We Did the Reading

We Did the Reading

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We Did the Reading episodes

  • 7. Disco Bloodbath by James St. James: The Fabulous and the Grotesque

    We’re talking about the “fabulous but true tale of murder in clubland,” Disco Bloodbath. Later re-printed as Party Monster, this non-linear, Ketamine-infused true crime novel paints an abstract picture of the Club Kids and details the horrific murder of Andre “Angel” Melendez by scene leader, Michael Alig. 

    This book has absolutely everything you could want from a queer text... and also some things you might not want want. We talk about how we as queer people can integrate the fabulousness with the grotesque and how we can maintain our bonds without the trauma. Also we talk about Ketamine. 

    Additional Reading:

    • Michael Alig NYC Club Kids on Geraldo April 17, 1990
    • Life of the Party by Olivia Gatwood
    • Peeew! #565: RIP Michael Alig
    • Party Monster (2003) Dir. Fenton Bailey & Randy Barbato (We’re talking about this one next week!)

      • Extra Credit:

      • Follow us at @wedidthereading
      • Read more of Clementine’s words at @clementinevonradics
      • See more of Pia’s drawings at @pia_marchetti


        • 1 hr 7 min
      • 6. Interview with the Vampire: The Future Liberals Want
        We’re sinking our teeth into the 1994 film adaptation of Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire. If an abundance of beautiful, long haired men making googly eyes at one another wasn’t enough to qualify this as a queer text, consider the vampire as a metaphor for queer sexualities and also that absolutely everyone in this movie is gay. Don’t believe us? Wait until we talk about Kirsten Dunst.
        We talk about the queer family unit, positive (and negative) queer mentorship, and the paradox of technically sexless yet extremely homoerotically charged male companions. This text is rich, ya’ll!
        Additional Reading:
        Buffy the Vampire Slayer (all of it, tbh) but for a relevant introduction, start with S2E03 “School Hard,” in which a vampire named Spike laughingly remarks that “people still fall for that Anne Rice routine.”
        Between Men: English Literature and Male Homosocial Desire by Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick
        Extra Credit:
        Follow us at @wedidthereading
        Read more of Clementine’s words at @clementinevonradics
        See more of Pia’s drawings at @pia_marchetti
        1 hr 22 min
      • 5. The Tragedy of Britney Spears

        We’re comparing and contrasting two articles profiling our queen: Rolling Stone’s 1999 cover story Britney Spears, Teen Queen: Inside the Heart and Mind (and Bedroom) of Britney and The Tragedy of Britney Spears from the same publication 9 years later.

        It's Britney, bitch.

        Additional Reading:

        • Losing a Pop Legend to the Media - Britney Spears in 2007 by Deep Dive
        • Miley Cyrus & The Social Distancers cover of Gimme More from Miley Cyrus Backyard Sessions
        • Britney Spears & *NSYNC’s “Baby One More Time”/Tearin’ Up My Heart 1999 VMAs performance compared with Britney Spears’ “Gimme More” 2007 VMAs performance
        • From the Bottom of My Broken Heart music video (1999) compared with Gimme More music video (2007)
        • Leave Britney Alone (2007) by Chris Crocker

          • Extra Credit:

          • Follow us at @wedidthereading
          • Read more of Clementine’s words at @clementinevonradics
          • See more of Pia’s drawings at @pia_marchetti

            • #FREEBRITNEY

            1 hr 46 min
          • 4. Happiest Season: The Yuletide Caucasian Lesbian Get Out

            Everybody’s talking about Happiest Season and so are we! Clea DuVall of But I’m a Cheerleader and we-knew-before-she-did fame writes and directs this traumatic lesbian coming out story decorated in festive rom-com wrapping paper. Also Kristen Stewart is there. Bottoms rejoice!

            We discuss queering a genre based in heteronormative tropes, valid reasons to break up with someone, and the Christmas Miracle that is Aubrey Plaza.

            Additional Reading:

            • Saving Face (2004) Dir. Alice Wu

              • Extra Credit:

              • Follow us at @wedidthereading
              • Read more of Clementine’s words at @clementinevonradics
              • See more of Pia’s drawings at @pia_marchetti
                • 1 hr 47 min
              • 3. The Golden Girls: Watching an 80s Coming Out Story in 2020

                We’re comparing two episodes of iconic sitcom and cultural reset, The Golden Girls. We eat a cheesecake and discuss the two Very Special Episodes which track Blanche’s brother’s coming out arch: (S4E10) "Scared Straight" and (S6E14) "Sisters of the Bride."

                We talk about engaging with media with outdated politics, The Golden Girls as a Socratic circle, and gladiator movies.

                Additional Reading:

                • Sex and the City Boy (S2E04) "Boy, Girl, Boy, Girl..."
                • The Golden Girls Gay Journey - From Coming Out to Marriage Equality by Matt Baume

                  • Extra Credit:

                  • Follow us at @wedidthereading
                  • Read more of Clementine’s words at @clementinevonradics
                  • See more of Pia’s drawings at @pia_marchetti
                    • 1 hr 2 min
                  • 2. Are You My Mother by Alison Bechdel: A Constellation of Stars Which Look Like a Man

                    We’re diving into graphic memoir Are You My Mother, fittingly written by Pia’s literal (figurative) biological mother Alison Bechdel. We talk about mom trauma, the “two genders” of color, and God. You know, the usual stuff.

                    Does this episode pass the Bechdel test? And will your reading group pass the Bechdel test when discussing this episode? Does the Bechdel test pass the Bechdel test?

                    Additional Reading:

                    The Essential Dykes the Watch Out For by Alison Bechdel

                    Fun Home (A New Broadway Musical), "Ring of Keys"

                    Extra Credit:

                    • Follow us at @wedidthereading.
                    • Read more of Clementine’s words at @clementinevonradics.
                    • See more of Pia’s drawings at @pia_marchetti.
                      • 56 min
                    • 1. Crush by Richard Siken: Why Is Male Violence so Horny?

                      In our very first episode, we’re talking about contemporary classic Crush by Richard Siken. This award winning homo pomo poetry collection was the perfect place to dive in to the queer canon. We talk about male violence, reinventing the Bible in our own image, and David Lynch. 

                      What even is a poem? What even isn’t a poem? We investigate.

                      Additional Reading:

                      • Mulholland Drive (2001) Dir. David Lynch
                      • Without Protection by Gala Mukomolova


                        • Extra Credit:

                        • Follow us at @wedidthereading.
                        • Read more of Clementine’s words at @clementinevonradics.
                        • See more of Pia’s drawings at @pia_marchetti.


                          • 1 hr 6 min

                        About We Did the Reading

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                        The Homo Pomo Podcast where we’re smart about dumb and dumb about smart. 📚🌈