Oo-De-Lally! Dr Amy Louise Morgan (she/her, Surrey University) tells me tales of feminist dragons, gender-nonconforming foxes, wild princesses and all kinds of other queer characters from Disney’s medieval(ish) films. We compare favourite VHS tapes, most fantastic princesses, and try to figure out whether we (or was it just me?) wanted to be, or be with, Robin Hood. Amy also tells me all about Disney’s problematic relationship to queerness, why queer fans still relate to it so much, and what positive changes are possibly in store. Golly, what an episode!

If this episode awoke the medieval fanperson in you, follow @AmyLouise921 and @queerlitpodcast on Twitter. @queerlitpodcast is also on Insta. No dragons though, just cats.

Texts, characters and films mentioned:

Morgan, Amy Louise. "“To Play bi an Orchardside”: Orchards as Enclosures of Queer Space in Lanval and Sir Orfeo." The Medieval and Early Modern Garden in Britain. Routledge, 2018. 91-101.

Locus amoenus

Sleeping Beauty

Sword in the Stone

Robin Hood

Brave

Lady Kluck

Jack Halberstam’s Female Masculinity

Maleficent

Perceforest (c. 1330-1340)

Grimm’s Fairy Tales

Charles Perrault

The Little Mermaid

Pinocchio

Snow White

Sir Orfeo

Jeffrey Jerome Cohen

Madam Mim

Loathly Lady trope

#GiveElsaAGirlfriend

Merida

Frozen

Wreck it Ralph

Disney Princesses

SGS episode

Brenda Chapman

ELMS

Robyn Muir

Mulan

Atlantis

Hunchback of Notre-Dame

Belle

Beauty and the Beast

Lightyear

Luca

Hays Code

The Reluctant Dragon

Robert Benchley

Kenneth Grahame

How To Train Your Dragon

Jack Halberstam’s Wild Things

“Wildness, Masculinity and Swimming” with Jack Halberstam

Questions you should be able to respond to after listening:

1. First things first, what is your favourite Disney film and why?

2. What do you think is the most problematic Disney film and why?

3. We speak quite a bit about anthropomorphised characters. Why do these offer themselves for a queer reading?

4. How does queerness relate to monstrosity and fairies? Can you think of other monsters that are frequently read as queer?

5. Please look up Jack Halberstam. Why do you think Amy recommends his book in this context