Show Notes
From popstars to rugby players, this episode has all the Welsh queer icons you could want. Emily Garside teaches me about H from Steps, Russel T. Davies, the Ladies of Llangollen and so many other fascinating LGBTQIA+ people from Wales. We talk about whether wondering if you’re queer enough is similar to wondering if you’re Welsh enough and how the prejudice against ‘sounding gay’ relates to sounding Welsh.
Books by Emily Garside: Rainbow Wales: Queer Icons Past and Present (Calon, May 2026) Out of the Box: Queer TV through the Decades (Manchester University Press, January 2027) Gay Aliens and Queer Folks: How Russell T Davies Changed TV (Calon, 2023) Seasons of Love: Why Rent Matters (Applause) You Are My Happy Ending: Schitt’s Creek and the Legacy of Queer TV (Applause) Angels in America at the British National Theatre (McFarland) Love that Journey for me: The Queer Revolution of Schitt’s Creek (404 Ink)
Other References: Russel T Davies Ladies of Llangollen Edward II. Piers Gaveston Steps Ian ‘H’ Watkins Elliot Page Luke Evans Eisteddfod Cymru Marquess of Anglesey Viscount Tredegar Norena Shopland Jan Morris’ Conundrum Ivor Novello Colin Jackson Connie Orff Alun Saunders Natha Wyburn Queer As Folk It’s A Sin Lisa Power Section 28 @emigarside (IG) https://thenerdynotebook.substack.com/ https://emilygarside.com/ Surrey Rainbow Choir https://www.rainbowchoir.co.uk/
Questions you should be able to respond to after listening: Is there such a thing as a cohesive Welsh queer identity? What are Emily’s thoughts on this and what is her approach? Emily speaks about parallels between attitudes towards Welsh and queer identities. Which one does she discuss? Is there a facet of your identity that feels similar yet different from your queerness? What is an eisteddfod? Please look it up if you’re not familiar because we forgot to explain the term in the episode. Have you ever askes yourself whether you are queer or trans enough? How do we speak about this question in this episode? Who was your favourite person to learn about in the episode?
More from Queer Lit
Welcome, children of the night, to a particularly shameless spooky special all about an eternally queer-coded fan favourite: the vampire. RJ Wade and Sarah Prescott join me to speak about bookish bloodsuckers, raunchy revenants, and sapphic succubi. The dramatic reading of a yet unperformed Carmilla play had me at the very edge of my seat and I also learned a lot about both the cultural and the literary history of vampirism.
Have you ever thought about your age as being assigned at birth? In this episode, Simon(e) van Saarloos and I explore how queer thought might allow us to move beyond preconceptions of age, but also about the manifold and intersectional consequences of ageism. Simon(e) reflects on how trans narratives might work without reliance on linearity and why age is such a powerful category when it comes to agency.
We all know that trans people have existed throughout history, but what about before that? S.K. Marley does fascinating research on queerness and transness that predates written history and joins me to speak about what antler headdresses and wooden dolls might teach us about transness. We also discuss how transness, walking and wellbeing are entangled, which landscapes are the most nonbinary, and why ‘prehistory’ is a contested term in itself. Since we’re chatting in a beautiful park in York, this episode has some bonus bird song and squirrel mischief.
What does sound have to do with sexuality? C. Jade MacDonald has some fascinating insights on the queerness of noise, on trans voices in hyperpop, and on sound in literature. Learn about the queer kinship created by remixes and covers in contemporary music, but also about which sound technologies are historically entangled with sexology. My favourite bit: hearing about how Gertrude Stein resonates with SOPHIE.
Listen, this episode is as delightful as it sounds. Audiophile Stacey Copeland tells me all about feminist soundwork, radical radio, and lesbian podcasts – all of which Stacey writes about in the excellent new book Lavender Sounds. Tune in for the sonic histories, stay for the moment when Stacey illustrating the crafted intimacy of podcasts will make you a little weak in the knees. If you are interested in the politics and potential of audio media, you will absolutely love this episode.