How Did We Get Queer?

In the final episode of our trio on queer representation in Canadian media, the focus is on authenticity. Including queer characters in TV shows is great but it's not enough. So what makes for authentic queer representation and what does it mean to truly represent queer experiences on screen?

We're back with another episode of How Did We Get Queer and an examination of queer representation in Canadian media.

Special thanks to our guest for this episode, Allia McLeod for sharing her perspective as a Black queer woman working in media. Allia is the head of brand relations and content development for Verizon Media where she leads the company's LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group. She is also a programmer for Toronto's Inside Out Film Festival.

It’s #Pride2021 and HDWGQ is back with new episodes in a new format! We’re trying something a little different and we hope you like it! Over the next few weeks, we’ll be launching three shorter episodes, all focused on the issue of queer representation in media -- why it’s important, how it’s changed over time and what makes for good, genuine queer characters.

In our first episode, hosts Isaac and Thomas will take you back to the early days of queer representation in Canadian film and television, in the 1970s and 1980s, and discuss the ways in which that history is relevant to queer media today and in the future.

Special thanks to our guest for this episode, Chris Vogel. Chris was a founding member of the Winnipeg Gay Media Collective and host of its local-access cable TV show Coming Out! Which ran from 1980 to 1994.

In this two-part episode, Isaac and Thomas delve into the past, present, and future of queer representation in film and television, with a particular focus on Canadian media. In this first part, our hosts discuss their own personal experiences with and opinions on queer media throughout the ages. Stay tuned for Part 2, in which several guests - including those in the industry - will share their perspectives, as well!

In this special bonus episode, Isaac and Thomas discuss a fascinating quote from their interview with Dr. Valerie Korinek, history professor at the University of Saskatchewan and author of Prairie Fairies, on using the term ‘queer’ retroactively to describe individuals who were not open about their identity in the time that they lived. Listen for a discussion of shifting identities and quiet implications.

Welcome to the debut of HDWGQ! In this episode, hosts Isaac and Thomas explore the intersection of cowboy culture and queer culture in Canada. They delve into the history of queer life on the prairies, the enduring appeal of the cowboy aesthetic in queer communities, and diversity in cowboy culture and country music today.

Special thanks to our guests: Dr. Valerie J. Korinek, University of Saskatchewan history professor and author; Thanks Jem, the Queen of the Rodeo (and the star of the Orville Peck music video of the same name); and Adrian Stimson, acclaimed two-spirit Indigenous interdisciplinary artist.

Additionally, acknowledgements to two sources cited in this podcast: Dr. Korinek's book Prairie Fairies: A History of Queer Communities and People in Western Canada, 1930-1985, and Dr. Adele Perry's book On the Edge of Empire: Gender, Race, and the Making of British Columbia, 1849-1871.