This 1st-century BCE grave relief shows two women, Fonteia Eleusis and Fonteia Helena, clasping their right hands - a Roman symbol of marriage. It was one of the few real-world examples of female-female relationships I was able to find researching our podcast on women in ancient Rome. #queerhistory

Settling in for a nice evening of finding out why quiche is gay... #queerhistory

By now we all know about 19th-century lesbian Anne Lister's coded diaries but what about of Hildegard of Bingen? A 12th century nun, Hildegard (also likely queer), invented Litterae Ignotae, her very own alphabet designed for writing in her own constructed language, Lingua Ignota.

Happy birthday Sherlock Holmes! Although not mentioned by Conan Doyle, 6 Jan is traditionally celebrated as Holmes' birthday. At Holmes' birthday party in 1941 that Rex Stout made a speech titled 'Watson Was a Woman', arguing that the only way to understand Holmes and Watson was as husband and wife.

Black lesbian writer and activist Audre Lorde (right) and her partner and fellow activist Gloria Joseph. Audre and Gloria lived together in Gloria’s home of St Croix in the Carribean until Audre’s death in 1992. The last thing Audre wrote was a note reading “Gloria, I love you.” #queerhistory

Happy birthday to jazz-age heiress Henrietta Bingham, born #onthisday in 1901! Henrietta's lovers included the artist Carrington, who painted this nude portrait of her. Check out our podcast to hear more about her! queerasfact.podbean.com/e/henrietta-... #bisexualhistory

Today we're discussing the 1988 Korean intersex lesbian film Sa Bangji! Join us as we learn about the historical events behind the film, discover how government policy inadvertently led to the creation of a queer movie, and admire some historical hats. queerasfact.podbean.com/e/sa-bangji-...

We have a new episode! Today we're talking about the ancient Italian ice-mummy known as Ötzi the Iceman. Join us to learn about the world's oldest pants, the ethics of archaeology, and and whether there really was sperm in Ötzi's anus. queerasfact.podbean.com/e/otzi-the-i...

NEW EPISODE! This time we're discussing Maryam Touzani's 2022 drama film, The Blue Caftan. Join us for a discussion of queerness in Morocco, the "ostentatious nudity" of the bathhouse, and resolving the tension between differing modes of love with grace and deep affection.

We had a lovely time last week visiting the Vic Pride Centre - picked up a bunch of queer books (possible future podcast episodes?) and also saw an exhibition by the artist Andrew Goodman, exploring worlds with different modes of gender, sexuality and reproduction, and inspired by Ursula K Le Guin!

#OnThisDay in 1978, Harvey Milk, one of the USA’s first openly gay politicians, was assassinated by one of his fellow San Francisco Supervisors, who opposed his policies fighting for gay rights.

Today is #IntersexDayofRemembrance - and this is the Italian-British intersex sculptor, Fiore de Henriquez... (1/6)

We're taking a break from podcasting over November so we want to hear from you! What queer books are you enjoying at the moment? Bonus points for queer history!

As we wrap up #AceWeek, I cannot recommend enough that you check out the work of historian @luciellaes.bsky.social. Luciella’s digital exhibition 'Nonlimerent // Monosexual' is an aro-ace history aro-ace from ancient Mesopotamian to the modern day! luciellaes.itch.io/nonlimerent-...

It's been a while, but we are getting on top of replying to the letters we've received in the mail. Thank you all for your wonderful words, artwork and souvenirs! If you want to write to us, you can reach us at PO Box 2240 Brighton Nth, VIC 3186, Australia. We'll do our best to reply!

"It is yin and yang. Light is the left hand of darkness ... Light, dark. Fear, courage. Cold, warmth. Female, male. It is yourself, Therem. Both and one. A shadow on snow." Genly Ai, 'The Left Hand of Darkness' by Ursula K. Le Guin

New Episode! Today we discuss Ursula K. Le Guin's incredible 1969 science fiction novel, The Left Hand of Darkness. Join us to hear about ambisexual beings who defy gender norms, the sexist man who comes to love them and a sexually charged journey across a glacier. www.podbean.com/ew/pb-7h6pk-...

We hope you're excited for tomorrow's episode on Ursula K. Le Guin's science fiction novel The Left Hand of Darkness - I mean we hope you're excited for every episode we put out but this one is over TWO HOURS (2nd in length only to Robespierre!) so brace yourself. Some relevant emojis: 👽🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈❄️😭

Happy #InternationalLesbianDay to all the lesbians out there! Hope you're having a wonderful day. Here's a thread of a few historic lesbian stories (not necessarily stories about lesbians, but definitely stories that have a place in the history of wlw) to brighten your day. #lesbianhistory

Absolutely incredible find at the op shop today! I can't believe we just happened to come across these while Jasmine is working on a Star Trek episode - if only research were always this easy. #startrek #fandomhistory

The weather in Melbourne is very bad today so I have settled in for a cosy afternoon of preparing for our next podcast episode. #TheLeftHandOfDarkness #UrsulaKLeGuin

New episode! Today's episode is on the a Daoist god of homosexuality, Tu'er Shen. We talk about homosexuality in 18th century China, secret gay statues, and a present-day queer religious space! queerasfact.podbean.com/e/tuer-shen/

New episode! Today's episode is on the a Daoist god of homosexuality, Tu'er Shen. We talk about homosexuality in 18th century China, secret gay statues, and a present-day queer religious space! queerasfact.podbean.com/e/tuer-shen/

It's not queer history, but... we had a great time today at the Pride Centre watching the AFL grand final with friends (yes we admit it we are sports gays) - and I also picked up a copy of @darcygreenwrites.bsky.social 'After the Siren'! Super excited to read this queer footy romance.

"It was worth a wound–it was worth many wounds–to know the depth of loyalty and love which lay behind that cold mask." -Dr John Watson in 'The Three Garridebs' We’ve been musing about how 19th-century readers would have interpreted the relationship between Holmes and Watson. What do you reckon?

Happy #bisexualawarenessweek! In 8th century Iraq, Abu Nuwas wrote love poetry to both men and women. This wasn’t unusual - the idea that someone could be attracted to multiple genders was widely acknowledged at the time! #bihistory #biweek

Happy #bisexualawarenessweek! Did you know that the 14th century Middle English poem ‘Sir Gawain and the Green Knight’ features Sir Gawain exchanging kisses with both Lord Bertilak de Hautdesert and his wife? Check out our podcast if you'd like to know more: queerasfact.podbean.com/e/sir-gawain...

What a happy coincidence that it's the start of #bisexualawarenessweek and #FiestasPatrias today - the perfect day to celebrate the bi Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo! queerasfact.podbean.com/e/frida-kahl...

New episode out! Today's episode is on Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's iconic consulting detective! Join us as we talk about aromanticism, turn-of-the-century masculinity,and whether Watson is, in fact, a woman. queerasfact.podbean.com/e/sherlock-h... #sherlockholmes #queerhistory

This week we journeyed into the 1962 'Circle of Sex', published by sexologist Gavin Arthur. Gavin used 12 archetypes to explain the range of human sexuality. Here's the full list if you're curious about 1960s sexology - the text is from Michael R Meyer's The Astrology of Relationship (1976).

I'm struggling with the internal conflict between wanting to enjoy the spring weather, and wanting to actually be able to see my screen when I'm editing... (Sherlock Holmes episode coming to you soon!)

We had a great time last night chatting about Sherlock Holmes, aromanticism, masculinity, and whether Watson is, in fact, a woman. Very excited to bring this to you this episode on the 15th!

We're back! Today we're discussing the 1960s Circle of Sex and its eccentric creator Gavin Arthur. Join us to hear about sex à la Walt Whitman, whether you're a Sappho or a Club Woman, and if there is a faint possibility that the Circle is a tiny bit flawed. queerasfact.podbean.com/e/gavin-arth...

We're back! Today we're discussing the 1960s Circle of Sex and its eccentric creator Gavin Arthur. Join us to hear about sex à la Walt Whitman, whether you're a Sappho or a Club Woman, and if there is a faint possibility that the Circle is a tiny bit flawed. queerasfact.podbean.com/e/gavin-arth...

“…a person without sensuality … the author has the courage to admit to this category.” Teacher, diabetes clinician and sexuality researcher Emma Trosse wrote these words in 1897, becoming one of our earliest examples of someone self-identifying as what we would today call #asexual! #asexualhistory

This clip from the 1979 doco Beats of the Heart: Konkombe features Area Scatter, a transfeminine performer who was hugely popular in 1970s Nigeria. She performed around eastern Nigeria, and even appeared on TV. #transhistory www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIRY...

In 1617, Ethiopian noblewoman Walatta Petros left her husband to become nun. This 19th-century illustration shows her having her head shaved - the first step in entering monastic life. Walatta Petros would found 7 religious communities, working alongside her life partner, fellow nun Eheta Kristos.

We’re taking our regular break over August, but don’t forget there’s a backlog of 177 Queer as Fact podcast episodes to keep you entertained! Here’s just a few we recommend you check out while we prepare the next batch coming in September... #queerhistory #lgbthistory

I LOVE this podcast, the scholarship is super solid and the chemistry between the hosts is wonderful. Give it a listen.

Getting ready for the fortnightly Queer as Fact working bee 🧀🏳️‍🌈 (I swear we have more bread, we just got overexcited and ate the slices we'd put out)

Just got back from a trip to Canada, saw plenty of rainbows for pride, and picked up 'Reclaiming Two-Spirits' by Gregory D Smithers. Very excited to dive into this book and learn more about Two-Spirit history to bring to the podcast!

This is my favorite podcast, all the hosts are a font of interesting stories and information about queer history. A recent favorite episode taught me so much about the Haitian Revolution and the possibly-genderfluid "prophetess" who led an uprising.

This podcast got me hooked on my first listening (The Maidens of Pompeii), and I've devoured every one of their episodes since then. They are an example of thorough, academic, transparent, nuanced queer history. I love it!

I have enjoyed and learned something from every episode Listen to Queer as Fact to be as cool as me

We're so close to 2 million downloads! If you've ever considered recommending Queer as Fact to a friend, downloading an old episode that you thought you might be interested in or even want to re-listen to an old favourite - NOW IS THE TIME. #queer #lgbt #lgbtqia+ #lgbtq #gay #lesbian #trans

HE'S HERE After a monster recording, editing for days and technical difficulties in the upload, Queer as Fact is proud to present our episode on French revolutionary figure Maximilien Robespierre, whose apparent lack of sexuality has been a point of discussion for scholars ever since his death.

HE'S HERE After a monster recording, editing for days and technical difficulties in the upload, Queer as Fact is proud to present our episode on French revolutionary figure Maximilien Robespierre, whose apparent lack of sexuality has been a point of discussion for scholars ever since his death.

Simply love to have technical issues with an episode upload... 😭 For the 107 people who downloaded our Robespierre episode in the last few minutes - sorry it's missing the last 30 minutes! We'll have a full version of the episode up later today once we figure out what the problem was.

New episode of Queer as Fact coming Tuesday! Brace yourself friends, this is our longest episode EVER, coming in well over TWO HOURS (yes this was editing hell). If you didn't listen to the end of our previous episode on Romaine-la-Prophétesse, here's a hint as to the topic...

The Old Guard 2 came out??? I haven't heard amazing things, but I'm still excited for more queer genre fiction - and if you'd like to hear why, we did an entire episode on the first movie and its refreshingly upfront gay representation. Link below! #theoldguard2 #movies #charlizetheron #queer