Simon interviews journalist Gay Alcorn, discussing recent articles she wrote about violence against women. In her analysis, Gay asks the question: is feminism too narrow a lens through which to examine gender-based violence?
Episode 53: What Can You Do
Benjamin and Simon sit down intending to record an episode about what individuals can do in the face of structural problems like homophobia, but an article about violence against women sparks a disagreement between the hosts over the question: to what extent can and should we examine individual participation within broad structures of oppression? It’s the most we’ve ever disagreed!
‘Men of Australia, it's time to pick your side’, by Clementine Ford
Episode 52: Surf the Web, with Queers
Interview: Kapul Champions
On a trip to Port Moresby, Benjamin interviews an advocate with Papua New Guinea’s only queer community organisation, Kapul Champions, to discuss the political priorities for queers in the country, and the impact of LGBTIQ political discourses in Australia.
For more information about Kapul Champions, visit: https://rainbowpng.wordpress.com/2016/10/23/group-kapul-champions/
Episode 51: Pop Queers
Episode 50: Queers at Fifty
Interview: Annie Kelly
While traveling in the United Kingdom Simon interviewed the PhD student Annie Kelly. Annie is studying at the University of East Anglia, researching the online anti-feminist groups Return of Kings, A Voice for Men and the Reddit forum Kotaku in Action.
Simon and Annie talk about the ideologies and ideas of these groups, their differences and similarities with each other, and the connections between anti-feminist groups and the broader far right. They also discuss Annie’s article in the New York times on ‘tradwives’, a community of women in the United States who advocate for a return to traditional gender roles.
Episode 49: Queers Educates the Stupid Masses
Episode 48: Story Time
Interview: Jax Jacki Brown
Episode 47: A Guide to Belonging
Episode 46: Civil Queer, Respectable Queer
What starts out as an in-depth look at the explosive reunion episode of Ru Paul’s Drag Race Season 10 leads Benjamin and Simon into a discussion of respectability politics and civility politics in queer communities and beyond, and what it means for queers to support each other when things get tough.
Interview: Jordan Raskopoulos
Episode 45: Problems with Privilege
A question about the relative privilege of gay men within queer communities turns into a debate about the value of analysing privilege through an identity-based lens at all. Benjamin and Simon grapple with the question: does assigning privilege to certain groups of people help us overcome oppression, or simply drive us apart?
Episode 44: Full Equality
An article about the idea of “full equality” for LGBTIQ people gets Simon and Benjamin wondering what the idea even means, particularly once most of our civil and legal rights have been taken care of. If we can’t see a sexual revolution coming any time soon, where does the idea of equality stop making sense, even on its own terms?
Interview: Scott Williams
Extra: Rising Minds
Earlier this year, Benjamin was asked to present a lecture on ‘The Future of Sex and Sexuality’ as part of Rising Minds, a lecture series that hosts speakers from London, New York, Toronto and Sydney to examine topics in technology, business and culture.
This episode is from the Rising Minds podcast feed, which they have generously allowed us to share here. You can find more of their lectures on their website, www.risi.ng, or subscribe to Rising Minds on iTunes.
Episode 43: Acronyms, in Theory and Practice
The queer acronym (LGBTIQA+, etc.) seems to be getting longer with each passing year, but who gets to be a part of it? Benjamin and Simon start out wondering whether it’s useful to dissect which letters are in and which are out, leading to a surprising discussion about the limits of abstract debate when it comes to effecting political change in the real world.
Episode 42: A Politics of Consent
Interview: Janet Rice
At the Better Together conference in Melbourne in January, Simon interviewed Senator Janet Rice, the Australian Greens' LGBTIQ spokesperson, about the overlaps between environmentalism and queer politics, the legacy of the marriage equality postal survey, and the future of LGBTIQ politics in Australia inside and outside of parliament.