Queer Lit

• “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?

  --------  

  56:11

  --------

  56:11
• “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?

  --------  

  40:24

  --------

  40:24
• "No" with Sara Ahmed

  Our favourite feminist killjoy is back! Sara Ahmed joins me to talk about her brand-new book No Is Not A Lonely Utterance: The Art and Activism of Complaining. In her first ever (how special are we) public conversation about the book, Sara speaks about becoming a feminist ear and a complaint collector, sharing stories of her own complaints as well as those shared with her in community. Explaining how the power of complaining lies in creativity and collectivity, Sara shows why saying no is a powerful queer method.  References:Sarah Ahmed’s No Is Not A Lonely Utterance (Allen Lane, 2025)Sarah Ahmed’s The Feminist Killjoy Handbook (Penguin, 2023)Sarah Ahmed’s Complaint! (Duke, 2021)Sarah Ahmed’s What’s the Use (Duke, 2019)Sarah Ahmed’s On Being Included: Racism and Diversity in Institutional Life (Duke, 2012)OnomatopoeiaJean PorcelliRace Relations Amendment ActCARD Complaint Against Racial DiscriminationKennetta Hammond Perry’s London is the Place for Me: Black Britons, Citizenship and the Politics of Race (2018) https://global.oup.com/academic/product/london-is-the-place-for-me-9780190909949?cc=gb&lang=en&Heather Love’s Feeling BackwardChelsea Watego’s “Always Bet On Black (Power)” (2021)https://meanjin.com.au/essays/always-bet-on-black-power/  Questions you should be able to respond to after listening:     What is a feminist ear? How might you become one?     We speak about the role of energy in complaining. Where can energy come from or disappear to? To quote Sara: ‘puff, puff’     How does Sara define institutional fatalism and why might it be an illusion?     What makes complaint a queer method?     This is a question from Sara’s book: What is the first complaint you remember making? How do you feel about it now?

  --------  

  1:01:09

  --------

  1:01:09
• “Love Lies Bleeding” with Michelle Devereaux

  How many times have you watched the sweaty lesbian fever dream that is Love Lies Bleeding? As you might be able to guess from this episode, Michelle Devereaux and I have stopped counting. Michelle is a feminist film-philosophy expert who joins me to talk about Rose Glass’s super queer neo noir, the interplay of genre conventions and gender dynamics, and all the fun intertexts and easter eggs that we found in Love Lies Bleeding. Whether you’re into bodybuilding and gender transgression or lesbian romance against all odds, this episode is for you.  ReferencesRose Glass’ Love Lies Bleeding (2024)Devereaux, Michelle. "Suspicious Minds and Dead Bodies: Queer Romance and Skepticism in Rose Glass’s Love Lies Bleeding." Film Quarterly 78.2 (2024): 24-32.Devereaux, Michelle. The Stillness of Solitude: Romanticism and Contemporary American Independent Film. Edinburgh University Press, 2019.Devereaux, Michelle.“‘A lot of people are creative’: Process, Perfectionism and the Everyday Sublime in Kelly Reichardt’s Showing Up and First Cow”. Kim Wilkins and Bruce Isaacs, eds. A24: Culture, Aesthetics, Identity. Edinburgh University Press, 2026 (expected).Devereaux, Michelle.“Inherited Trauma, Postcolonial Scepticism and the Harmony of Voice in Jennifer Kent’s The Nightingale”. Film-Philosophy and Australian Cinema. Saige Walton and Matilda Mroz, eds. Edinburgh University Press, 2026 (expected).Devereaux, Michelle and Lash, Dominic (eds.). Love, Desire and Stanley Cavell. London: Routledge, 2026 (expected).MAI: Feminism and Visual Culture: www.maifeminism.comRussian DollSofia CoppolaCavell, Stanley. Pursuits of Happiness: The Hollywood Comedy of Remarriage. Harvard University Press, 1981.Cavell, Stanley. Contesting Tears: The Hollywood Melodrama of the Unknown Woman. Harvard University Press, 1996.Comedies of RemarriageScrewball ComedyOut and WildSleater-KinneyBristol Butch BarLindner, Katharina. Film Bodies: Queer Feminist Encounters with Gender and Sexuality in Cinema. Bloomsbury Academic, 2017.Bound (1996)The Incredible HulkKristen Stewart TwilightPumping Iron II: The Women (1985)Bev Francis David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive (2001) and Lost Highway (1997)Winkie’s DinerLauren Berlant’s epistemic frenzyTeresa de Lauretis [email protected]: @michelleldevereauxKelly Reichardt’s Showing Up (2022)Michelle WilliamsDerek Jarman’s Caravaggio (1996)Tilda SwintonSean Bean  Questions you should be able to respond to after listening:1.      What is Love Lies Bleeding about and why does Michelle suggest it might be more about gender than about sexuality?2.      How does Michelle describe Lindner’s ‘space of transgender potential’? Can you think of an example for this?3.      Which genres does Michelle mention to discuss and describe Love Lies Bleeding? How are these genres queered in the film?4.      What role does the setting play in the film? How might this relate to the ‘space of transgender potential’?5.      What is your favourite lesbian and/or trans film and why?

  --------  

  42:04

  --------

  42:04
• “Lighthouse” Queer Space Special with Mairi Oliver

  If you can’t find me, I’m probably still browsing shelves of queer joy at Lighthouse, Edinburgh’s superb radical bookshop. The delightful owner Mairi Oliver took some time to chat with me about the long history of radical and queer bookshops that have come before and exist alongside this absolute gem of a queer space. We speak about queer spaces changing hands and transforming, rather than disappearing, about the magic of queer and trans book events, and about why radical booksellers are so important for local community.  References:Word PowerElaine HenryConstant Reader BookshopLavender MenaceWest & WildeSigrid NielsonBob Orr June Thomas’s A Place of One’s OwnJane Cholmeley’s A Bookshop of One’s OwnSilver Moon BookshopJames Ley’s Love Song To Lavender MenaceNaomi KleinSara AhmedRadical Book FairCategory is Books (Glasgow)Gay’s The Word (London)Housmans (London)Five Leaves (Nottingham)Alliance of Radical Booksellers https://www.radicalbooksellers.co.uk/Bread and Roses AwardJake Hall’s Shoulder to Shoulder: A Queer History of Solidarity, Coalition and ChaosN.S. Nuseibeh’s Namesake  Questions you should be able to respond to after listening:     Mairi speaks about how Lighthouse builds on a lineage of queer spaces. How do you feel about queer spaces transforming versus disappearing?     In this context, we also speak about the higher expectations for queer spaces. Have you experienced this? Do you think queer spaces should be held to a higher standard? What is the effect of this?     When we speak about the relationship between readers, booksellers and authors, Mairi makes some interesting points about how the role of writers is changing. What struck you as particularly important here?     Mairi ends the episode with a note on the urgency with which we need to address current political discussions. How can books and bookshops help us do this?

  --------  

  21:20

  --------

  21:20

Weitere Kunst Podcasts

Trending Kunst Podcasts

Über Queer Lit