How LGBTQ Podcasts Contribute to My Queerness

How LGBTQ Podcasts Contribute to My Queerness

Queer storytelling can be heard on trains, cars, indoors, outdoors — as long as a speaker is supplied and the airwaves are queued to the correct station.

As an individual who is a part of the queer community, but not necessarily able to read and engage at the level that I would like, I find myself particularly drawn to the accessibility and easiness of queer and LGBTQ podcasts.

Popular series’ like Serial and This American Life are celebrated and have given podcasts a fresh set of ears. However, podcasts go beyond high production and expansive funding. The queer community, known for dexterity in the DIY scene, are producing podcasts without the need for public radio. Platforms like Soundcloud  or iTunes supply producers with an audience and a means to broadcast their thoughts and work.

As a young queer artist, verbiage, dialogue, and topics of discussion often leave me silenced. I knew I was queer. I knew I had words to expound; nevertheless, they were lost in the lack of influence that I had in my childhood growing up in the southern state of North Carolina.

Listening to ongoing social issues with the queer community and finding the voices whom I find most appealing have contributed to my positivity and assurance when describing myself as, firstly queer, and secondly, an activist. Finding myself listening to podcasts or public radio stations with a queer lens or theme has given me the knowledge that I hopelessly ached for growing up. The knowledge that I obtain from these episodes gives me the confidence in my own identify and my acceptance in current society.

We are lucky to thrive in the age of the internet where countless articles, entertainment, and discussions can be easily found. Here are three podcasts to look into for your queer delight.

Broadside

A new and promising podcast, Broadside, hopes to cover topics about arts and culture and the queer feminist connection. The podcast has one episode out and is hoping to create a community discussion between artists, musicians, actors, and performers in the Twin Cities and beyond. Particularly drawn to local artists, Broadside will discuss the lack of representation for marginalized people and specifically, women, in the arts.

The Queer Life

This podcast not only features discussions and conversations about queer voices but highlights articles and news that are important to the LGBTQ community and beyond (POC, polyamorous, poor). The Queer Life is hosted by Kaiya Kramer and is located in the San Francisco Bay Area. Topics range from trans murder, the transgender bathroom bill, and how to spot a bigot.

Smash Everything

Diving head first into topics like identity, power, gender, etc., Smash Everything, considers itself a platform that discusses topics that are being ignored in mainstream media. Diet culture, the tradition of last names, and toxic masculinity are among the episodes that the Portland based series examines.

Queer stories are important. The marginalized voice is limited across the board in media — television lacks authentic diversity and true topics are lost in the socio-political madness of current events. Podcasts, for me, have provided solace while trying to find the words to explain my emotions and my political anger. Do you have any podcasts you listen to? Let us know in the comments!

IMAGE COURTESY OF GETTYIMAGES.