In today's episode, we're discussing the Circle of Sex, a 1960s astrological representation of sexuality, and its eccentric creator Gavin Arthur. Join us to hear about how to have sex à la Walt Whitman, how to figure out if you're a Sappho or a Club Woman, and whether there is a faint possibility, just maybe, that the Circle is a tiny bit flawed. I…

Today's marathon episode is about the French revolutionary figure Maximilien Robespierre, whose apparent lack of sexuality has been a point of discussion for scholars ever since his death. Join us as we try to find the real man behind more than two hundred years of conflicting propaganda, explore methods of approaching history on the asexual spectr…

Today's episode is on the Haitian Revolutionary religious leader Romaine-la-Prophétesse whose identity as a prophetess of the Virgin Mary was key to his leadership of an insurrectionary camp in pre-revolutionary Haiti. Join us to learn about Romaine's divine mission to abolish slavery, a definitely legitimate and not at all excommunicated priest, a…

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 Christians wanted to abolish gender. Read the 3rd century Passion of Saints Felicity and Perpetua, discussed in the episode, here. Check out our website, whe…

In today's episode, Jasmine, Irene and Alice discuss the 2017 Academy Award-winning Chilean film Una mujer fantástica (A Fantastic Woman). This film's grounded and sometimes surprisingly hopeful depiction of a trans woman's grief provided such a realistic depiction of legal barriers facing trans people in Chile that it contributed to positive chang…

Today's episode is on asexual and aromantic history! We're talking with Luciella Scarlett, the curator of Nonlimerent // Monosexual: An Aromantic and Asexual History. Join us to hear about the first self-identified ace person, the evolution of ace and aro terminology, and how much we can learn from looking at history through an asexual lens. You ca…

Today's Queer as Fiction episode discusses David Lowery's 2021 adaptation of Arthurian legend, The Green Knight. Join us for a romp through allegorical adventures of identity, whale-like giants and dissapointingly unsexy ents. If you'd like to read Jude Doyle's review (that we discuss fairly extensively towards the end of the episode), you can do s…

Today we’re talking about the Nigerian performer Area Scatter. Learn about her successful career as a trans performer in 1970s Nigeria, gender diversity in Igbo culture, and how we approach research when academic sources are limited. Check out our website, where you can find our sources, as well as everything there is to know about Queer as Fact. I…

Today's episode is on Italian-British sculptor Fiore de Henriquez, whose art reflected her own complicated relationship with gender and sex as an intersex person. Join us to hear about Fiore distracting Nazis with crepes, seducing everyone around her whether she meant to or not, refounding a town, and ruminating on the gendered nature of clay. Chec…

Today we're bringing you a little bonus episode to tide you over until March! We're chatting with George Savoulis, the curatorial director of Qtopia, Sydney's centre for queer history and culture. Join us to hear about queer shoes, the complexities of sharing queer history in an old police station, and why you should visit Sydney! Check out our web…

Today's episode is on Jane Schoenbrun's breakout 2024 horror film - I Saw The TV Glow. Join us for a discussion that is alternately haunting and deeply silly, featuring playground parachutes, TV-based queer awakenings and Alice's love of soup. Check out our website, where you can find our sources, as well as everything there is to know about Queer …

Today's episode is on the Spanish-Chinese pilot, diplomat, and concentration camp survivor Nadine Hwang. Join us to learn about Parisian lesbians, the skills of the ultimate modern women, and Nadine's war-time romance with her life-partner Nelly Mousset-Vos. Check out our website, where you can find our sources, as well as everything there is to kn…

Today we're talking about Megillus, a trans-masculine character in the 2nd-century text Dialogues of the Courtesans. Tune in for three separate queer characters, the complexities of discussing transness in the ancient world, and a whole host of mythological examples of ways to be queer. If you want to listen to the episode on Roman women for some b…

Today's episode is on the 17th-century nun, saint, and religious leader Walatta Petros. Join us for Queer as Fact's first visit to Ethiopia, as we learn about 17th century religious conflicts; discuss Walatta Petros' lifelong relationship with Eheta Kristos; and wade into scholarly debate on exactly what the nuns in her community were getting up to…

Today’s episode is on 2021’s Rwandan/American science fiction musical, Neptune Frost. Join us for a discussion of cyberpunk fashion choices, technomagical gender transitions and some of the worst pigeon acting you’ve ever seen. Check out our website, where you can find our sources, as well as everything there is to know about Queer as Fact. If you …

Today's episode is on the US Civil War soldier Albert Cashier. Tune in for some heartwarming trans acceptance in the 1910s, a wild genealogy trip, and an unpleasant discovery about how often Civil War soldiers bathed. Check out our website, where you can find our sources, as well as everything there is to know about Queer as Fact. If you enjoy our …

Today's episode is on the mystery of Australian banker and rower John Lempriere Irvine. Join us to hear about rollerskating balls, rowing drama, and the possibilities of gay life in 19th century Australia. Check out our website, where you can find our sources, as well as everything there is to know about Queer as Fact. If you enjoy our content, con…

Today we're joined by Lazou from Nuances: Our Asian Stories to discuss her series Queering Premodern Asia. Join us as we chat about the complexities of queer history, the importance of non-Western stories, and queer Chinese ghosts. You can check out Nuances here. Visit out our website, where you can find everything there is to know about Queer as F…

Today's episode is on a passage from the work of 14th century French Jewish writer and translator Qalonymos ben Qalonymos. Join us to learn about Qalonymos' life, explore their understandings of gender through a passage from their work the Even Bochan, and discuss its connections to historical and modern Jewish practice. Check out our website, wher…

Today's episode is on the 19th-century Japanese artist Okuhara Seiko. Join us to learn about gender in Japan's Meiji era, an 1860s coming-out party, and getting a doctor's certificate to cut your hair. Check out our website, where you can find our sources, as well as everything there is to know about Queer as Fact. If you enjoy our content, conside…

Today's episode is on Cassandro, the 2023 biopic of luchador Saúl Armendáriz. Join us as we learn about the history of lucha libre, the growing visibility of queer wrestlers and whether a luchador could become president of Mexico. Check out our website, where you can find our sources, as well as everything there is to know about Queer as Fact. If y…

We're back! Today's episode is on the Australian singer and male impersonator, Nellie Small. Join us to hear about the experiences of people of colour in 20th-century Australia, Nellie's extensive and stylish suit collection, and an unfortunate reminder that, regardless of your gender presentation, your boss will always try to steal your wages. Che…

Today's episode is on the Dutch cellist, conductor, and WWII resistance fighter Frieda Belinfante. Join us to hear about Frieda's groundbreaking career as a female conductor, the many women who fell in love with her, and how to forge a 1940s Dutch ID card in excruciating detail. Check out our website, where you can find out everything there is to k…

Today's episode is on the Hungarian palaeontologist, geologist, spy and ethnographer, Franz Nopcsa. Join us as we discuss dinosaurs, Franz's travels in Albania, and the world's first plane hijacking. Check out our website, where you can find out everything there is to know about Queer as Fact. If you enjoy our content, consider supporting us on Pat…

We're back! Today's episode covers depictions of queerness throughout the history of tabletop roleplaying games, including Dungeons & Dragons, Vampire: The Masquerade and many, many more. Join us for a discussion spanning nearly 50 years of D&D and TTRPG history, featuring masochistic clerics, gay vampire gangs and lesbian political satirists. If y…

Today's episode is on the English writer Jane Austen. Join us as we discuss whether Jane was queer, on-stage lesbian Mr Darcy, and the evolving queerness of Austen adaptations. Check out our website, where you can find out everything there is to know about Queer as Fact. If you enjoy our content, consider supporting us on Patreon, checking out our …

Today's episode covers the 1940s All American Girls Professional Baseball League, and the 2022 television series based on it, A League of Their Own. Join us for a discussion featuring shoes deemed "excessively masculine-looking", perhaps too many women named Dottie, and more "close, life-long friends and roommates" than you can shake a stick at. Ch…

In today's episode, Irene and Alice interview historian and author Danielle Scrimshaw about her new book, She and her Pretty Friend. She and her Pretty Friend is the first book of its kind, exploring the history of Australia's queer women. We discuss the queer generation gap, how to navigate changes in queer language and identity as a historian, an…

Today's episode is on Hijra in 19th-century India. Listen to learn about who these 19th-century Hijra were, how they structured their society, and their resistance in the face of British colonial oppression. Check out our website, where you can find out everything there is to know about Queer as Fact. If you enjoy our content, consider supporting u…

Today's episode is on US dancer Isadora Duncan. Listen to find out how she revolutionised dance, what the Singer sewing machine had to do with it, and enjoy some sapphic love poetry. Check out our website, where you can find out everything there is to know about Queer as Fact. If you enjoy our content, consider supporting us on Patreon, checking ou…

On today's Queer as Fiction, we discuss the 1961 British noir film Victim. Join us for some dramatic performances, heavy-handed messaging and a surprising result from a government inquiry. A link to the film's trailer: https://youtu.be/Ems3u2ZA9SA Check out our website, where you can find out everything there is to know about Queer as Fact. If you …

Today's episode is on Elke Mackenzie, British lichenologist, Antarctic explorer and trans woman. We'll tell you about Elke's incredible devotion to her research, as well as penguin egg facts and one of the coolest landscapes known to humankind. Check out our website, where you can find out everything there is to know about Queer as Fact. If you enj…

Queer as Fact is back from hiatus! Today we're talking about relationships between women in ancient Rome. Join us to hear a queer creation myth, read some ancient love poetry, and find out which whether your star sign made you gay. Check out our website, where you can find out everything there is to know about Queer as Fact. If you enjoy our conten…

This week's episode is on the West African soldiers known as the Agojie, sometimes called the Dahomey Amazons. Join us to hear about how women became the backbone of the Dahomean army, a very dubious cocktail recipe, and not one but two kinds of same-sex marriage! Check out our website, where you can find out everything there is to know about Queer…

Welcome to Season 10 of Queer as Fact! This week’s episode we're talking about a 1971 article from the Village Voice memorably titled ‘Asexuals Have Problems Too’. Join us to hear about being invited to orgies to pour the wine, why 101 Dalmatians is a piece of ace cinema, and how this satirical article became a surprising source of ace visibility. …

In today's episode we discuss Qiu Miaojin, a well-known Taiwanese lesbian writer. We've got details about Taiwanese lesbian gender identities, an experimental queer literary movement, and a very lovable crocodile. Check out our website, where you can find out everything there is to know about Queer as Fact. If you enjoy our content, consider suppor…

On this week's podcast, we're talking about the queer micronation, the Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands. Join us to hear about the joys and tribulations of founding a country, the Gay and Lesbian Kingdom's war with Australia, and of course, the Royal Dog. Check out our website, where you can find out everything there is to know abou…

This week's episode is on the 5th-century Irish abbess Saint Brigid. Join us to hear about a miraculous abortion, powerful women in the Catholic Church, and a flying priest. Transcript available here Check out our website, where you can find out everything there is to know about Queer as Fact. If you enjoy our content, consider supporting us on Pat…

In today's Queer as Fiction episode, we follow up our previous episode on historical piracy with a discussion about David Jenkins' 2022 pirate comedy Our Flag Means Death. Join us as we explore the historical figures of Major Stede Bonnet and Captain Edward "Blackbeard" Teach, discuss the evolution of pirate tropes and how they became associated wi…

Avast me hearties! This week's episode is about queerness during the Golden Age of Piracy. Join us to hear about the raging party culture of pirate ships, Eli and Jason getting gay pirate married, and our treasure hunt for evidence on the stormy seas of historical documents. Check out our website, where you can find out everything there is to know …

Today we'll be talking about a recently discovered and possibly fraudulent archive of Frida's paintings, letters and possessions. Join us to hear about how to authenticate an artwork, Chavela Vargas' smoking gun, and 200 entire dogs. This episode was originally released on our Patreon as a bonus episode. The episode we intended to release today, on…

This week on Queer as Fact, we're talking about the 8th-century Arabic poet Abu Nuwas. Join us to hear about wine poetry, sexuality in the Abbasid caliphate, and fun facts about cheetahs. Transcript available here Check out our website, where you can find out everything there is to know about Queer as Fact. If you enjoy our content, consider suppor…

Today’s episode of Queer as Fiction, as chosen by our patrons, is on the 1926 play “The Captive”. Join us as we discuss the sale of violets, the padlocking of theatres and the diverse ways a story can be interpreted by audiences and critics. Thank you to our Patrons for voting on this episode! Check out our website, where you can find out everythin…

This week we're talking about the early 20th century American cook, socialite and transgender woman Lucy Hicks Anderson. Join us to hear about Lucy's determination to live authentically in the face of repeated court cases, the enduring love and respect shown to her by her community, and the greatest dinner rolls ever made. Check out our website, wh…

Join us for the first episode of Season 9 as we discuss the life and trial of 20th century Scottish aristocrat and farmer Dr Ewan Forbes. We'll be talking about how to transition in rural mid-20th century Scotland, an impressively bold legal defense strategy, and the perils of keeping lion cubs in your family home. Check out our website, where you …

This week on Queer as Fact, we're talking about the 12th-century German nun and polymath Hildegard of Bingen. Join us for thorny theological questions, savage letters to the Pope and a medieval description of the female orgasm. Check out our website, where you can find out everything there is to know about Queer as Fact. If you enjoy our content, c…

In today's episode of Queer as Fiction we delve into James Baldwin's 1956 novel, Giovanni's Room. Join us as we discuss 1950s gender roles, the French gay bar scene and the concept of a Manic Pixie Dream Gay. Thank you to our Patrons for voting on this episode! Check out our website, where you can find out everything there is to know about Queer as…

Today's episode is on the life and trial of early 20th century Australian transgender man Harry Crawford. Join us to learn what court records, newspaper articles and modern biographies can tell us about a century of Australian attitudes to transgender experiences. Check out our website, where you can find out everything there is to know about Queer…

This week, Queer as Fact is talking about the Asexual Manifesto, published in New York in 1972. Join us for our first deep dive into ace history, a discussion of the place of asexuality in 1970s feminism, and one of the first ever mentions of ace pride. Check out our website, where you can find out everything there is to know about Queer as Fact. I…

Today's episode is on beloved 19th century author Louisa May Alcott. Irene, Alice and Jason, who between them have read the 1868 novel Little Women, watched the 2017 movie Little Women, and read a good number of Louisa May Alcott's letters, diaries and papers, discuss the times when fiction might be more honest than autobiography, the ways that gen…