It's time for our only-slightly-delayed Queer in Review! As we did last year, we run down some of the queer media we enjoyed and discovered in 2025.

Music by Goshdarn Rabbit: https://goshdarnrabbit.bandcamp.com/

Donate to Melody's bottom surgery fundraiser: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-robin-get-gender-reassignment-surgery

Theatre:

• "4000 Days" by Peter Quilter, directed by Charly Sommers
• "No Apologies" by Emma Frankland

Films:

• The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
• Claire of the Moon (1992)
• The People's Joker (2022)

Books:

• "This Is How You Lose The Time War" by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
• "It's Not Unusual by A History of Lesbian and Gay Britain in the Twentieth Centure" by Alkarim Jivani
• "The Sisters of Dorley" series by Alyson Greaves
• "Good Trans News" by Jen Ives
• "Mercedes/Jennifer" by Nicole Lewitt

Games:

• "Highway Blossoms" by Studio Élan
• "A Nightmare's Trip" by Cafe Empty
• "Dungeons and Lesbians" by Noeybodys
• "Old Skies" by Wadjet Eye
• "Proximate" by Cain Maddox

Manga:

• "Love Thy Neighbour" by Willow
• "Show Me Your Bust" by Team Gaji
• "Herb Shop Unnie" by Pobae
• "With a Letter of Resignation in my Pocket" by Yuni
• "Asumi-chan is Interested in Lesbian Brothels" by Itsuki Kuro

Music:

• Blondshell - If You Ask For A Picture
• Jeangu Macrooy - Young, Awkward, and Lonely
• Lambrini Girls - Who Let The Dogs Out
• Die Spitz - Something to Consume
• Babe Haven - Nuisance
• Morbid Cunt - Life is Pain
• Ezra Furman - Goodbye Small Head
• CMAT - Euro-country
• Underscores - Wallsocket
• Aleksiah - Punch Drunk Love
• Garbage - Self Titled

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We're back! Kinda! To celebrate that we're once again able to record, we had a quick talk about some episodes we decided not to make, and why.

CW: Discussions of transphobia, homophobia, ableism, racism

Music by Goshdarn Rabbit: https://goshdarnrabbit.bandcamp.com/

Donate to Melody's bottom surgery fundraiser: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-robin-get-gender-reassignment-surgery

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The heavens over Berlin is beautiful, but they could definitely stand to contain more gays. This time, we discuss Wim Wenders' classic Wings of Desire (as well as its sequel and American remake), why its themes still resonate today, and why it's kinda weird that it's so very straight. It's set in Berlin, for crying out loud!

CW: Discussions of suicide, depression, child death, fascism, substance abuse, homophobia

Music by Goshdarn Rabbit: https://goshdarnrabbit.bandcamp.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we discuss the ableist dystopia of Gattaca, where perfection is everything and the scope of what counts as acceptable human variation is narrowing. What place does such a world have for queerness?

CW: Discussions of ableism, suicide, homophobia, transphobia, misogyny

Music by Goshdarn Rabbit: https://goshdarnrabbit.bandcamp.com/

References:

• Masculinity, Masquerade, and Genetic Impersonation: Gattaca's Queer Visions by Jacqueline Stacey
• The Disablist Nature of Desiring Perfection in Gattaca by Dom Evans
• The Adversity in “Gattaca”: Vincent Freeman’s Struggle and Triumph Over Genetic Determinism by John Jimenez

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Your Name is a film about the first ever cis T4T relationship, and we are joined once again by Raptor to talk about it. It's an incredible film that touches on gender, grief, human connections, and the value of fighting for your happiness. We also talk about body swap stories in general and the value of kissing your bros. Oh, and we also have a new theme song!

CW: Discussions of death, natural disasters, gender dysphoria

Music by Goshdarn Rabbit: https://goshdarnrabbit.bandcamp.com/

References:

• 5 Centimeters Per Your Name by Raptor
• Trans Allegories in Film: 'Your Name' (2016) by Atreyo Palit
• Your Name | Kimi no Na wa: Interpreting Progress in Gender and Rule-breaking by ATMA & Funomena
• Your Name And The Message Of Hope It Gives Transgender People by Jade King
• I’ll Remember Your Name—Will You? by Tsunderin

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What couple possibly be more gay than to plan and execute a multi-million dollar heist with your homies? And yet, neither of the crews from the all-male or all-female spend literally any time kissing each other. Let's fix that in this episode, where we break down what works and what doesn't about Ocean's Eleven and it's female-centric spin-off, and what kind of queer spin we can give these charming criminals.

CW: Discussions of misogyny, prison violence, rape, sexual harassment, homophobia, transphobia

References:

• Ocean's 11 but it's gay! by Gabriel Shane Dunn
• ‘Ocean’s 8’ is Extremely Gay—So Why Isn’t It Gay? by Jill Gutowitz
• Oceans 8 Is a Lesbian Movie by E. Alex Jung

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Queer Up is a year old and we celebrate by revisiting our underwater roots. After celebrating you, our amazing listeners, we look at the largely forgotten mermaid movie Aquamarine. It's what happens when you attempt to cram a season of a mediocre sitcom into 100 minutes of film, and a good testament to why the gays are better at mermaid stories.

CW: Discussions of suicidal ideation, parental trauma, abandonment

References:

• Aquamarine is Less Straight Than You Thought (and I can prove it) by Drawpinion Dump

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This episode is a true Venominomenon! Along with our guest Pim, from the excellent Youtube channel Pim's Crypt, we dig into the entire Venom trilogy of films. Besides fangirling out about these genuinely delightful films, we explore their (often very explicit) queer themes, and discuss how the third film drops the ball on what makes the series so enjoyably gay. No need to worry, though; we know how it should be queered up.

You should follow Pim on Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/@pimscrypt) and Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/c/pimscrypt/)

CW: Discussions of body horror, domestic violence, family abandonment

References:

• Venom Is Queer: A Film Analysis by Pim's Crypt
• Venom: The Last Dance review on Letterboxd by Pim's Crypt
• Venom Is A Queer Icon Now And I’m Here For It | Venom: Let There Be Carnage Review by Drew Friday
• Venom star Tom Hardy weighs in on the symbiote’s status as an LGBT+ icon by Maggie Baska
• How the queer community found solace in Venom by Diana Velasquez
• the big gay history of venom by land-of-brains-and-chocolate
• Tom Hardy’s Kat Rescue by Tom Hardy

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