We’re here, we’re queer academics and we won’t stop analysing!

Queer as Folklore is a podcast hosted by Charlotta Rosenberg, Arwen Meereboer and Marianne Robertsson where we discuss the many aspects of queer culture.

In this podcast we’re taking the UK TV-show Queer as Folk (1999) as a starting point for talking about queer culture. And why Queer as Folk?

Well, Queer as Folk was some of the first queer content Charlotta and Marianne came across as teens in Finland in the early 00’s. Arwen brings a different perspective:  She was a teen in the early 10’s and this is her first time watching the show.

And what about folklore? One widely used definition of folklore is artistic communication in small groups which basically means passing on information from person to person. This includes, for example, fairy tales, stories, jokes and memes but also unwritten rules on how to behave as a gay man.

In episode seven we talk through the words queer and culture and give our listeners an intro to the academic study of folklore.

Disclaimer: This is a non-native English speaking podcast and the hosts are prone to wander off topic into very bad puns.

1.01: Coming out like it’s 1999

Published on October 11 2018  (1:34)

We talk emotional labour and what episode one of Queer as Folk says about being an attractive, successful gay man in 1999.

1.02: Liminal Closet Space part 1  /  1.03: Liminal Closet Space part 2

Published on October 24/November 7 2018  (1:06)/(1:11)

This is a double feature about episode two of Queer as Folk. Part one focuses on the space between being in and being out of the closet: what we call the liminal closet space. 

In part two we talk local queer history (Åbo/Turku, Finland), sex acts seen on the show and sexual scripts, generally. 

1.04: Good Things Come in Threes?

Published on November 21 2018 (1:23)

Episode three of Queer as Folk focuses mainly on death, disease and drugs. How does the show take on the tail end of the HIV epidemic? We also talk about three other themes, in threes: Camp, queer and characterizations; fat, food and phobias; spaces, scenes and sex (notably threesomes).

1.05: Come For the Funeral, Stay For the Cult

Published on December 5 2018  (1:20)

Episode four of Queer as Folk. We talk about funeral traditions and queer death studies. We consider the relationships between gay men and their mothers. Also: masturbation folklore, it’s a thing.

1.06: Stay here, stay queer, get used to it

Published on February 2 2019  (1:00)

After a winter hiatus we start writing our own episode overviews. We talk about the upcoming Queer as Folk reboot and discuss the dating culture in episode five of Queer as Folk.

1.07: A Well Defined Saxon Compound

Published on March 8 2019  (1:33)

No Queer as Folk in this one! It’s Folklore 101! We talk about the words “queer” and “folklore”, on both an academic and personal level.

1.08: All in the Chosen Family

Published on May 1 2019  (1:28)

In the faraway land of Manchester in 1999 there are many ways to make family. We discuss what episode six of Queer as Folk teach us about family.

1.09: Crayons of Adulthood

Published on June 21 2019 (1:30)

Our discussion keeps circling back to adulthood, or rather becoming an adult, when we talk about episode seven of Queer as Folk, and how the markers of adulthood have changed for the current generation.

1.10: Pride and Power Moves

Published on June 29 2019 (1:30)

We chat about pride season and discuss the power dynamics of episode eight of Queer as Folk. We talk about the dichotomy between pride and shame, or in other words the division and the contrast between the two seemingly opposite words.