Queer Lit

• Queerest thing you did this year?

  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 [email protected] by 6 December.I can't wait to hear from you!

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• “Ancient Myths and Lesbian Legends” with Mara Gold

  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.  ReferencesMara 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_scholarBeyond the Binary Pitt Rivers Museumhttps://www.prm.ox.ac.uk/beyond-the-binaryAshmolean MuseumRebellious 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=rebelliousbodiestourSmartifyHélène Cixous’ “The Laugh of the Medusa” (1975)Femme fataleGorgonsApotropaic figureAthenaHeraNatalie Haynes’ Stone BlindMadeleine Miller’s CirceRosie HewlettPat BarkerMadeleine Miller’s CirceSirensOdysseyDurham CastleHans Christian AndersenSelkieDemeterPenelopeMedeaMaenadDionysusBacchusTrue BloodAmazonAtalantaNataly BarneyLesbos-en-SeineArtemisDouble Slicehttps://doubleslice.studio/ActaeonCallistoZeusAphroditeJasonArgonautsGlauceSuranne JonesDoctor FosterGentleman JackChildren of Srikandi (2012)Hector and HephaestusRadical Book FairLighthouse Books EdinburghThe Bookish TypeCaper bookshopThe MagiciansPersephoneCassandra  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?  

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• “The Queer Victorian Gothic” with Brontë Schiltz

  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 StudiesVernon Lee (1856-1935)Ali SmithSarah WatersTelevisual gothicA Ghost Story For ChristmasM.R. James“The Dead Room”Mark GatissThe Oxford Book of Gothic TalesChris BaldickNigel KnealeMatthew Lewis’ The MonkOscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian GrayJen Beagin’s Big SwissKarl Heinrich Ulrichs’ ManorSexology“Plain Reasons Against Sodomy”Horace WalpoleJohn Addington SymondsDraculaGeorge Haggerty’s Queer GothicJohn Singer SargentClementina Anstruther-ThomsonAffect studiesVernon Lee’s Hauntings“A Wicked Voice”“Prince Alberic and the Snake Lady”Megan MilksAli Smith’s Hotel WorldMiskatonic Institute of Horror StudiesThe 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?          

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• “Taylor’s Version Pt 2: Showgirls” with Stephanie Burt

  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!  ReferencesStephanie 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 UnboundJohn DonneKatherine PhilipsGeoffrey ChaucerWalt WhitmanCharlotte MewSarah RecordsHeavenlyTender TrapBlueboyElla DarlingMotownCarole KingDolly Parton“You Belong With Me”RedReputationMiss Americana (2020)LoverRachel Hartman’s Tess of the RoadGaylorismGaylors and Hetlors“When Emma Falls in Love”“All Too Well”Joe JonasTaylor LautnerJake Gyllenhaal“Back to December”John MayerThe Life of a Show GirlElizabeth TaylorKatharine HepburnOphelia HamletJulia SeranoFrozenMononormativityEvermore“Tis The Damn Season”The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection“Christmases When You Were Mine”CrassGrace PetrieTaylearning podcast“Clara Bow”Britney SpearsMiley Cyrus“You Need to Come Down”Adeem the ArtistJourney to FearlessLara Heimert@notquitehydeparkRachel Gold’s In the SilencesImogen Binnie’s NevadaX-Men Gold 30D.A. PowellTeam Dresch’s Captain My CaptainSlater KinneyHeartbreak HighSex EducationRachel 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?

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• “Taylor’s Version Pt 1: Gaylors” with Stephanie Burt

  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!  ReferencesStephanie 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 UnboundJohn DonneKatherine PhilipsGeoffrey ChaucerWalt WhitmanCharlotte MewSarah RecordsHeavenlyTender TrapBlueboyElla DarlingMotownCarole KingDolly Parton“You Belong With Me”RedReputationMiss Americana (2020)LoverRachel Hartman’s Tess of the RoadGaylorismGaylors and Hetlors“When Emma Falls in Love”“All Too Well”Joe JonasTaylor LautnerJake Gyllenhaal“Back to December”John MayerThe Life of a Show GirlElizabeth TaylorKatharine HepburnOphelia HamletJulia SeranoFrozenMononormativityEvermore“Tis The Damn Season”The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection“Christmases When You Were Mine”CrassGrace PetrieTaylearning podcast“Clara Bow”Britney SpearsMiley Cyrus“You Need to Come Down”Adeem the ArtistJourney to FearlessLara Heimert@notquitehydeparkRachel Gold’s In the SilencesImogen Binnie’s NevadaX-Men Gold 30D.A. PowellTeam Dresch’s Captain My CaptainSlater KinneyHeartbreak HighSex EducationRachel 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?

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