Queer as Fact

Latest Episodes:

Male Sexuality in Ancient Rome May 15, 2018

Show notes

Today's episode is on male sexuality in Ancient Rome! Listen on for ancient same sex marriages, dirty Latin poetry, and the wittiest retort you'll hear all week. Also: some weird facts about hyenas!

(Note: the image above is an 1827 sculpture by French artist Jean-Baptiste Roman on the theme of Ancient Roman sexuality. It's not a genuine Roman work.)

Transcript available here

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Bonus Episode with CAMP Magazine May 12, 2018

Show notes

Today's surprise episode is an ad we produced with CAMP Magazine, the University of Melbourne's newest autonomous publication for queer people. Listen for some new poetry from the unimelb graduate and bisexual labour activist Lesbia Harford!

Listen to our other episodes to learn more about Lesbia Harford, or, as mentioned in this episode, writer Mary Shelley, Moomins-creator Tove Jansson, or queer women in medieval Arab literature.

Did Queen Victoria believe in lesbians? May 08, 2018

Show notes

Unlike sex between men, sex between women was never illegal in Britain. Could it have been because Queen Victoria refused to believe that it could happen? Find out in the second of our mini episodes, exploring myths and shorter stories from queer history.

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Pauli Murray: Part 2 May 01, 2018

Show notes

Today's episode is our second and final look at the life of the activist, lawyer, priest and poet, Pauli Murray. Learn about his involvement with the landmark women's rights case Reed v. Reed, the mischief he got up to as a self-described "pixie priest", and how his transgender identity has been handled (and mishandled) by scholars.

Transcript available here.

Sources

If you haven't heard Part 1 yet, check it out here!

Carmilla (1872) Apr 22, 2018

Show notes

Today's episode is the first of Queer as Fiction, a series in which we talk to you about the intersection of the historical and the queer in the media. We'll kick things off with J. Sheridan Le Fanu's 1872 lesbian vampire novella Carmilla, and talk about just how gay it actually is, the pop culture it has influenced and, apparently, 300 years of Anglo-Irish conflict.

Pauli Murray: Part 1 Apr 15, 2018

Show notes

Today's episode is on Pauli Murray, the activist, lawyer, poet and priest who did so much with his life that it's going to take us two episodes to fit it all. In this first half we're covering the period from 1910 to 1965, including Pauli's time at university, and his work as a lawyer and activist fighting segregation and sexism in the USA. We'll be talking about everything from his ground-breaking theories on intersectionality to his cross-country adventures dressed as a boy-scout, and featuring cameos from Eleanor Roosevelt, James Baldwin, and Langston Hughes.

Transcript available here

Sources

Listen to Part 2 here

Did Swedish people call in gay to work? Apr 08, 2018

Show notes

Today we're bringing you the first of our mini episodes which will come out on the 8th of every month! In them, we'll explore shorter stories as well as either confirming or debunking myths from queer history. Today's episode examines whether Swedish people called in gay to work as protest when homosexuality was classified as an illness in Sweden.

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Mary Shelley Apr 01, 2018

Show notes

In today's episode we're talking about Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein. Tune in for adventures in gothic horror, the truth behind whether Mary really lost her virginity on her mother's grave, and of course her rarely-discussed relationships with women.

Transcript available here.

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Friends of Dorothy ft. Special Announcement Mar 15, 2018

Show notes

We have a special episode today, featuring an exciting announcement about what's coming up for Queer as Fact in the future! We're also talking about the phrase "friends of Dorothy", how it baffled the US navy, and what it really means.

Transcript available here.

The Birth of Queer Film in Australia Mar 01, 2018

Show notes

We have a special guest this episode - Jessie has just completed her thesis on queer film in Australia, and talks with us about its birth, its development, and the role it has played in Australian gay rights movements. Featuring gay film festivals, censors embarrassing themselves, and the first Australian Pride.

Transcript available here.

Image: Still from the film Adam (1975)