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Queer as Fact @queerasfact.bsky.social · 18h

Schedule update: The bad news is Eli has been sick, so there'll be no episode coming out tomorrow. The good news is that means instead we'll be bringing our Dracula episode out on Halloween - looking forward to getting into the spooky season with you all!

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Queer as Fact @queerasfact.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

"...how sweet a thing it is for a strong healthy man with a woman's eyes and a child's wishes to feel that he can speak so to a man who can be if he wishes father and brother and wife to his soul.” Bram Stoker to Walt Whitman, 1872

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Queer as Fact @queerasfact.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Welcome to the longest episode of Queer as Fact yet! We’re talking about 'Dracula' author Bram Stoker. Join us for Bram’s fanmail to Walt Whitman, his complex relationship with masculinity, a pet monkey, and a guest appearance by Oscar Wilde! queerasfact.podbean.com/e/bram-stoker/

queerasfact.podbean.com

Bram Stoker | Queer as Fact

Welcome to the longest episode of Queer as Fact yet! In today’s podcast we’re talking about the author of Dracula, Bram Stoker. Join us to read Bram’s intense fanmail to Walt Whitman, discuss his comp...

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Queer as Fact @queerasfact.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Shana tova to everyone celebrating this weekend! We hope you have a sweet new year 🍎🍯

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Queer as Fact @queerasfact.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Move over Robespierre... Settling in to start editing what may be our longest episode yet!

Screenshot of Audacity sound editing software, open to a three-and-a-half-hour-long file titled 'Bram Stoker'

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Queer as Fact @queerasfact.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Getting ready for our next episode! If you haven’t read ‘Dracula’ this is your sign to start now so you can join us in discovering just how queer this book can be.

Photograph of a copy of Dracula sitting on a sunny outdoor table, next to a cup of tea in a Dracula-themed mug

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Queer as Fact @queerasfact.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

NEW EPISODE IS OUT Today's episode is on gendered pronouns in Mandarin! Join us for a journey through thousands of years of Chinese language, featuring paleo-pronouns, neo-pronouns, and the complexities of expressing gender when your phone has a limited character set. See thread below to listen.

NEW PODCAST EPISODE. Gendered Pronouns in Mandarin. An image showing calligraphy of gender-neutral form of the Mandarin pronoun tā (X也) is placed against a black background featuring a rainbow soundwave. The rainbow Q that represents Queer as Fact is at the bottom of the image.

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Queer as Fact @queerasfact.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

In 3rd-century Tunisia, Felicity and Perpetua left conventional family structures to find chosen family amongst an anti-establishment Christian community. They were martyred side-by-side for their beliefs. Today, queer Christians consider them patron saints. queerasfact.podbean.com/e/saints-fel...

queerasfact.podbean.com

Saints Felicity and Perpetua | Queer as Fact

Today's episode is on the 3rd-century North African saints, Felicity and Perpetua! Join us to hear about queer dreams, the mysterious absence of Felicity and Perpetua's husbands, and why early Christi...

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Queer as Fact @queerasfact.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Who amongst us has not been visited by the Demon of Procrastination...

Snippet from a book:
October [undated] My dearest Miss Harriet - I verily believe the Demon of Procrastination Abides in My pen - the moment I attempt

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Queer as Fact @queerasfact.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

Current Queer as Fact meeting topic: What should we do for our tenth anniversary next year? We would love suggestions!

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Queer as Fact @queerasfact.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

We have a new episode out today! We're talking about queer representation in museums - what it looks like, what queer people want it to look like, and how we can get there. Check it out: queerasfact.podbean.com/e/queer-repr... #museums #queerhistory

queerasfact.podbean.com

Queer Representation in Museums | Queer as Fact

Today's episode is on queer representation in museums - what it looks like, what queer people want it to look like, and how we can get there. This episode was originally released on our Patreon in 202...

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Queer as Fact @queerasfact.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

Trans activist Marsha P Johnson founded the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries, which provided housing, legal aid, and other support to trans youth. She is remembered by those her knew her for her kindness and generosity. #transhistory #queerhistory

Marsha P Johnson, a Black trans woman. She is standing outdoors at a protest with a police line visible behind her. She is wearing a blue gown, pearl headdress, and purple sash which reads ‘Stonewall’, and smiling at the camera.

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Queer as Fact @queerasfact.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

This is one of the earliest known recordings of a trans person! Masoud El Amaratly (c.1897-1944) was a mustarjil, a transmasculine identity among the Ahwari people of southern Iraq. He was famous in the '20s and '30s, performing and recording traditional Iraqi music soundcloud.com/qatar-digita...

soundcloud.com

El Amaratly, Massoud: Ahiman terdoun ma terdoun

9CS0026165(S1) Item title: Ahiman terdoun ma terdoun Contributor: El Amaratly, Massoud Matrix number: 0C2336 Performance note: Massoud El Amaratly was born to Moula Saad as a girl named Massouda in th

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Queer as Fact @queerasfact.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Have you met Anne Lister? Born in 1791, Anne invented a secret code to document her love-affairs with women across thousands of pages of diaries, and exchanged rings in church with her partner, Ann Walker, almost 200 years before same-sex marriage was legalised in England. #lesbianhistory

Portrait of Anne Lister, a 19th-century British woman wearing a high-necked dark jacket

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Queer as Fact @queerasfact.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

Amongst the Ahwari/Marsh Arab people of Iraq, mustarjil is a traditional trans masc identity, described here by the Ahwari man Amara bin Thuqub in the 1950s. The most famous mustaril is the singer Masoud El Amaratly who recorded and toured across Iraq, Syria and Lebanon in the 1920s and 1930s.

Screencap of text from a book: After the boy had made us coffee and withdrawn, Amara asked , ' Did you realize that was a mustarjil?' I had vaguely heard of them, but had not met one before. 'A mustarjil is born a woman,' Amara explained. ' She cannot help that ; but she has the heart of a man, so she lives like a man.' 'Do men accept her ? ' ' Certainly. We eat with her and she may sit in the mudhi/. When she dies, we fire off our rifles to honour her. We never do that for a woman. In Majid's village there is one who fought bravely in the war against Haji Sulaiman.' ' Do they always wear their hair plaited ? ' ' Usually they shave i t off like men. ' ·no mustarjils ever marry ?' ' No, they sleep with women as we do.'

Pencil drawing of an Arab man, wearing a yashmagh (headscarf) with agal (cord)

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Queer as Fact @queerasfact.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

New podcast out! We're discussing the Iraqi singer, Masoud El Amaratly. Join us as we visit the southern Iraqi marshes, hear what may be the oldest recording of a trans person, and learn about trans identity in Masoud's Ahwari culture. #transhistory queerasfact.podbean.com/e/masoud-el-...

queerasfact.podbean.com

Masoud El Amaratly | Queer as Fact

Today's episode is on the Iraqi singer, Masoud El Amaratly. Join us as we visit the unique marshlands of southern Iraq, hear what may be the oldest known recording of a trans person, and learn about m...

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Queer as Fact @queerasfact.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

queerasfact.podbean.com

Masoud El Amaratly | Queer as Fact

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Queer as Fact @queerasfact.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

NEW EPISODE! Today's episode is on Kenyan director Wanuri Kahiu’s 2018 lesbian romance film, Rafiki. Join us for a rich exploration of Kenyan culture through the lens of the director’s self-titled “Afrobubblegum” genre, legal drama, and a DJ named after an Australian cartoon character.

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Queer as Fact @queerasfact.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

NEW EPISODE! queerasfact.podbean.com/e/hwarang/ Hwarang, a group of youth in first millenium Korea who represent nationalism, masculinity, and gay love. Episode contains: the most beautiful men in Korea, song lyrics about gay love, and how to approach queer history across time and culture.

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Queer as Fact @queerasfact.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

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Queer as Fact @queerasfact.bsky.social · 31/05/2026

"Don't make a woman out of me. My name is Megillus ... I was born a woman like the rest of you, and I have the mind and the desires and everything else of a man." Megillus in Lucian's 'Dialogues of the Courtesans', 2nd century CE #transhistory

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Queer as Fact @queerasfact.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

In 1654, Sweden’s monarch Christina abdicated the throne, cut their hair, donned trousers, and left the country to pursue a life of arts and scholarship in Rome... (1/3)

1653 oil painting of Christina of Sweden. They have longish curly brown hair, pale skin, and big dark eyes. They are wearing a velvet jacket or dress over a white billowing shirt.

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Queer as Fact @queerasfact.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

Filmed in 1978, 'Witches and Faggots, Dykes and Poofters' was intended to cover the history of gay and lesbian persecution and end with uplifting shots of the first Sydney pride march. Instead, the crew caught footage of violent police attacks on the marches. 53 people were arrested. (1/2)

Poster for the film Witches and Faggots, Dykes and Poofters. The poster features the film’s title, and the text ‘The true historical story of homosexual and lesbian oppression. As well as photos of a queer couple kissing, a drag queen, and a couple in wide-brimmed hats, black velvet corsets, and fishnets.

Colour photo of two Australian police officers manhandling a protester.

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Queer as Fact @queerasfact.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

Have you heard of Horace Walpole? -likely asexual and gay, -inventor of gothic fiction and the word 'gloomth' (gloom+warmth) -once wrote to a possible lover “My satisfaction arises from your passion not from my own…” -described by friends as “untost by [sexual] passions” -named his dog Patapan

Black-and-white drawing of Horace Walpole, an opulently dresses man in a brocade jacket and breeches, sitting in a comfortable chair, holding a book. There are bookshelves and a window behind him, and a small, grumpy-looking dog in front.

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Queer as Fact @queerasfact.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

In 1996, Subaru’s US market research revealed an unexpected demographic who loved their cars: lesbians. The company decided to lean in, and began ads pitching Subarus to lesbians. As a queer woman who drives a Subaru myself, I guess I have to say the advertising works!

Ad showing a Subaru with two bikes on the roof-rack, and the caption ‘It’s Not a Choice. It’s the Way We’re Built. Subaru All-Wheel Driving System. In every car we make.’

$Ad showing two Subarus. One has two bikes on the roof-rack, the number plate ‘CAMP OUT’ and a rainbow bumper sticker. The other has a kayak on the roofrack and the number plate ‘XENA LVR’. The caption reads ‘Different Drivers. Different Roads. One Car.’$ Ad showing a Subaru Outback, with the caption ‘Get Out. And stay out.’

Ad showing a Subaru Outback, with the caption ‘Get Out. And stay out.’

Ad showing a Subaru, with the caption ‘It loves camping, dogs and long-term commitment. Too bad it’s only a car.’

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Queer as Fact @queerasfact.bsky.social · 19/04/2026

We’re delving into some culinary history tomorrow and recording a bonus episode for our patrons on a notoriously queer food! I want to hear your thoughts – what do you reckon is the queerest dish?

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Queer as Fact @queerasfact.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

NEW EPISODE Today's episode is a nice light-hearted look at something near and dear to many sapphic hearts - Subaru! We take a look at WHY lesbians loving Subarus is such a stereotype, what the car company did to encourage this, and laugh at some pretty saucy innuendos.

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Queer as Fact @queerasfact.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

“I’m naturally, naturally born Kewpie. The gay. The lady. The woman. The sister.” Some of our fave photos of South African hairdresser and performer, Kewpie. We learnt so much not just about Kewpie, but about the queer coloured community in Cape Town, while making our podcast on her! ❤️ #transhistory

A group of 7 people posing in the middle of a street in fashionable outfits. One of them is Kewpie, a coloured trans woman, wearing a red chiffon headscarf, a light-blue shirt with sleeves rolled up, and royal blue pants. She is posing with one arm around the should of the person next to her, and a ponted foot propped on the shoulder of the person in front of her, and staring directly at the camera.

Portrait of Kewpie, a coloured trans woman on a Cape Town street in the 1960s. She is wearing a fur hat, a striped blazer, and a collared shirt. She is looking into the camera.

Kewpie, a coloured trans woman, wearing a Marie Antoinette costume, featuring a wide ball gown, black gloves, and a feathered headpiece. Her friend Sodia stands next to her in a similar outfit. Kewpie is smiling and offering her hand to someone out of frame.

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Queer as Fact @queerasfact.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

We were very emotional watching the #ArtemisII mission this week, and celebrating Christina Koch, the first woman to travel to the moon, and Victor Glover, the first Black man do the same! Here’s another space first for you - Sally Ride the first (known) queer woman in space!

Sally Ride, astronaut, on a 1983 mission, smiling, in her blue NASA suit in space, with various control panels visible behind her

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Queer as Fact @queerasfact.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

New Episode! Today’s episode is on the South African performer and hairdresser, Kewpie! Join us to learn about queer life in Cape Town’s coloured community under apartheid, find out how you can get your hair done at 3am, and hear about a prize-winning Marie-Antoinette costume. Link in the replies.

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Queer as Fact @queerasfact.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

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Queer as Fact @queerasfact.bsky.social · 16/03/2026

New podcast! We're discussing the Catterick skeleton, the remains of person buried in 4th c CE Roman Britain. Join us to hear about what a bead can tell us about gender, how press reactions to the skeleton have changed over time, and a Roman board game! queerasfact.podbean.com/e/the-catter...

New podcast episode
The Catterick Skeleton
Painted image of an ancient Roman transfeminine person, wearing a blue headscarf, orange shawl, and white dress, and jewellery.

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Queer as Fact @queerasfact.bsky.social · 16/03/2026

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Queer as Fact @queerasfact.bsky.social · 15/03/2026

Hey listeners! We are in the middle of moving house, so today’s podcast episode with be delayed until tomorrow. Looking forward to sharing it with you then!

Two moving boxes in front of a bookshelf. A handwritten label on one reads 'Books, History 4, Classics 1'

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Queer as Fact @queerasfact.bsky.social · 01/03/2026

In today's episode we interview author Dennis Altman about his new book - Righting My World: Essays from the Past Half-Century. Join us for a discussion that spans 60 years of queer activism, from the HIV/AIDS crisis to the state of queerness as an inherently revolutionary act in 2026.

Front cover of the Dennis Altman's book, Righting My World, featuring a black and white photo of a younger Dennis lounging against a fence and a cover photo from Marieke Hardy calling the book "A stunning and passionate reflection of a political life"

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Queer as Fact @queerasfact.bsky.social · 22/02/2026

“We both are talents who paint our eyebrows. Unconventional as I am, I want to possess the promised heart of a beautiful woman like you.” This poem was written in the 1800s by the Wú Zǎo, describing her love for another woman, Qīng Lín. #queerpoetry

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Queer as Fact @queerasfact.bsky.social · 20/02/2026

In 1999 the British Museum bought the Warren Cup for £1.8 million. The cup, made in 1st century Roman empire, depicts explicity male-male sex. It was the most expensive object the museum had ever bought. Want to learn more? We made a whole podcast on it! queerasfact.podbean.com/e/the-warren...

Ancient Roman silver cup with a design showing two men having sex

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Queer as Fact @queerasfact.bsky.social · 20/02/2026

We were thrilled last weekend to interview the veteran activist Dennis Altman. Dennis has been writing about and fighting for gay rights since the 70s, and has just brought out his latest book 'Righting My World', featuring 50+ years of his writing. Can’t wait to bring you this interview in March!

Righting My World : Essays from the past half-century by Dennis Altman

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Queer as Fact @queerasfact.bsky.social · 17/02/2026

“…with gloating eyes she drew me to her, and her hot lips travelled along my cheek in kisses; and she would whisper, almost in sobs, “You are mine, you shall be mine, you and I are one for ever.” -Carmilla, J. Sheridan Le Fanu, 1872

1872 print of Carmilla, a vampire leaning over Laura, a young woman, while she sleeps.

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Queer as Fact @queerasfact.bsky.social · 16/02/2026

If you're a 5 USD patron of Queer as Fact, now is your chance to personally break this tie and singlehandedly choose our upcoming episode topic! Or if you're not, for just $5, this choice could be yours

Screenshot of a poll on Patreon. The three options are:
Ngô Xuân Diệu - A gay Vietnamese poet, journalist and literary critic of the mid 20th century.
Bugis Street - An area in Singapore known for its highly visible trans community from the 1960s-1980s
Hwarang - A group of elite warrior-poets in 6th-10th century Korea, often associated with homosexuality

Bugis Street at Hwarang are tied with only an hour left to vote

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Queer as Fact @queerasfact.bsky.social · 05/02/2026

This person, photographed in 1908, was a sworn virgins or burrnesha – practising a traditional Albanian custom that allows someone assigned female at birth to assume a male gender role by taking a vow of chastity. This tradition has been an accepted part of Albanian culture for centuries.

Black-and-white photo of a masculine person in pants, jacket, and scarf, standing in front of a stone wall in a mountainous landscape.

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Queer as Fact @queerasfact.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

Long before the word ‘transgender’, 19th-century sexologist Havelock Ellis coined the word ‘Eonism’, using the name of French diplomat and spy Chevalière d'Éon to describe “people who took pleasure in behaving and dressing like the opposite sex”. So, who was d'Éon? #transhistory

Painting of Chevalière d'Éon, a 19th-century French person wearing a large hat with feathers, a lace collar, and black jacket adorned with a medal.

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Queer as Fact @queerasfact.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

“- this creature is animated by a spirit in perpetual motion, always ready to take-leave, to spring into action, which is to say passion, and to leap from one form to the next - ” - French writer Hélène Cixous describing Taiwanese lesbian author Qiu Miaojin

Qiu Miaojin, a young Taiwanese woman. She has short hair and round glasses, and is wearing a large blue coat.

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Queer as Fact @queerasfact.bsky.social · 30/01/2026

Had an incredible time tonight at this show - Tom Ballard and the amazing cast managed to capture the muddy history, egos, camp fabulousness, and moments of sincerity that made up the Gay and Lesbian Kingdom. Definitely recommend if you're in Melbourne! www.midsumma.org.au/whats-on/eve...

midsumma.org.au

Midsumma Festival - A Comprehensive & Profoundly Queer Accounting of the Brief (Yet GLORIOUS!) History of The Gay & Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands by Tom Ballard

The true(ish) legend of a magical queer nation where marriage was equal. A bizarre and inspiring slice of Australian queer history.

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Queer as Fact @queerasfact.bsky.social · 23/01/2026

Dr James Barry (left) was a trans Irishman born in the late 1700s. He was one of the 1st Europeans in Africa to perform a Caesarean where both mother and baby lived. The baby was named after him. James is pictured here with an unknown man, possibly John, who worked as his servant for many years.

Sepia studio photograph of James Barry, an older white man, standing next to a Black man. Both men are dressed in suits. In front of James on a chair is Psyche, a small white dog

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Queer as Fact @queerasfact.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

In Feb 2017, Australian senator Eric Abetz complained about a rainbow flag flown in the Department of Finance, saying: “…this particular flag is the flag of the Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands, which has declared war on Australia. … It is the flag of a hostile nation…” (1/3)

Dale Parker Anderson, a young white man, stands on a beach beside a rainbow flag as tall as he is

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Queer as Fact @queerasfact.bsky.social · 18/01/2026

Queer writer Oscar Wilde’s tomb in Père Lachaise Cemetery, Paris. Since 2011 the tomb has been surrounded by perspex, to protect it from being eroded by the thousands of kisses left on the stone by admirers. Have you kissed Oscar’s tomb? #queerhistory #oscarwilde #gayhistory

Photograph of Oscar Wilde's tombstone, a large cube of sandstone with an Egpytian-style, sphinx like figure on it. The stone is covered in red lipstick prints.

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Finn Longman is only here occasionally @finnlongman.com · 15/01/2026

I am reliably informed that this episode mentions my article exploring transmasculine readings of Cú Chulainn! Listeners might also be interested in my recent article looking queerly at Cú Chulainn's relationships with Fer Diad, Láeg and Emer: journal.fi/scf/article/...

journal.fi

‘Bidh ionann leacht damh is dó’: Shared Graves As An Expression Of Love In Later Ulster Cycle Tales

This paper examines Láeg, Fer Diad, and Emer’s relationships with Cú Chulainn through the lens of their similar desires to be buried in his grave, a motif which creates a parallel between Cú Chulainn’...

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Queer as Fact @queerasfact.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

Today's episode is on the Irish mythological figure Cú Chulainn. Join us to experience tragically poetic anal penetration, some universal themes that have compelled humankind of millennia, and the two coolest cows in the universe. queerasfact.podbean.com/e/cu-chulainn/

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