Queer as Fact

Ötzi the Iceman

Today we're talking about the ancient Italian ice-mummy known as Ötzi the Iceman. Join us to learn about the world's oldest pants, the ethics of archaeology, and and whether there really was sperm in Ötzi's anus.

This episode was originally released on our Patreon in 2023.

There are few points throughout the episode where the sound becomes crackly. It happens three or four times, and none of the instances last more than about 30 seconds.

Check out our website, where you can find our sources, as well as everything there is to know about Queer as Fact.

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[Image: text reading '"Ötzi" war schwul!"]

The Blue Caftan (2022)

We're back! The first episode of this block of episodes covers Maryam Touzani's 2022 drama film, The Blue Caftan.

Join us for a discussion of queerness in Morocco, the "ostentatious nudity" of the bathhouse, and resolving the tension between differing modes of love with grace and deep affection.

Check out our website, where you can find our sources, as well as everything there is to know about Queer as Fact.

If you enjoy our content, consider supporting us on Patreon, checking out our merch, and following us on Instagram, Tumblr and Bluesky.

[Image: A poster for the film 'The Blue Caftan' featuring the title in a sky blue, as well as the three major characters looking at each other affectionately.]

The Left Hand of Darkness (1969)

Today we are discussing Ursula K. Le Guin's Hugo and Nebula award-winning 1969 science fiction novel, The Left Hand of Darkness.

Join us to hear about ambisexual beings who defy gender norms, the initially sexist man who comes to love them and a sexually charged journey across a glacier. 

Check out our website, where you can find our sources, as well as everything there is to know about Queer as Fact.

If you enjoy our content, consider supporting us on Patreon, checking out our merch, and following us on Instagram, Tumblr and Bluesky.

[Image: A cropped cover of "The Left Hand of Darkness" featuring the author's name, Ursula K. Le Guin, as well as the tagline "A masterpiece from one of the great writers of the 20th Century".]

Tu'er Shen

In today's episode, we discuss the Daoist god Tu'er Shen, who is considered to be a patron god of homosexuality. Join us to learn about intimacy between men in 18th century China, a secret gay statue, and one Daoist priest's desire to create a safe space for queer youth.

Check out our website, where you can find our sources, as well as everything there is to know about Queer as Fact.

If you enjoy our content, consider supporting us on Patreon, checking out our merch, and following us on Instagram, Tumblr and Bluesky.

[Image: cropped from photograph by Han Cheung, Taipei Times]

Sherlock Holmes

Today's episode is on Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's iconic consulting detective! Join us as we talk about aromanticism, turn-of-the-century masculinity,and whether Watson is, in fact, a woman.

Link to the article Watson was a Woman? discussed in the episode

Check out our website, where you can find our sources, as well as everything there is to know about Queer as Fact.

If you enjoy our content, consider supporting us on Patreon, checking out our merch, and following us on Instagram, Tumblr and Bluesky.

[Image: Illustration of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson by Sydney Paget. Source]

Gavin Arthur and the Circle of Sex

In today's episode, we're discussing the Circle of Sex, a 1960s astrological representation of sexuality, and its eccentric creator Gavin Arthur. Join us to hear about how to have sex à la Walt Whitman, how to figure out if you're a Sappho or a Club Woman, and whether there is a faint possibility, just maybe, that the Circle is a tiny bit flawed. 

If you would like to follow along at home, please have a look at the Circle of Sex diagram. We do our best to explain it, but it will hopefully make things a little bit clearer if you have a look yourself!

Check out our website, where you can find our sources, as well as everything there is to know about Queer as Fact.

If you enjoy our content, consider supporting us on Patreon, checking out our merch, and following us on Instagram, Tumblr and Bluesky.

[Image: The Circle of Sex, a diagram of a circle cut into twelve segments, with a Yin-Yang symbol at the centre. Each segment has a label such as 'Hyperheterogenic - Don Juan' or '3/4 homogenic - Lesbian'.]

Maximilien Robespierre

Today's marathon episode is about the French revolutionary figure Maximilien Robespierre, whose apparent lack of sexuality has been a point of discussion for scholars ever since his death. Join us as we try to find the real man behind more than two hundred years of conflicting propaganda, explore methods of approaching history on the asexual spectrum, and add to the pantheon of Queer As Fact historical pets.

Check out our website, where you can find our sources, as well as everything there is to know about Queer as Fact.

If you enjoy our content, consider supporting us on Patreon, checking out our merch, and following us on Instagram, Tumblr and Bluesky.

[Image: Wikimedia Commons, Portrait of Maximilien Robespierre, c. 1790, anonymous artist]

Romaine-la-Prophétesse

Today's episode is on the Haitian Revolutionary religious leader Romaine-la-Prophétesse whose identity as a prophetess of the Virgin Mary was key to his leadership of an insurrectionary camp in pre-revolutionary Haiti. Join us to learn about Romaine's divine mission to abolish slavery, a definitely legitimate and not at all excommunicated priest, and the implications of getting topped by the Virgin Mary for your gender identity.

 

Check out our website, where you can find our sources, as well as everything there is to know about Queer as Fact.

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[Image source: Romaine's signature, found in Terry Rey's The Priest and the Prophetess: Abbé Ouvière, Romaine Rivière, and the Revolutionary Atlantic World]

Saints Felicity and Perpetua

Today's episode is on the 3rd-century North African saints, Felicity and Perpetua! Join us to hear about queer dreams, the mysterious absence of Felicity and Perpetua's husbands, and why early Christians wanted to abolish gender.

Read the 3rd century Passion of Saints Felicity and Perpetua, discussed in the episode, here.

Check out our website, where you can find our sources, as well as everything there is to know about Queer as Fact.

If you enjoy our content, consider supporting us on Patreon, checking out our merch, and following us on Instagram, Tumblr and Bluesky.

[Image: Mosaic of Felicity and Perpetua, Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington DC, USA]

A Fantastic Woman | Una mujer fantástica (2017)

In today's episode, Jasmine, Irene and Alice discuss the 2017 Academy Award-winning Chilean film Una mujer fantástica (A Fantastic Woman). This film's grounded and sometimes surprisingly hopeful depiction of a trans woman's grief provided such a realistic depiction of legal barriers facing trans people in Chile that it contributed to positive changes in legislation around gender transition. Join us to talk about a three-dimensional trans protagonist, how queer suffering is not inevitable, and what made us genuinely love this sad queer movie.

Check out our website, where you can find our sources, as well as everything there is to know about Queer as Fact.

If you enjoy our content, consider supporting us on Patreon, checking out our merch, and following us on Instagram, Tumblr and Bluesky.

[Image: A poster for the movie A Fantastic Woman featuring the face of lead actress Daniela Vega as main character Marina, with a rainbow lighting filter over her face]