2.00: Season two!
**New episodes coming soon!**
A folklorist, an ethnologist walk into a podcast – This is Queer as Folklore!
Welcome to a semi-academic hangout, where the questions are more important than the answers.
Music: Logan Nickleson
Author: Queer as Folklore
Season one at a glance
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.
1.10: Pride and Power Moves
We chat about Pride season and discuss episode eight of Queer as Folk, where we find many variations of power dynamics at play, as well as the dichotomy pride and shame.
Vince slams the car door on commitment to Cameron, Stuart smashes the shop window of homophobia, Nathan gets to kick a queer bashing classmate out of the gay bar.
The season ends on an upbeat note with It’s Raining Men and almost everyone feeling victorious; well, except for Lance who is deported, Romy who has been betrayed by her partner Lisa and Janice who briefly gets her son Nathan home before he runs away to London with his best friend Donna. There’s a lot to unpack here.
This episode was recorded on May 14, just a week after we recorded episode nine. A lot was going on for us in May: Arwen was drowning in essay deadlines, Charlotta was graduating and Marianne was moving apartments. Our moods go from hysterical laughter to mellow contemplation.
And with this episode we wrap up season one and will be back in September. We enjoyed making this first season so much, and we hope you enjoy listening!
Outline
00:00 Podcast updates, pride season and looking queer 09:04 Episode facts and overview reading 18:21 The threat of deportation 22:58 In the classroom vs. at the gay bar 27:23 An effed up lesbian relationship 32:33 Saying "I love you" as a power move 45:04 Straights at the gay bar 54:08 Cars as metaphors 1:01:54 Liminal closet space (being both in and out of the closet) 1:14:34 The discussion on being in or/and out turns personal 1:23:28 On the song It's Raining Men
References
Åbo/Turku pride 2019 (some English)
Helsinki pride 2019 (In Finnish)
The video essay by Todd in the Shadows on the song It’s Raining Men is nowhere to be found on his channel, but available here.
Find us online
Twitter, Instagram & Queerasfolklorecast.com. You can also get in touch with us at queerasfolklorecast@gmail.com
1.09: Crayons of Adulthood
Our discussion keeps circling back to adulthood, or rather becoming an adult.
What is our generation to do when we can no longer rely on, or afford, the markers of adulthood that were afforded to the generation before us, like cars and houses?
Episode seven of Queer as Folk holds a large helping of (men failing at) adulting, a side dish of performing “real” relationships, a sprinkle of Doctor Who trivia.
We celebrate Charlotta, who is graduating with an MA in Folkloristics with gin & tonics (with LOTS of cucumbers, sorry)!
Outline
00:00 Prelude 00:01 Intro (TV-corner about She-Ra) 06:59 Episode facts and Doctor Who trivia 11:06 Vince turns 30 and Stuart has a secret plan 26:23 Time for presents! Vince gets a car and a robot dog. 31:30 Vince gets outed 45:02 Are the lesbians ok? Romy is marrying a man for noble reasons and her partner Lisa is plotting against her. 01:01:51 Nathan doesn't fall into Stuarts sex trap 01:18:20 Summation & fresh jokes
References
We made a jumbled up reference to Bruce Lee’s “lost interview”.
Twitter thread: signifiers of adulthood by @joshmlabelle
FIND US ONLINE
Twitter, Instagram & Queerasfolklorecast.com. You can also get in touch with us at queerasfolklorecast@gmail.com
Clandestine meeting with Lisa and baby Alfred
1.08: All in the Chosen Family
In 1999 in the faraway land of Manchester there are many ways to form family. What does episode six of Queer as Folk teach us about family?
We found many opposites at work here: marriage/divorce, family of origin/chosen family and the spectrum between accepting and non-accepting parents. Do we owe our parents to come out to them?
At the end of episode 1.06: Stay here, stay queer, get used to it we found parallels between the Harry Potter books and Queer as Folk. In Queer as Folk Nathan is the Harry that enters a magical, partially hidden world of queer Manchester. So in this episode the overview is fantasy themed and there’s art to go along (see below)! We haven’t yet decided who all of the characters correspond to in the Potterverse (who is Hagrid?) but we are firmly decided that Donna is Hermione, and maybe also Ron.
Outline
00:00 Intro 04:10 Episode overview reading 10:38 Mind mapping the episode 15:41 Alexander's non-accepting parents 22:57 More or less accepting parents 27:25 Tea bagging tangent 31:51 Fake engagement & marriage equality 48:14 Liza spills the beans about Stuart and Vince 52:17 Cameron's notion of "make-believe" family 01:03:07 Straight marriage & divorce 01:16:05 Family folklore 01:22:00 Fun fact - Gay club history
Maria Doyle Kennedy plays Marie in Queer as Folk and Siobhan Sadler in Orphan Black.
The character Lance is not an Ampelmann, but rather these German pedestraian symbols are.
Helsinki gay club DTM pictures and info (in Finnish) taken from here and here.
FIND US ONLINE
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In the back from left to right: Alexander, Vince, Hazel (Molly Weasly), Liza & Romy. In the front: Stuart, Nathan (Potter), Donna (Hermione/Ron).
1.07: A Well Defined Saxon Compound
Queer + folklore = ❤
What does “queer” and “folklore” mean on this podcast? Is folklore queer? This is our first episode NOT discussing the tv-show Queer as Folk. This is, however, NOT a minisode even though we say so in the intro.
In the first part of the episode we discuss many things queer, often on a personal level. The second part is based on Charlotta’s recent intro lecture to folklore studies, but with snack breaks and questions that potentially have no answers.
What is the relationship between Folkloristics (or Folklore Studies) and Ethnology? What is folklore and what do folklorists study? Is fan fiction folklore? How is folklore categorized? What is (bicycle) culture? How is Queer as Folk like a fantasy novel?
Outline
00:00 Intro
03:01 There's nowt so queer as folk 07:20 What is queer? 11:56 How we use queer
27:53 A sidebar on zodiac signs as fun labels 36:57 What is folklore?
41:23 Folklore studies or Folkloristics 53:44 Markers of folklore
01:2:20 Folklore and nationalism
01:05:45 The term "folklore": a good saxon compound
01:13:20 Definitions of folklore
01:19:07 What is (bicycle) culture? 01:23:42 A newer way of looking at folklore genres
01:25:36 What is folklore about our podcast?
References
The podcast Nancy on the word queer
Ted talk by Lynne McNeill: Folklore doesn’t meme what you think it memes
FIND US ONLINE
Twitter, Instagram & Queerasfolklorecast.com. You can also get in touch with us at queerasfolklorecast@gmail.com
1.06: Stay here, stay queer, get used to it
Strap in for a hands-on, pink, denim, fill-in-the-blank overview of episode five of Queer as Folk! Towards the end we lightly touch upon the concept of dating culture. Our discussion on adulting and gay archetypes was lost due to technical difficulties but the themes will be revisited in upcoming episodes!
Hosts Arwen, Marianne and Charlotta talk about the upcoming Queer as Folk reboot and discuss dating. What kind of Queer as Folk reboot would we like to see and what is dating like in Queer as Folk?
Golden Boy Stuart goes on a work date instead of babysitting for his sister as promised, undersexed Doctor Who fan Vince goes to dinner with Australian accountant Cameron and denim stalker Nathan keeps up the drama. Nathan needs no less than two mothers to keep him on track and he has recently caught politics. Vince plucks up the courage to call Cameron for a second date and he finally gets his shag.
Read the fill-in-the-blank overview from the podcast here.
References
Queer as Folk reboot
The Polyamrous Dating Habits of the North American Red Squirrel by Dia Davina
FIND US ONLINE
Twitter, Instagram & Queerasfolklorecast.com. You can also get in touch with us at queerasfolklorecast@gmail.com
A Fill-in-the-Blank Overview of Episode Five
In a loft apartment in The Village (that is the gay neighborhood in Manchester, to us tourists) Stuart is not having a great Friday morning. He needs to get ready for work but last night’s shag is still in his bed! Stuart steps over the man only to find another one munching on crisps butt naked in the grotesque open plan kitchen. Why do men never get the message, he thinks pinkly.
In some other part of Manchester Nathan has stayed the night with a boy his own age. But when he gets back to his home-away-from-home Hazel gives him ear full for not letting her know where he was. She threatens to tell his mum if he doesn’t start behaving. Nathan just can’t handle having two mums right now, why did he agree to this unbelievable arrangement anyway?!
Vince has a dating emergency. That is, Cameron shows up at the supermarket where Vince works to ask him out. However, Cameron is an ancient 36-year old Australian accountant who probably will end up selling Vince a pension plan. Vince turns to his bestie Stuart for advice even though they haven’t talked since Vince stormed out to leave Stuart to deal with his mortifying problems by himself. Stuart deals with Vince’s dating dilemma by calling Cameron and just like that, Vince is going on a dinner date. Will Vince finally get to shag all night long?
Is there no one straight left in the world? Even Stuarts straight-married work date Martin Brooks wants to go to “Stuarts sort of place”. A gay bar! Nathan and Donna are also at a gay bar. And who is this behind the bar? He is Nathans shag from last night, Daniel or Dazzzz. Nathan tries to explain to Donna that Daniel definitely not the same Daniel who has the fancy car and apartment but Donna just laughs see-throughly in his face.
Across the canal Vince is meeting up with Cameron at a hands on restaurant. When Cameron steps away to the toilet Vince calls Stuart for moral support and ends up in a telephone comedy situation where no one can get hold of who they’re calling for. It only ends when Cameron takes Vince’s phone and throws it in the canal. Cameron then scoops Vince into a kiss and leaves him standing there on the bridge with a “call me”.
Vince is perplexed. He’s been on a gay date but where’s the shag? Vince decides to get a shag, any shag. He brings home an open-mouth kissing Davros fan boy who gets right down to inserting Doctor Who tapes into Vince’s VHS player …. Sexterminate!
Stuart is not having a great Saturday morning. He is wearing a black, fuzzy jacket as a shield against the consequences of his actions. For one, his sister is angry with him for breaking his promise to babysit his nephews. And now his work date Martin Brooks wants to keep going out on Canal Street. Every night. Don’t be a tourist, Stuart says loudly and goes on: It’s all in or nothing in The Village.
Before making amends with his sister, Stuart goes to THE LESBIANS to spend quality time with baby Alfred, his son. Of course his denim stalker Nathan is there quipping about Stuarts age and energy levels. THE LESBIANS have even taken in a token straight man who couldn’t find anywhere else to live. Is there no end in sight for Stuarts suffering? There is not. His sister tells him that their parents are divorcing. Not even the fuzzy, oversized jacket can shield the Golden Boy now.
Vince plucks up the courage to call Cameron for a second date. They go clubbing. A very drunk Stuart shows up and makes a pass at Cameron. Cameron replies by kissing Vince instead. At home, Vince makes gin and tonics while Cameron tries to get Vince to believe that Stuart made a pass at him. When Cameron tells him a third time, Vince finally seems to believe that his bestie would make a pass at his date. The two perfectly good gin and tonics are left untouched as Vince makes his move on Cameron. They embrace, they kiss, clothes go flying and they jump into bed. Mid-jump Saturday evening ends with a freeze frame.
1.05: Come For the Funeral, Stay For the Cult
Death is a recurring theme in the series. We talk about funeral traditions and queer death studies. We consider the different relationships between gays and their mothers and Charlotta shares a story from an interaction with her own mother. We swing around to masturbation folklore and end up talking about different sex shops we’ve visited.
Episode four of Queer as Folk: Death and Remembrance
The fourth episode of the series starts on a more serious note: The gay gaggle gathers at Phil’s funeral, which has some unconventional elements that Phil planned himself. During the wake, Vince is the target of some smooth flirting, while Stuart is distracted by a possible shag. Meanwhile, Nathan lends a hand to fellow school mate Christian Hobbes in the changing room. After running away from his prying mother, Nathan shows up at Vince’s moms house demanding everyone’s attention.
Phil’s funeral music of choice
I Lost My Heart to a Starship Trooper by Sarah Brightman & Hot Gossip
References
On queer death studies: Death at the end of the rainbow (in Finnish) by Varpu Alasuutari.
Liket i garderoben (The corpse in the closet), a doctoral thesis and book by Ingeborg Svensson
Torka aldrig tårar utan handskar (Never wipe tears without gloves), a tv mini-series and book trilogy by Jonas Gardell
Kön och känsla by Maria Bäckman
FIND US ONLINE
Twitter, Instagram & Queerasfolklorecast.com.
You can also get in touch with us at queerasfolklorecast@gmail.com
Happy Holidays! We’re taking a break over the holidays and will be back again with new episodes in January 2019.
1.04: Good Things Come in Threes?
Death, disease and drugs. Camp, queer and characterizations. Fat, food and phobias. Spaces, scenes and sex, notably threesomes.
Episode three of Queer as Folk: It happened one night…
Camp Alexander arrives in Manchester with his friend Dane and his boy toy Lee, and the rest of the Gay Gaggle (Stuart, Vince, Phil) head out to the clubs on Canal Street. Nathan comes clean to Donna about Stuart dumping him. They follow the Gay Gaggle to the club Babylon and witness Stuart using his magic words to land a threesome. Alexander and his friend Dane are less choosy and head off with a creepy undertaker. Phil takes home a man who offers him drugs and consequently leaves him to overdose and pass away on his kitchen floor.
References
“I’ve seen Kate Moss in that advert and I felt nothing”
At the end of the episode we look at the Calvin Klein advertising campaign Obsession featuring Kate Moss. Coincidentally we looked at another CK-ad in our first episode, featuring Mark Wahlbergs crotch.
Head over to History is Gay for some lavender linguistics!
FIND US ONLINE
Twitter & Instagram & queerasfolklorecast.com
The gaggle of gays
From the left: Stuart, Lee, Nathan, Alexander, Vince, Dane and Phil
Queer as Folklore 