan Ned Katz’s The Invention of Heterosexuality (1995)   Questions you should be able to respond to after listening: -      What does cis mean? -      Which term is older: cis or trans? When does the term cis emerge? -      Which community coined the term cisgender and why? -      What is Perry saying about simplified notions of cis and which example does he give? -      How does Perry put disability and race in dialogue with cisness and transness?

From popstars to rugby players, this episode has all the Welsh queer icons you could want. Emily Garside teaches me about H from Steps, Russel T. Davies, the Ladies of Llangollen and so many other fascinating LGBTQIA+ people from Wales. We talk about whether wondering if you’re queer enough is similar to wondering if you’re Welsh enough and how the prejudice against ‘sounding gay’ relates to sounding Welsh.   Books by Emily Garside: Rainbow Wales: Queer Icons Past and Present (Calon, May 2026) Out of the Box: Queer TV through the Decades (Manchester University Press, January 2027) Gay Aliens and Queer Folks: How Russell T Davies Changed TV (Calon, 2023) Seasons of Love: Why Rent Matters (Applause) You Are My Happy Ending: Schitt’s Creek and the Legacy of Queer TV (Applause) Angels in America at the British National Theatre (McFarland) Love that Journey for me: The Queer Revolution of Schitt’s Creek (404 Ink)   Other References: Russel T Davies Ladies of Llangollen Edward II. Piers Gaveston Steps Ian ‘H’ Watkins Elliot Page Luke Evans Eisteddfod Cymru Marquess of Anglesey Viscount Tredegar Norena Shopland Jan Morris’ Conundrum Ivor Novello Colin Jackson Connie Orff Alun Saunders Natha Wyburn Queer As Folk It’s A Sin Lisa Power Section 28 @emigarside (IG) https://thenerdynotebook.substack.com/ https://emilygarside.com/ Surrey Rainbow Choir  https://www.rainbowchoir.co.uk/     Questions you should be able to respond to after listening: -      Is there such a thing as a cohesive Welsh queer identity? What are Emily’s thoughts on this and what is her approach? -      Emily speaks about parallels between attitudes towards Welsh and queer identities. Which one does she discuss? Is there a facet of your identity that feels similar yet different from your queerness? -      What is an eisteddfod? Please look it up if you’re not familiar because we forgot to explain the term in the episode. -      Have you ever askes yourself whether you are queer or trans enough? How do we speak about this question in this episode? -      Who was your favourite person to learn about in the episode?

If you have not read A Black Queer History of the United States yet, you are so lucky to have this fantastic book in your future! And lucky for me that this is also an excellent opportunity to speak to two dream guests: C. Riley Snorton and Darius Bost speak about gender trouble in the Black queer archives, how Black and queer histories need to be thought together and why grounding oneself in community is part of what it means to survive.   References: C. Riley Snorton and Darius Bost’s A Black Queer History of the United States (2026) C. Riley Snorton’s Nobody is Supposed to Know: Black Sexuality on the Down Low (U of Minnesota Press, 2014) C. Riley Snorton’s Black on Both Sides: A Racial History of Trans Identity (U of Minnesota Press, 2017) Darius Bost’s Evidence of Being: The Black Gay Cultural Renaissance and the Politics of Violence (U of Chicago Press, 2019) Cathy J. Cohen “Deviance as Resistance: A New Research Agenda for the Study of Black Politics” (2014) William Cathay/Cathay Williams Phil Black The Funmakers Ball Cheryl Dunye’s The Watermelon Woman Erica R. Edwards Marsha P. Johnson Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR) Combahee River Collective National Black Justice Coalition “Black Lesbian Thought” with Briona Simone Jones @c.rileysnorton dbost@uic.edu @windycitybq Saul Williams and Anisia Uzeyman’s Neptune Frost Jellicle Ball Essex Hemphill’s Ceremonies: Prose and Poetry       Questions you should be able to respond to after listening: -      Why do Black and queer history need to be thought of together? How are they sometimes separated? -      Darius speaks about the book having two parts. What is each about? -      Riley speaks about gender and sexual deviance as forms of survival or escape. What does this mean? Can you name an example? -      What does Darius say about the relationship between civil rights ideology and non-normative gender? -      Why is it important to speak about collectives as well as individuals when engaging with Black queer history?

If you want to know what Roxy wants, this episode is a great place to start. Diva’s fabulous editor in chief joins us for a chat about her lovely memoir What A Girl Wants, which is just as heartwarming, insightful and fun as the author herself. Roxy and I speak about femme invisibility, queer timelines, body image and lesbian breakups. Not one to be missed.   References: DIVA Out and Wild Zoe Berryman Caitlin Moran Dolly Alderton Ann Bannon’s I Am A Woman (1959) The Beebo Brinker Chronicles Carol Cate Blanchett Patricia Highsmith’s The Price of Salt   Questions you should be able to respond to after listening: -      Roxy’s book regularly employs direct address of the reader. What does Roxy say about this? Why was this formal feature important for writing this book? -      Roxy and I speak about queered timelines. What do we suggest and what do you think about this topic? -      How does Roxy speak about approaching chronology and structure in memoir?  

The final episode of the Queer Forms and Pronouns series got a bit more personal than I expected. The incredible Teagan Bradway and I speak about misgendering ourselves, giving the gift of language to our loved ones and why not just the function but also the beauty of gender-nonconformity pronouns is politically and personally significant. We speak about my anxieties about it pronouns and how this plays out in different genres from speculative fiction to memoir. Teagan’s insights into narrative agency and pronominal shifts are incredibly helpful in taking one last deep dive into the world of pronouns. This conversation is part of a miniseries that accompanies my book Queer Forms and Pronouns: Gender Nonconformity in Anglophone Literature (Oxford University Press, 2026). I hope you like hearing more from your host, but not to worry: we will be back to our usual format after this one.   References: Bradway, Teagan. "Queer Narrative Theory and the Relationality of Form." PMLA 136.5 (2021): 711-727. Bradway, Teagan, and Elizabeth Freeman, eds. Queer Kinship: Race, Sex, Belonging, Form. Duke University Press, 2022. Bradway, Teagan. "Introduction: Queer Metarelationality." differences 35.3 (2024): 1-13. Bradway, Teagan. "Queer Formalism." The Palgrave Handbook of Feminist, Queer and Trans* Narrative Studies. Palgrave, 2025. 95-109. https://teaganbradway.com/ Les Feinberg Torrey Peters’ Stag Dance Becky Chambers’ Monk and Robot Octavia Butler’s Lilith’s Brood Maia Kobabe’s Gender Queer Diane Watt Jack Halberstam Dana Luciano Mel Y. Chen Spivak pronouns (E/em/eir) Isaac Fellman Andrea Gibson Hekanaho, Laura. "A thematic analysis of attitudes towards English nonbinary pronouns." Journal of Language and Sexuality 11.2 (2022): 190-216. Mattheis, Lena. "Nonbinary Narration." The Palgrave Handbook of Feminist, Queer and Trans* Narrative Studies. Palgrave, 2025. 25-39. Vera Nuenning Corinna Assmann     Questions you should be able to respond to after listening: -      What does narrative agency have to do with pronouns? How might narrative point of view affect pronouns? -      Why do we discuss genre? What could the implications of discussing pronouns in speculative fiction be? -      How can ‘it’ pronouns allow us to think about gender, personhood and humanness? -      What are Spivak pronouns? You may want to look this up as we only mention them very briefly. -      What do Lena and Teagan think about mispronouning? -      Why do we speak about pronouns as a gift that is not always easy to give? How do you feel about sharing your pronouns or learning someone else’s?  

The fantastic Jas Morgan is back for a conversation about pronouns in Two-Spirit literature! We think about how kinship is reflected in language, what role pronouns take on in translation and how they can easily be misunderstood, especially when working across cultures and languages. Our conversation is based on a dialogic chapter of Queer Forms and Pronouns, which I co-wrote with Kai Minosh Pyle. This conversation is part of a miniseries that accompanies my book Queer Forms and Pronouns: Gender Nonconformity in Anglophone Literature (Oxford University Press, 2026). I hope you like hearing more from your host, but not to worry: we will be back to our usual format in just a few weeks. References: Kai Minosh Pyle Jas Morgan’s “My Pronouns are Kiy/Kin” https://web.archive.org/web/20210416065231/https://aabitagiizhig.com/2016/05/13/red-rising-my-pronouns-are-kiy-kin/ Jas Morgan’s nîtisânak Riot Grrrl Robin Wall Kimmerer Wahkohtowin Joshua Whitehead’s “A Queer Geography of Woundings” Billy-Ray Belcourt Lambda Literary Awards Kin (web series) Justin Ducharme Aalayna Ta’Kaiya Blaney https://jasmorgan.com/2020/10/25/sewing-circle-kin-web-series/ @notvanishing (IG)   Questions you should be able to respond to after listening: -      Why might pronouns work differently in Two-Spirit literature? -      What do pronouns have to do with kinship? -      How are pronouns connected to animacy? -      We speak about pronouns in translation between languages that attach gendered notions to them or not. How might this affect communication? Are pronouns gendered in your favourite language? -      What does Jas mean by ‘I am not a metaphor’?

Come along for a deep dive into mixed pronouns in queer, trans and nonbinary narratives with none other than Sue Lanser, your favourite narratologist’s favourite narratologist. Sue and I talk about why we might need to rethink the concept of gender disguise narratives, where we find mixed pronouns in literary histories and why mixed pronouns often become sensual in literature. My favourite bit: Sue asks me about my personal hero, the Grinch. This conversation is part of a miniseries that accompanies my book Queer Forms and Pronouns: Gender Nonconformity in Anglophone Literature (Oxford University Press, 2026). I hope you like hearing more from your host, but not to worry: we will be back to our usual format in just a few weeks.     References Sue Lanser’s The Sexuality of History Sue Lanser’s Narrative Theory Unbound Sue Lanser’s “Trans-forming Narratology” Narrative 32.2 (2024) Jeanette Winterson’s Written on the Body Le Roman de Silence Michel de Montaigne’s Journal de Voyage Margaret Cavendish’s Assaulted and Pursued Chastity Lyly’s Galatea Chevalièr(e) d’Éon Alex Myers’ Revolutionary Deborah Samson Jenny Fran Davis’ Dykette Isaac Fellman’s Dead Collections Spiel, Katta, Os Keyes, and Pınar Barlas. 2019. ‘Patching Gender: Non-Binary Utopias in HCI’. Extended Abstracts of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, May 2, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1145/3290607.3310425. The Grinch Dr Seuss Jim Carrey Benedict Cumberbatch Les Feinberg Maggie Nelson Harry Dodge Jen Manion Dean Spade       Questions you should be able to respond to after listening: -      What role does narrative agency play in the difference between external and intrinsic pronoun ascription? -      Why does Susan suggest that we need to revisit Shakespeare’s and other’s gender disguise narratives? -      Susan mentions how characters that are perceived as masculine but use she/her are much more frequently ridiculed than characters viewed as feminine who use he/him. Why do you think that is? -      How has feminism expanded what ‘she/her’ can mean? -      How does mixing pronouns do similar or different work from singular they? -      Why does the Grinch, according to Lena, have big they energy?

It was an incredible honour to have THE Susan Stryker join me for a chat about ambiguous pronouns, trans literature and linguistic creativity. Susan’s wealth of knowledge on pronouns across languages and literary history was incredibly enriching and allowed me to speak about some of my favourite examples of ambiguous pronoun use in literature. This conversation is part of a miniseries that accompanies my book Queer Forms and Pronouns: Gender Nonconformity in Anglophone Literature (Oxford University Press, 2026). I hope you like hearing more from your host, but not to worry: we will be back to our usual format in just a few weeks.   References: Susan Stryker’s “My Words to Victor Frankenstein above the Village of Chamounix” Susan Stryker’s Transgender History Susan Stryker, Stephen Wittle, Aren Aizura (eds) The Transgender Studies Reader Susan Stryker’s Changing Gender: The History and Future of a Concept (August 2026) Sara Taylor’s The Lauras Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s The Sleeping Hermaphrodite (1620) Teagan Bradway Maia Kobabe’s Gender Queer (2019) Lal Zimman Rivers Solomon Aphra Behn’s “To The Fair Clorinda” and “The Widow Ranter” Thomas(ine) Hall Nathaniel Bacon Mel Y. Chen Andrea Lawlor’s Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl Andrea Gibson’s “Your Life”   Questions you should be able to respond to after listening: -      Which pronouns are ambiguous when it comes to gender in English? Which ones are ambiguous in your first or favourite language? -      What creates ambiguity when we use pronouns? How might this ambiguity be productive? -      Susan explains why gendered pronouns in English function in an unusual way compared to other languages. What is something new you learned about this? -      We speak about why literature can teach us something about pronoun use that we might overlook when focusing on grammar. What is that? -      Can you name one of the examples of ambiguous pronoun use in literature we discuss?      

Welcome to a miniseries about gender nonconformity pronouns in literature! In this episode, the amazing linguist Laura Paterson asks me many clever questions about singular they in literature. We talk about the function of pronouns, common misunderstanding about singular they, and neutral versus gender-nonconforming use of this fantastic third person pronoun. Whether you would like reading recommendations (Virginia Woolf, Lamya H, Rae Spoon…) or some insight into what singular they can do in creative and academic writing, this episode might have some answers – or questions – for you.   References Lena Mattheis’ Queer Forms and Pronouns: Gender Nonconformity in Anglophone Literature (Oxford University Press, 2026) Laura Paterson (ed.) The Routledge Handbook of Pronouns (Routledge, 2023) Anna Livia Lamya H’s Hijab Butch Blues (2023) Rae Spoon’s Green Glass Ghosts (2021) Jeanette Winterson’s Written on the Body (1992) Anne Garréta’s Sphinx (1986) Charlie Josephine’s I, Joan (2022) The Globe https://www.shakespearesglobe.com/identity-in-i-joan/ Kit Heyam Laura Paterson and Georgina Turner (eds) Approaches to Discourses of Marriage (Routledge, 2024) Lal Zimman   Questions you should be able to respond to after listening: -     What is a pronoun? -     How does Lena define gender-nonconformity pronouns? -     Why is it relevant whether a narrator comments on pronoun use or not? Which examples does Lena provide? -     Which literary texts do Laura and Lena mention? Which one would you like to read and why? -     What do Laura and Lena discuss about pronouns in academic writing? Do you have an established practice for this?

What is queer food, you ask? Let’s find out! Alex Ketchum and Megan Elias tell me all about the connections between gender and food, cooking and sexuality, and recipes and community. The amazing book Queers at the Table is a product of the queer food conference Alex and Megan ran in 2024 (returning in 2026!) and consists of essays, stories, comics and endlessly inspiring reflections on queer cooking and intellectual inquiry. Lesbian chefs, feminist cafes, queer community cookouts – this episode has them all.   References: Queers at the Table (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2025) Alex Ketchum’s Ingredients for Revolution: A History of American Feminist Restaurants, Cafes, and Coffeehouses (Concordia UP, 2022) https://press.library.concordia.ca/projects/ingredients-for-revolution (open access) Megan Elias’ Food on the Page (Penn Press, 2017) Queer Food Conference https://www.queerfoodconference.com/ @queerfoodconference Alex Ketchum’s How to Organize Inclusive Events and Conferences (Microcosm, 2026) https://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/books/63461 Alex Ketchum’s Digital Queers and High Tech Gays (MIT Press, 2027) @dr.alexketchum http://alexketchum.ca Alex Ketchum’s Engage in Public Scholarship!: A Guidebook on Feminist and Accessible Communication (Concordia Uni Press, 2022) https://press.library.concordia.ca/projects/engage-in-public-scholarship (open access) https://www.justfeministtechandscholarshiplab.com/ Greggor Mattson Prism Comics Queer Food Foundation The Female Glaze @thefemaleglaze The Nonbinarian Bookstore https://thenonbinarian.gay/ Bishakh Som’s Spellbound Cait McKinney’s Information Activism: A Queer History of Lesbian Media Technologies The Ripped Bodice Casey McQuiston’s The Pairing   Questions you should be able to respond to after listening: -      How do Megan and Alex define queer food? -      Megan thinks about what ‘not queer food’ might be and whether we would want to define this. What is your opinion? Is there ‘straight’ food? -      How is gender connected to food? Were you surprised by anything we mention? -      What connections do Megan and Alex draw between sexuality and food? -      Alex and Megan speak a lot about community. Can you name two examples of how community makes food queer? -      How might food be linked to queer knowledge production?

The incredible author Lauren J. Joseph joins me to talk about her new book Lean Cat, Savage Cat – out on 26 February 2026. Lauren talks about the genre-bending ambiguity of the novel, about characters that have followed her from the stage to the page, and about writing across languages. We touch on the intricacies of first-person narration, but also on what it’s like to write a novel versus writing a PhD.   References: Lauren J. Joseph’s Lean Cat, Savage Cat (2026) Lauren J. Joseph’s At Certain Points We Touch (2022) Ben Robbins Alexander Geist David Bowie Bryan Ferry Morrissey Hildegard von Bingen Marty Supreme Timothée Chalamet Essen Dortmund Karstadt KaDeWe Romy Haag Bowie’s Berlin Trilogy: Low, Heroes, Lodger Narcissus and Echo Céleste Albaret Proust American Psycho Pedro Lemebel’s My Tender Matador Jean Genet

From Christopher Isherwood to Djuna Barnes, some of the most prolific queer writers of the 20th century wrote in exile. Ben Robbins joins me to explain how and why queer writers connected with each other in exile and how (in)voluntary movement shaped their stories. Ben shares some surprising encounters from the archives and paints a picture of some of the locations of queer exile: Berlin, Tangier and Capri.   References: Networked Narratives: Queer Exile Literature 1900-1969 Funded by the Austrian Science Fund/FWF (Project DOI: 10.55776/P35199)   https://www.uibk.ac.at/projects/networkednarratives/ Ben Robbins’ “‘Marriages ought to be secret’: Queer Marriages of Convenience and the Exile Narrative” JAAAS: Journal of the Austrian Association for American Studies, vol. 5, no. 1, Dec. 2023, pp. 100–122, https://doi.org/10.47060/jaaas.v5i1.173. Networks of Anglophone LGBTQ+ Exile Writers http://queerexilelit.uibk.ac.at/ Robbins, Ben, and Ralph J. Poole. "Introduction: Queer Ruralisms." AmLit – American Literatures 4.2 (2024): 4-21. Ben Robbins’ Faulkner's Hollywood Novels: Women between Page and Screen (University of Virginia Press 2024) https://www.upress.virginia.edu/title/5855/ Queer Second Cities Maria Sulimma Ben Robbins’ “Christopher Isherwood in Exile”  https://www.huntington.org/verso/christopher-isherwood-exile Harry Ransom Center Bryher (Annie Winifred Ellerman) Oscar Wilde W. Somerset Maugham E.F. Benson John Ellingham Brooks Romaine Brooks John Ellerman Robert McAlmon Djuna Barnes’ Nightwood Natalie Barney Christopher Isherwood’s Goodbye to Berlin Stephen Spender’s The Temple Jane Bowles’ Two Serious Ladies W.H. Auden Patricia Highsmith Allen Ginsberg Claude McKay Thornton Wilder Ben Robbins. "Space, Sexuality, and Thornton Wilder's Villa Rhabani." Thornton Wilder Journal 5:1, November 2024, pp. 99-119. DOI: 10.5325/thorntonwilderj.5.1.0099  https://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/psup/thornton-wilder/article-abstract/5/1/99/392187/Space-Sexuality-and-Thornton-Wilder-s-Villa?redirectedFrom=fulltext Open access: https://ulb-dok.uibk.ac.at/urn/urn:nbn:at:at-ubi:3-40689 William Burroughs’ Naked Lunch Alfred Chester’s Looking for Genet: Literary Essays and Reviews Susan Sontag Gore Vidal Henry James Truman Capote   Questions you should be able to respond to after listening: -      How does Ben define ‘exile’? How is this similar to and different from ‘expat’? -      How does exile relate to class status and financial means? -      Why are queer networks so important in this context? -      What does Ben say about exile and (involuntary) movement affecting narrative form? -      How do you find out where you can safely travel?

Time for a cross-over! I had the absolute pleasure on being invited to join the Amplified network and appear on their superb podcast. Here is our episode and Amplified's show notes: "Amplified is an audio blog series about the sounds of scholarship from our team here at the Amplify Podcast Network. This month on Amplified, Stacey Copeland and Hannah McGregor are joined by Lena Mattheis to kick off a brand new series featuring the latest additions to our sustained cohort of podcasters. Lena is the creator and host of Queer Lit, a podcast about LGBTQIA2S+* literature and culture. In this conversation, we reflect on podcasting as a tool for community building and queer scholarly practice, tracing how Queer Lit emerged from Lena's teaching practice and a commitment to accessible feminist and queer knowledge creation."

What is the queerest thing you did this year? Listen to the festive special to find out how queer our guests and listeners made 2025! References: Liz Breslin How To Read podcast https://www.howtoreadpodcast.com/elaine-auyoung-one-sided-relationships/ Queer Forms and Pronouns: Gender Nonconformity in Anglophone Literature (OUP, March 2026) https://global.oup.com/academic/product/queer-forms-and-pronouns-9780198974116?q=lena%20mattheis&lang=en&cc=gb Susan Stryker Louise Siddons’ Good Pictures Are A Strong Weapon https://www.upress.umn.edu/9781517910730/good-pictures-are-a-strong-weapon/ Category is Books (Glasgow) Lighthouse Books (Edinburgh) The Bookish Type (Leeds) Kit Heyam Royal Vauxhall Tavern All Of Us Strangers Nick Cherryman European Gay Ski Week Oliver Slate-Green’s The Way Blood Travels Leah Davidson Listenqueer.co.uk Out and Wild Leilah King Coast is Queer Jack Gieseking Our Dyke Histories podcast Julie Enszer Lesbian Lives  Sinister Wisdom The Essential Poems of Pat Parker (The 87 Press) Caro de Robertis’ The Palace of Eros Joelle Taylor’s Maryville Alison Bechdel’s Spent Allan Johnson  https://thisisallan.medium.com/elf-and-safety-2b061323dbc1 Flora Johnson’s Christopher Popinkins

What is the queerest thing you did this year? Listen to the festive special to find out how queer our guests and listeners made 2025!   References: Happiest Season Kristen Stewart Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid Joe Jukes https://www.hiss.sydney/ Virginia Gay’s Cyrano Qtopia Sydney Queer Britain @guildfordgaybookclub New House Art Space (Guildford) Juno Dawson’s Stay Another Day Layla McCay’s The Queer Bookshelf: A Reader’s Guide (June 2026) Libro.fm Pillion Arzner @Arznercinema  

Share the queerest thing you did this year by 6 December to be featured on the end-of-year special and for the chance to win a special gift (if you are based in the UK). Send an email or voice recording to queerlitpodcast@gmail.com by 6 December. I can't wait to hear from you!

Medusa, Medea, Artemis… we’ve all heard their stories before but what do they sound like when not told by (or centred on) men? Mara Gold, the sapphic scholar, is here to tell us all about these figures and about how there is always more than one side to a story and more than one reading to a myth. Come for the lesbian legends, stay for the witty witches and follow us @queerlitpodcast and @sapphic_scholar.   References Mara Gold’s Ancient Myths and Legends Without Men (2025) Mara Gold’s “Rebels Against the Tyranny of Men’: Women Performing Greek Comedy in Early Twentieth-Century Britain” in Women Creating Classics (2025)  https://mara-gold.com/ @sapphic_scholar Beyond the Binary Pitt Rivers Museum https://www.prm.ox.ac.uk/beyond-the-binary Ashmolean Museum Rebellious Bodies audio tour  https://app.smartify.org/en-GB/tours/ashmolean-rebellious-bodies-tour?utm_campaign=ashmoleansmartifywebpage&utm_medium=webpagelink&utm_source=ashmoleanwebsite&utm_content=rebelliousbodiestour Smartify Hélène Cixous’ “The Laugh of the Medusa” (1975) Femme fatale Gorgons Apotropaic figure Athena Hera Natalie Haynes’ Stone Blind Madeleine Miller’s Circe Rosie Hewlett Pat Barker Madeleine Miller’s Circe Sirens Odyssey Durham Castle Hans Christian Andersen Selkie Demeter Penelope Medea Maenad Dionysus Bacchus True Blood Amazon Atalanta Nataly Barney Lesbos-en-Seine Artemis Double Slice https://doubleslice.studio/ Actaeon Callisto Zeus Aphrodite Jason Argonauts Glauce Suranne Jones Doctor Foster Gentleman Jack Children of Srikandi (2012) Hector and Hephaestus Radical Book Fair Lighthouse Books Edinburgh The Bookish Type Caper bookshop The Magicians Persephone Cassandra   Questions you should be able to respond to after listening: -      What is sapphism? -      What is classical reception? How is this relevant to Mara’s work? -      What are the archetypes that Mara uses to structure the book? Which one are you most interested in and why? -      What does Mara say about Srikandi and Srikandi’s role in LGBTQIA+ activism in Indonesia? -      How can we draw on ancient myths for queer activism today? What does Mara say about this? What are your thoughts? -      Do you have a favourite figure from mythology or legends?  

Are you ready to descend into the weird world of queer Gothic writing, spooky sexology, and gay ghouls? Brontë Schiltz is an expert on all of these and so much more. We speak about the televisual Gothic and about several of Brontë’s favourite Victorian writers, including masc heartthrob Vernon Lee. If you’re into fun facts about blood transfusions and half-human, half-snake main characters, this episode is for you.   References: Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies Vernon Lee (1856-1935) Ali Smith Sarah Waters Televisual gothic A Ghost Story For Christmas M.R. James “The Dead Room” Mark Gatiss The Oxford Book of Gothic Tales Chris Baldick Nigel Kneale Matthew Lewis’ The Monk Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray Jen Beagin’s Big Swiss Karl Heinrich Ulrichs’ Manor Sexology “Plain Reasons Against Sodomy” Horace Walpole John Addington Symonds Dracula George Haggerty’s Queer Gothic John Singer Sargent Clementina Anstruther-Thomson Affect studies Vernon Lee’s Hauntings “A Wicked Voice” “Prince Alberic and the Snake Lady” Megan Milks Ali Smith’s Hotel World Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies The Horse Hospital  https://www.thehorsehospital.com/events/miskatonic-televisualgothic   Questions you should be able to respond to after listening: -      What is the Gothic? What did you know about the Gothic before listening and what did you learn from Brontë? -      How is the Gothic queer? -      Why is the Victorian period an interesting time to look at queerness? -      How does Brontë speak about queerness in relation to illness? -      What is your favourite spooky story?          

Are you ready to become a showgirl? Poet, scholar, and Swifty extraordinaire Stephanie Burt joins me to talk about Taylor Swift’s musical genius, queer fandom and relationship to femininity. There was simply too much to squeeze into one episode, so make sure to listen to part one first and hear all about the Gaylors, before switching to part two, to learn about Taylor's relationship to femininity, class and race. Stephanie will also tell you why she thought the “You Need To Calm Down” video was a big mistake… Follow Stephanie and myself at @notquitehydepark and @queerlitpodcast for even more content!   References Stephanie Burt’s We Are Mermaids (Greywolf Press, 2022) Stephanie Burt’s Super Gay Poems (2025) Stephanie Burt’s Taylor’s Version: The Poetic and Musical Genius of Taylor Swift (Basic Books, 2025) Stephanie Burt’s “Prayer for Werewolves” Poetry Unbound John Donne Katherine Philips Geoffrey Chaucer Walt Whitman Charlotte Mew Sarah Records Heavenly Tender Trap Blueboy Ella Darling Motown Carole King Dolly Parton “You Belong With Me” Red Reputation Miss Americana (2020) Lover Rachel Hartman’s Tess of the Road Gaylorism Gaylors and Hetlors “When Emma Falls in Love” “All Too Well” Joe Jonas Taylor Lautner Jake Gyllenhaal “Back to December” John Mayer The Life of a Show Girl Elizabeth Taylor Katharine Hepburn Ophelia Hamlet Julia Serano Frozen Mononormativity Evermore “Tis The Damn Season” The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection “Christmases When You Were Mine” Crass Grace Petrie Taylearning podcast “Clara Bow” Britney Spears Miley Cyrus “You Need to Come Down” Adeem the Artist Journey to Fearless Lara Heimert @notquitehydepark Rachel Gold’s In the Silences Imogen Binnie’s Nevada X-Men Gold 30 D.A. Powell Team Dresch’s Captain My Captain Slater Kinney Heartbreak High Sex Education Rachel Hartman’s Seraphina   Questions you should be able to respond to after listening: -      How does Stephanie speak about the relationship between poetry, lyrics and music? Where does this become relevant in Taylor Swift’s work? -      What does the term ‘Gaylor’ refer to and why are there so many of them? -      We speak about sapphic forms in this episode. What makes a form sapphic for you? -      What is feminophobia and why could being femme be read as giving up power? How does this relate to trans femininity? -      What does Stephanie suggest about the representation of class in the “You Need To Calm Down” video? -      Why does Stephanie stress that Taylor knows that she is white? How does Stephanie describe Taylor’s engagement with race and the music of Black women? -      Does Taylor’s music speak to you? Why or why not?

Are you ready to become a showgirl? Poet, scholar, and Swifty extraordinaire Stephanie Burt joins me to talk about Taylor Swift’s musical genius, queer fandom and relationship to femininity. There was simply too much to squeeze into one episode, so make sure to listen to part one first and hear all about the Gaylors, before switching to part two, to learn about Taylor;s relationship to femininity, class and race. Stephanie will also tell you why she thought the “You Need To Calm Down” video was a big mistake… Follow Stephanie and myself at @notquitehydepark and @queerlitpodcast for even more content!   References Stephanie Burt’s We Are Mermaids (Greywolf Press, 2022) Stephanie Burt’s Super Gay Poems (2025) Stephanie Burt’s Taylor’s Version: The Poetic and Musical Genius of Taylor Swift (Basic Books, 2025) Stephanie Burt’s “Prayer for Werewolves” Poetry Unbound John Donne Katherine Philips Geoffrey Chaucer Walt Whitman Charlotte Mew Sarah Records Heavenly Tender Trap Blueboy Ella Darling Motown Carole King Dolly Parton “You Belong With Me” Red Reputation Miss Americana (2020) Lover Rachel Hartman’s Tess of the Road Gaylorism Gaylors and Hetlors “When Emma Falls in Love” “All Too Well” Joe Jonas Taylor Lautner Jake Gyllenhaal “Back to December” John Mayer The Life of a Show Girl Elizabeth Taylor Katharine Hepburn Ophelia Hamlet Julia Serano Frozen Mononormativity Evermore “Tis The Damn Season” The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection “Christmases When You Were Mine” Crass Grace Petrie Taylearning podcast “Clara Bow” Britney Spears Miley Cyrus “You Need to Come Down” Adeem the Artist Journey to Fearless Lara Heimert @notquitehydepark Rachel Gold’s In the Silences Imogen Binnie’s Nevada X-Men Gold 30 D.A. Powell Team Dresch’s Captain My Captain Slater Kinney Heartbreak High Sex Education Rachel Hartman’s Seraphina   Questions you should be able to respond to after listening: -      How does Stephanie speak about the relationship between poetry, lyrics and music? Where does this become relevant in Taylor Swift’s work? -      What does the term ‘Gaylor’ refer to and why are there so many of them? -      We speak about sapphic forms in this episode. What makes a form sapphic for you? -      What is feminophobia and why could being femme be read as giving up power? How does this relate to trans femininity? -      What does Stephanie suggest about the representation of class in the “You Need To Calm Down” video? -      Why does Stephanie stress that Taylor knows that she is white? How does Stephanie describe Taylor’s engagement with race and the music of Black women? -      Does Taylor’s music speak to you? Why or why not?

Our favourite feminist killjoy is back! Sara Ahmed joins me to talk about her brand-new book No Is Not A Lonely Utterance: The Art and Activism of Complaining. In her first ever (how special are we) public conversation about the book, Sara speaks about becoming a feminist ear and a complaint collector, sharing stories of her own complaints as well as those shared with her in community. Explaining how the power of complaining lies in creativity and collectivity, Sara shows why saying no is a powerful queer method.   References: Sarah Ahmed’s No Is Not A Lonely Utterance (Allen Lane, 2025) Sarah Ahmed’s The Feminist Killjoy Handbook (Penguin, 2023) Sarah Ahmed’s Complaint! (Duke, 2021) Sarah Ahmed’s What’s the Use (Duke, 2019) Sarah Ahmed’s On Being Included: Racism and Diversity in Institutional Life (Duke, 2012) Onomatopoeia Jean Porcelli Race Relations Amendment Act CARD Complaint Against Racial Discrimination Kennetta Hammond Perry’s London is the Place for Me: Black Britons, Citizenship and the Politics of Race (2018)  https://global.oup.com/academic/product/london-is-the-place-for-me-9780190909949?cc=gb&lang=en& Heather Love’s Feeling Backward Chelsea Watego’s “Always Bet On Black (Power)” (2021) https://meanjin.com.au/essays/always-bet-on-black-power/   Questions you should be able to respond to after listening: -      What is a feminist ear? How might you become one? -      We speak about the role of energy in complaining. Where can energy come from or disappear to? To quote Sara: ‘puff, puff’ -      How does Sara define institutional fatalism and why might it be an illusion? -      What makes complaint a queer method? -      This is a question from Sara’s book: What is the first complaint you remember making? How do you feel about it now?

How many times have you watched the sweaty lesbian fever dream that is Love Lies Bleeding? As you might be able to guess from this episode, Michelle Devereaux and I have stopped counting. Michelle is a feminist film-philosophy expert who joins me to talk about Rose Glass’s super queer neo noir, the interplay of genre conventions and gender dynamics, and all the fun intertexts and easter eggs that we found in Love Lies Bleeding. Whether you’re into bodybuilding and gender transgression or lesbian romance against all odds, this episode is for you.   References Rose Glass’ Love Lies Bleeding (2024) Devereaux, Michelle. "Suspicious Minds and Dead Bodies: Queer Romance and Skepticism in Rose Glass’s Love Lies Bleeding." Film Quarterly 78.2 (2024): 24-32. Devereaux, Michelle. The Stillness of Solitude: Romanticism and Contemporary American Independent Film. Edinburgh University Press, 2019. Devereaux, Michelle.“‘A lot of people are creative’: Process, Perfectionism and the Everyday Sublime in Kelly Reichardt’s Showing Up and First Cow”. Kim Wilkins and Bruce Isaacs, eds. A24: Culture, Aesthetics, Identity. Edinburgh University Press, 2026 (expected). Devereaux, Michelle.“Inherited Trauma, Postcolonial Scepticism and the Harmony of Voice in Jennifer Kent’s The Nightingale”. Film-Philosophy and Australian Cinema. Saige Walton and Matilda Mroz, eds. Edinburgh University Press, 2026 (expected). Devereaux, Michelle and Lash, Dominic (eds.). Love, Desire and Stanley Cavell. London: Routledge, 2026 (expected). MAI: Feminism and Visual Culture: www.maifeminism.com Russian Doll Sofia Coppola Cavell, Stanley. Pursuits of Happiness: The Hollywood Comedy of Remarriage. Harvard University Press, 1981. Cavell, Stanley. Contesting Tears: The Hollywood Melodrama of the Unknown Woman. Harvard University Press, 1996. Comedies of Remarriage Screwball Comedy Out and Wild Sleater-Kinney Bristol Butch Bar Lindner, Katharina. Film Bodies: Queer Feminist Encounters with Gender and Sexuality in Cinema. Bloomsbury Academic, 2017. Bound (1996) The Incredible Hulk Kristen Stewart  Twilight Pumping Iron II: The Women (1985) Bev Francis David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive (2001) and Lost Highway (1997) Winkie’s Diner Lauren Berlant’s epistemic frenzy Teresa de Lauretis  mailto:michelledevereaux@bsky.social Instagram: @michelleldevereaux Kelly Reichardt’s Showing Up (2022) Michelle Williams Derek Jarman’s Caravaggio (1996) Tilda Swinton Sean Bean   Questions you should be able to respond to after listening: 1.      What is Love Lies Bleeding about and why does Michelle suggest it might be more about gender than about sexuality? 2.      How does Michelle describe Lindner’s ‘space of transgender potential’? Can you think of an example for this? 3.      Which genres does Michelle mention to discuss and describe Love Lies Bleeding? How are these genres queered in the film? 4.      What role does the setting play in the film? How might this relate to the ‘space of transgender potential’? 5.      What is your favourite lesbian and/or trans film and why?

Hello, and welcome to Queer Lit! Queer Lit is a podcast about LGBTQIA2S+* literature and culture and in each episode, I get to talk to an expert in the fields of queer and trans studies. Topics inc…

If you can’t find me, I’m probably still browsing shelves of queer joy at Lighthouse, Edinburgh’s superb radical bookshop. The delightful owner Mairi Oliver took some time to chat with me about the long history of radical and queer bookshops that have come before and exist alongside this absolute gem of a queer space. We speak about queer spaces changing hands and transforming, rather than disappearing, about the magic of queer and trans book events, and about why radical booksellers are so important for local community.   References: Word Power Elaine Henry Constant Reader Bookshop Lavender Menace West & Wilde Sigrid Nielson Bob Orr J une Thomas’s A Place of One’s Own Jane Cholmeley’s A Bookshop of One’s Own Silver Moon Bookshop James Ley’s Love Song To Lavender Menace Naomi Klein Sara Ahmed Radical Book Fair Category is Books (Glasgow) Gay’s The Word (London) Housmans (London) Five Leaves (Nottingham) Alliance of Radical Booksellers  https://www.radicalbooksellers.co.uk/ Bread and Roses Award Jake Hall’s Shoulder to Shoulder: A Queer History of Solidarity, Coalition and Chaos N.S. Nuseibeh’s Namesake   Questions you should be able to respond to after listening: -      Mairi speaks about how Lighthouse builds on a lineage of queer spaces. How do you feel about queer spaces transforming versus disappearing? -      In this context, we also speak about the higher expectations for queer spaces. Have you experienced this? Do you think queer spaces should be held to a higher standard? What is the effect of this? -      When we speak about the relationship between readers, booksellers and authors, Mairi makes some interesting points about how the role of writers is changing. What struck you as particularly important here? -      Mairi ends the episode with a note on the urgency with which we need to address current political discussions. How can books and bookshops help us do this?

What makes Hong Kong queer? Alvin K. Wong joins me to speak about how queer and decolonial thought can help us better understand Hong Kong and its relation to the Sinophone world, to Eurocentric queer theory, and to global protest culture. Alvin speaks about queer and trans photography, films and novels from Hong Kong and sprinkles in some excellent theory reading recommendations. Listen now to learn more about Hong Kong and why it is such a frequent site of (unruly) comparison.   References: Wong, Alvin. Unruly Comparison: Queerness, Hong Kong, and the Sinophone (Duke UP, 2025) Wong, Alvin. “Transgenderism as a Heuristic Device: On the Cross-historical and Transnational Adaptations of the Legend of the White Snake,” in Transgender China, ed. Howard Chiang (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012), 127-158. https://complit.hku.hk/index.php/faculty/alvin-wong/ akhwong@hku.hk Center for the Study of Globalization and Cultures Society of Sinophone Studies Michel Foucault Judith Butler Rey Chow Ackbar Abbas Umbrella Movement in 2014 Milton Friedman Roderick Ferguson José Esteban Muñoz Queer of colour critique Gayatri Gopinath’s Impossible Desires (Duke UP, 2005) and Unruly Visions (Duke UP, 2018) Emily Apter’s The Translation Zone (Princeton UP, 2006) Nelson Tang Chak-man’s Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been? (2019-20) Ann Stoler Jacques Derrida Anjali Arondekar Wong Bik-wan’s Lienü tu 烈女圖 (Portraits of martyred women, 1999) Ma Ka Fai’s Long tou feng wei 龍頭鳳尾 (Once Upon A Time in Hong Kong, 2016) Lisa Lowe Scud Mak Yan Yan’s Butterfly Jun Li’s Tracey (2018) W v. Registrar of Marriages A Woman is A Woman Mimi Wong Chen Ran’s A Private Life   Questions you should be able to respond to after listening: -      What happened on 1 July 1997? Why was 2019 a central year in Hong Kong’s history? -      Why is Hong Kong such a frequent site of comparison? What makes Hong Kong (seem) exceptional? -      What does Alvin observe about Eurocentrism in queer studies? Which other power dynamics does he put this in relation with? -      Alvin speaks about juxtaposing different types of texts. What does he juxtapose and why? -      Several of Alvin’s reading recommendations have been published in translation. How often do you read translated texts?  

Accessible audio-based queer history

Out with Kathy - A weekly show focused on the LGBTQ+ community, where everyone's welcome.

You know I love a queer bookshop and this Glaswegian dream of a queer space is absolutely delightful. Bug and Fin started Category is Books in 2018 to create the kind of space they were craving in their own neighbourhood. As the name promises, Category is Books has some exquisite shelving categories: from ‘Dyke Aching’ to ‘Trans Lit’ to the extensive poetry and theory sections, Bug and Fin show off their excellent taste on their shelves. In the recording, you can hear just how popular the shop is and how many people from near and far love to stop by for a browse and a chat. I’m telling you: this is a real treasure.   References: Dr Eamon McCarthy (new favourtite person)  Scottish Graduate School for Arts and Humanities https://www.sgsah.ac.uk/ Section 28 Kelly Gardiner Adrian’s Bar Pluto Q Community Reading Room https://www.plutoq.com/ Hazel Jane Plante’s Little Blue Encyclopedia Sam Szabo’s Enlightened Transexual Comix Shola von Reinhold’s Lote   Questions you should be able to respond to after listening: -      Why do we need specialist bookshops? Why did Bug and Fin want to open one? -      Why do Bug and Fin mention Section 28? Please look this term up if you are not familiar. -      What is your favourite category, section or genre in a bookshop? -      Why should you check Category is Books’ opening times before you go on your own queer pilgrimage there?  

What do transitions have to do with the nation state? More than you think! Ava Kim joins me to speak about how conceptions of gender are deeply (and problematically) entwined with the nation. Ava speaks about powerful examples of transition narratives from Chile, Vietnam and Argentina to illustrate this and gives us a sneak peek into her forthcoming book on trans genre.   References: Ava Kim’s Still / Life: Trans Genre and the Politics of Anti-Development (forthcoming) Ava Kim’s “The Future is Child’s Play” GLQ (2025) Davy Knittle Mellon Foundation Christoph Hanssmann Stem the Tide: Trans Liberation in an Age of Fascism Travesti Nyke Slawik Lucía Puenzo’s XXY (2007) Marlene Wayar Mauro Cabral Grinspan Winnicott’s space of play Paz Errázuriz Gina Apostol’s Insurecto Jessica Hagedorn’s Dream Jungle and Dogeaters Trans subterfuge Balangiga Sebastián Lelio’s A Fantastic Woman/ Una Mujer Fantástica   Questions you should be able to respond to after listening: -      Are you familiar with the term travesti? Please look it up and find a helpful definition. -      Which forms of transition does Ava talk about? How do they relate to one another? -      In how far is transition a narrative form? What does this have to do with the nation as a form? -      How does Ava define trans subterfuge? -      What are some of the connections between nation and gender Ava and I speak about? Can you think of others? Have you ever been affected by any of them?

Coming to you live from the Spoken Word stage at Out and Wild, the UK’s biggest festival for lesbian, bi, trans and queer women and those who are non-binary! This conversation with the delightful Leilah King has everything you could hope for: laughing, rhyming, swooning, and a whole lot of poetry reading. Tune in to hear Leilah speak about gender nonconformity in football, her journey as a neurodivergent performance poet, and how being half-Iranian affects her experience as a queer woman. CW: mental health, manic state, gendered violence   References: Midnight Picnics in Tehran (2019) We Are Hungry for Androgyny (2023) Polari Press Mary Oliver Sam Kerr Audre Lorde’s Zami Travis Alabanza John Steinbeck’s East of Eden The Grapes of Wrath Charles Bukowski Ivan Coyote’s The Tomboy Survival Guide James Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room John Betjeman Philip Larkin Soft Butch Time of the Month Gay on Wye   Questions you should be able to respond to after listening: -      Leilah reflects on being a writer as well as a performer. How does performance affect her writing? -      What was Leilah’s open mic night called and why did she set it up? -      Who are some of the writers that have inspired Leilah? Who inspires you? -      Leilah speaks about her intersecting experiences of being queer, neurodivergent and half-Iranian. How does your queerness relate to other parts of your identity?  

Come along on this deep dive into Alison Bechdel’s new autofictional comic novel Spent, that will give you everything from Edward Gorey Easter eggs to Harriet the Spy content. Alison teaches me things about myself (I’m a bottom-up thinker. Who knew!) and reflects on what Alison, the character, learns from finally meeting the much beloved Dykes to Watch Out For on the page. Whether you are a fan of goats, wood chopping, reality TV or Virginia Woolf – this episode has something for every kind of anti-capitalist dyke.   References: Alison Bechel’s The Secret to Superhuman Strength Alison Bechel’s Fun Home Alison Bechel’s Dykes to Watch Out For Carmen Maria Machado Karl Marx’s Das Kapital The Guilty Feminist podcast Queer Eye Tidying Up with Marie Kondo Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse Nicole Coenen Grant Wood’s American Gothic Edward Gorey’s The Unstrung Harp The Gashlycrumb Tinies T his Queer Book Saved My Life Jonathan Cape Foyles https://www.foyles.co.uk/events/cape-graphic-novels-mini-con Anna Trench’s Florrie Louise Fitzhugh’s Harriet the Spy   Questions you should be able to respond to: -      What are some of Alison Bechdel’s most well-known texts? -      How does Alison reflect on intergenerational queer community? -      In a lesbian version of Queer Eye, what would the five lesbians’ areas of expertise be? -      If you could fictionalise a detail of your life, what would you invent for yourself?