Q4Q: Queer Personals Podcast

Welcome back to Q4Q! In this episode, local Maryland historian and librarian, Ben Egerman, steps behind the mic to flip through the pages of Charm City’s historic gay papers. Listen as we weave through a glimpse of Baltimore’s LGBTQ+ history—where you can dance the night away at The Hippo, enjoy a “unique and wonderful evening” in Fells Point, and play cards with a guilt-ridden pinochle player. You won’t be disappointed!

Find Ben on Instagram @mdhistory.gay, and learn a little bit about Maryland’s queer history in cheeky little zines. And if you want to meet this celeb in person, join us Thursday, June 5th, at 7PM in ClubCar for the next release party. All proceeds go to the Trans Rights Advocacy Coalition @transrightsmd. 

Sources:

•  HistoryPin
• History Pin -  LGBTQ+ Maryland
• Baltimore’s LGBTQ Heritage website
• Half a Century Ago, The Hippo Became a Haven for the Local LGBTQ Community
• Club Hippo | Explore Baltimore Heritage
• All You Need to Know About Penis Piercings: A Complete Guide
• Baltimore Gay paper, June 15, 1990 

We read Ads from: 

• Baltimore Gay Paper - 4 Nov 1988
• Baltimore Gay Paper  - 5 May 1989
• Baltimore Gay Paper - 15 Sept 1989
• Baltimore Gay paper - 15 June 1990 
• Baltimore Alternative - Nov 1990  (Ben’s find)
• Baltimore Gay Paper - 2 Feb 1990  (Ben’s find)
• Poem- Baltimore Gay Paper - May 1987

Send a text

Support the show

Hey folks! I'm coming out of the woodwork to wish you a Happy Valentine's Day to all who celebrate. Not only is this a special episode drop, but it's a redo of a previous Valentine's extravaganza with a new twist.

Listen and rate us on Spotify, Stitcher, Apple Podcast, or wherever you listen to your tunes!

Find a copy of the adult coloring book, Queer Seeking Queer: A Colorful History at Women & Children First bookshop in Chicago, or order from them online! You can also find it on bookshop.org and Amazon (leave a review if you can!)

Interested in being on the show? Contact us at [email protected] or find us on Twitter @Queerpersonals and Instagram @Queerpersonalspodcast.

Cover art by Bekah Rich. Music by Kaz Zabala.

Send a text

Support the show

Listen to us on Spotify, Stitcher, Apple Podcast, or wherever you listen to your tunes!

Interested in being on the show? Contact us at [email protected] or find us on Twitter @Queerpersonals and Instagram @Queerpersonalspodcast.

Cover art by Bekah Rich. Music by Kaz Zabala.

Send a text

Support the show

Welcome to a truly itty bitty episode with guest host,  Gabriel—founder, creator, and archivist for @Itty_Bitty_Queer_History. In this episode, Haley takes a page out of Gabriel’s teeny tiny books to pursue some short & sweet personal ads. These authors are very concise yet have a diverse set of needs—from bowling buddies to sugar daddies, water sports to paranormal experiences. You should probably leave them a voicemail to learn more. 

Listen to us on Spotify, Stitcher, Apple Podcast, or wherever you listen to your tunes!

Interested in being on the show? Contact us at [email protected] or find us on Twitter @Queerpersonals and Instagram @Queerpersonalspodcast.

Cover art by Bekah Rich. Music by Kaz Zabala.

Sources:

The New Works (Indianapolis, IN) - April 1987
BLK (Los Angeles, CA)- April 1990
BLK (Los Angeles, CA)  - January 1994
Washington Blade (Washington, DC)-  November 20, 1981
Gay Community News (Boston, MA) -  February 15, 1986
Kick! (Detroit, MI)- October 1996
OUT FRONT (Denver, CO)- March 11, 1988
OUT FRONT (Denver, CO)- April 18, 1980 
The San Francisco Bay times (San Francisco, CA) Sep 1989

Send a text

Support the show

Are you ready to source the galaxies of love? Dip your tongue into this new episode, where Haley & Dr. Jack Jen Gieseking (author of the incredible book A Queer New York) match with some sapphic ads. Whether you’re looking for a good old-fashioned co-dependent, a skateboard bean, a Genteel Daddy pretty boy butch, or a chic Joni Mitchell lookalike—come explore the full spectrum of the sapphic longing. 

Listen to us on Spotify, Stitcher, Apple Podcast, or wherever you listen to your tunes!

Interested in being on the show? Contact us at [email protected] or find us on Twitter @Queerpersonals and Instagram @Queerpersonalspodcast.

Cover art by Bekah Rich. Music by Kaz Zabala.

Sources:

• Joni Mitchel Tweet
• Jen Jack Gieseking Website
• A Queer New York: Geographies of Lesbians, Dykes, and Queers, 1983-2008 (NYU Press, 2020) on contemporary lesbian-queer society, economies, and spaces in New York City
• LBQTS Dating Study
• The Star Tarot Card Meaning
• Jewel Box Lounge, Kansas City 

Primary Sources:

Personally, (Kansas City, MO) January 1988 Vol. 4 Issue. 1 Gale Archives of Sexuality and Gender

On Our Backs– summer and fall 1985 and 1986 (volume 1, issues 1-3, and volume 2, 1-2)- From Brown University Archives 

Outweek (NYC) Jan 28 1990 

Outweek Sept 19, 1990 (NYC) 

The San Francisco Bay times., Dec 1989

The Lesbian Tide, 1 Nov 1979

Send a text

Support the show

Attention all you macaroni boys and genderful twinks! Asho joins Haley for a series of ads written by self-acclaimed androgynous lovers. Do you dream of tossing a salad with a cute “she-boy” or maintaining eye contact all the way “through”? Catch these ads before another 30 years passes!

Follow Asho on Instagram at @Asho_Buckingham to view & purchase their incredible art!

Listen to us on Spotify, Stitcher, Apple Podcast, or wherever you listen to your tunes!

Interested in being on the show? Contact us at [email protected] or find us on Twitter @Queerpersonals and Instagram @Queerpersonalspodcast.

Cover art by Bekah Rich. Music by Kaz Zabala.

Sources: 

Online Etymology Dictionary, accessed December 2023

The Her app slang glossary

LGBTQ fandom Wiki page

McNeil, Peter (1999-11-01). ""That Doubtful Gender": Macaroni Dress and Male Sexualities". Fashion Theory. 3 (4): 412. doi:10.2752/136270499779476081. ISSN 1362-704X. 

Fisher, Harriet (2015-01-19). "The Queen of Androgyny – Marlene Dietrich". Barnebys. Archived from the original on 2016-06-16. Retrieved 2016-05-22.

Ads: 

LA Weekly (Los Angeles, CA) 1995 October 10 - Accessed from @LongLostPersonals

Focus Point (Minneapolis, Minnesota), 1994 November 17 

Outweek (NYC) 12 Nov 1989

Outweek (NYC) 11 July 1990

The San Francisco Bay times., Nov 1989

Send a text

Support the show

You think you're sexually frustrated? Try talking to a gal on the lesbian party lines in the '90s! In this truly tiny bite-sized episode, Haley reads from Liz Tracey's article in Outweek: "Hung Up on the Lesbo Line." 

Listen to us on Spotify, Stitcher, Apple Podcast, or wherever you listen to your tunes!

Interested in being on the show? Contact us at [email protected] or find us on Twitter @Queerpersonals and Instagram @Queerpersonalspodcast.

 Cover art by Bekah Rich. Music by Kaz Zabala.

Sources:

Liz Tracey, "Hung Up on the Lesbo Line," Outweek, January 14, 1990.

 Out on the Town: Liz and Sydney in Outweek 1990-1991.

Send a text

Support the show

Buckle up queers and prepare for a new episode of Q4Q! In this episode, Haley is joined by Esther Bley of @QueerAnimation to share some stories of cults, queer communes, and personal ads from people searching for a little bit more than a partnership. Will you decide to worship at the shrine of Pussy, or become a husband of Christ in Boston’s gayest monastery? The possibilities are endless.  

Follow Esther’s work on Instagram @QueerAnimation. 

Explore the Queer Animation website.

Buy a Queer Animation button! 

Listen to us on Spotify, Stitcher, Apple Podcast, or wherever you listen to your tunes!

Interested in being on the show? Contact us at [email protected] or find us on Twitter @Queerpersonals and Instagram @Queerpersonalspodcast.

Cover art by Bekah Rich. Music by Kaz Zabala.

Sources: 

ROBINOU. “QUEER COMMUNAL KINSHIP.” In Queer Communal Kinship Now!, 79–148. Punctum Books, 2023. http://www.jstor.org/stable/jj.2353823.7. Accessed November 2023.

Mack Moore, “What is the difference between a cult and a commune?” Quora comment, ca. 2019. Accessed November 2023.

Elizabeth Yuko, Cult or Commune? How Utopian Communities Turn Dangerous, Rolling Stone, November 10, 2016. Accessed November 2023.

Stephen Vider,  “The Ultimate Extension of Gay Community”: Communal Living and Gay Liberation in the 1970s, Gender & History. Volume 27, Issue 3. November 2015. Accessed November 2023.

 Kaliflower Commune - Wikipedia

 Radical Faeries - Wikipedia

 Faeriefilm by Eugene Salandra that you can watch on Queer Animation

Lavender Hill: A Love StoryProducer/Writer: Austin Bunn | Cinematographer/Editor: Bob Hazen

Gorsline, Robin Hawley. “Queering Church, Churching Queers.” CrossCurrents 49, no. 1 (1999): 111–14. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24460524.

Charles Manson's Hollywood, Part 8: Sharon Tate and Roman Polanski — You Must Remember This

Ads:

Outweek (NYC), 26 December 1990

Gay Community News (Boston, MA) 1974

GAY (Houston, TX) 19 July 1971 

The Atlanta Barb (Atlanta, GA) April 1976

RFD Issue 73 Spring 1993

Just Out (Eugene, OR) 30 March 1984

Sentinel USA (San Fran, CA) - 11 Oct 1984

Support the Show.

Haley sits down with Dr. Alex Ketchum, a professor at McGill University’s Institute for Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies, and author of books such as Engage in Public Scholarship: A Guidebook on Feminist and Accessible Communication & Ingredients for Revolution: A History of American Feminist Restaurants, Cafes, and Coffeehouses. In this episode, we’re playing matchmaker for several Canadian hotties who posted personals in a 1984 issue of Toronto’s The Body Politic. Will the shy young woman find a gal to satisfy her fantasies? Can we crack the code to some super spy language? Is it possible to be hedonistic AND unpretentious? Come find out! 

Follow Dr. Alex Ketchum at: 

Twitter (X) and Instagram @aketchum22

https://www.alexketchum.ca/

Read her latest book, Ingredients for Revolution a History of American Feminist Restaurants, Cafes, and Coffeehouses.

Listen to us on Spotify, Stitcher, Apple Podcast, or wherever you listen to your tunes!

Interested in being on the show? Contact us at [email protected] or find us on Twitter @Queerpersonals and Instagram @Queerpersonalspodcast.

Cover art by Bekah Rich. Music by Kaz Zabala.

Further Exploration: 

The Arquives: Canada’s LGBTQ2+ Archives

Archives gaies du Québec - Mémoires de nos communautés

Archives lesbiennes du Québec

Pussy Palace Audiograms

Esto no tienne nombre Collection, founded by tatiana de la tierra, housed at UC Santa Barbara

Sara Youngblood Gregory, “Raging Against Cultural Amnesia: tatiana de la tierra and Latina Lesbian Herstory,” Autostraddle, June 19, 2018. Accessed September 5, 2023. 

Gordon Richardson, “What’s in the Archives?The Body Politic” The Arquives website, April 17, 2013.  Accessed Sept 5, 2023. 

History of The Body Politic - A Timeline, Information in the timeline has been taken from Bébout, online and Jackson & Persky, pgs. 224-24, Western University, Canada. 

Denise Benson, “Then & Now: Voodoo,” Then and Now Toronto, September 20, 2014. Accessed Sept 5, 2023. Article originally published November 16, 2011 by The Grid online (TheGridTO.com).

The Body Politic Wikipedia page, Accessed Sept 5, 2023. 

Arshy Mann, “What was The Body Politic, anyway?: A brief explainer on a radical gay and lesbian magazine,” Xtra, June 9, 2016. Accessed Sept 5, 2023.

Jack Gieseking, A Queer New York

Find the Ads here: 

The Body politic (Toronto, Canada), March 1984  Archives.org. 

Send a text

Support the show

In this episode, Haley & Lauren Hoffman of the Capital Jewish Museum wander through New York, San Francisco, and Minnesota following these Jewish sapphic lonely hearts. Check your baggage at the door and prepare to meet a Would-Be Cowboy, a“Highly Flawed and Special” artist, and a gal looking for a “New Age thinker with a specific physical discipline….”? 

Follow Lauren on Instagram @spicylilscorpio and @wanderthrumuseums. 

Listen to us on Spotify, Stitcher, Apple Podcast, or wherever you listen to your tunes!

Interested in being on the show? Contact us at [email protected] or find us on Twitter @Queerpersonals and Instagram @Queerpersonalspodcast.

 Cover art by Bekah Rich. Music by Kaz Zabala.

Sources:
Jewish Women’s Archive

GBLT History Museum and Archive

2019 Twin Cities Jewish Community Study

Focus Point (Minneapolis, Minnesota), 1994 November 17

Focus Point (Minneapolis, Minnesota), 1997 October 8

 J-Pride - TC Jewfolk

The San Francisco Bay times, December 1989

The San Francisco Bay times, September 1989

Outweek (New York City), 1990 July 11

Additional Websites to Browse:

Instagram: @dchistory @dchistcon @marenorchard

Swann Queen: A Short Film GoFundMe

Marjorie Morgan, "From slavery to voguing: the House of Swann"

Sha’ar Zahav Archives

Alpert, Rebecca. Like Bread on the Seder Plate: Jewish Lesbians and the Transformation of Tradition. New York: Columbia University Press, 1998.

Alpert, Rebecca, Sue Levi Elwell and Shirley Idelson, Lesbian Rabbis: The First Generation. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2001.

Balka, Christie, and Andy Rose, eds. Twice Blessed: On Being Lesbian or Gay and Jewish. Boston: Beacon Press, 1989.

Beck, Evelyn Torton, ed. Nice Jewish Girls: A Lesbian Anthology. Boston: Beacon Press, 1982; Rev. and updated 1989.

Biale, Rachel. Women and Jewish Law: An Exploration of Women’s Issues in Halakhic Sources. New York: Schocken, 1984.

Brettschneider, Marla. The Family Flamboyant: Race Politics, Queer Families, Jewish Lives. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 2006.

Brettschneider, Marla. “Jewish Lesbians: New Work in the Field.” Journal of Lesbian Studies. 2019, 23(1): 2-20 and passim special issue.

Kaye/Kantrowitz, Melanie, and Irena Klepfisz, eds. Tribe of Dina: A Jewish Women’s Anthology. Boston: Beacon Press, 1986.

Moore, Tracy, ed. Lesbiot: Israeli Lesbians Talk About Sexuality, Feminism, Judaism and Their Live. New York: Cassell, 1995.

Rogow, Faith. “Why Is This Decade Different from All Other Decades? A Look at the Rise of Jewish Lesbian Feminism.” Bridges 1 (Spring 1990): 67–79.

Sarah, Elizabeth. “Judaism and Lesbianism: A Tale of Life on the Margins of the Text.” Jewish Quarterly 40 (1993): 20–23.

Send a text

Support the show