Queer Lit

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?

Who designs the rules of inclusion? Kevin Guyan has given a lot of thought to this question in his excellent book Rainbow Trap, which thinks through the many categories that fall under the rainbow umbrella and how they might include, exclude, limit, and even harm the people they are supposed to benefit. Listen now to learn more about why our future might hold fewer boxes to tick and how we can break boundaries to get there.  

References: 
Kevin Guyan’s Rainbow Trap: Queer Lives, Classifications and the Dangers of Inclusion (2025)
Kevin Guyan’s Queer Data: Using Gender, Sex and Sexuality Data for Action (2022)
https://kevinguyan.com/ 
@kevin.guyan on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/kevin.guyan/)
kguyan on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kguyan/)
Gender Recognition Reform Bill
Gender Recognition Act
Kit Heyam
Geoffrey Bowker and Susan Leigh Star – in particular, Sorting Things Out: Classification and Its Consequences (1999)
Ian Hacking
Looping effect
Sara Ahmed – in particular, On Being Included: Racism and Diversity in Institutional Life (2012)
A Black Queer History of the United States (2026, C. Riley Snorton and Darius Bost)
Gender and Sexuality Data Lab (https://gensexdatalab.com/)
Queer Data Showcase
Mystika Glamoor
Dean Spade’s Normal Life: Administrative Violence, Critical Trans Politics, and the Limits of Law (2011)  

Questions you should be able to respond to after listening:
     What is a rainbow trap? Have you ever been trapped in one?
     Kevin speaks about ‘the dark sides of being included’. What does this mean? Have you experienced this form of categorisation?
     What does Kevin think about in the chapter on health and fitness?
     How are labels multidirectional? What are ‘looping effects’ in this context?
     What is a box breaker? Are you one?