It's finally time, Deviants! This fortnight, we journeyed way, way back to visit the figure who started it all, the original Deviant Woman - the witch, the slayer, the mean mother you don't want to cross - Medea! From her mythological beginnings as Jason's right-hand-woman to her titular role at the centre of Euripides' famous drama, Medea remains one of Greek mythology's most infamous and intriguing figures. After supporting Jason through his conquests with the Argonauts (and saving his life on...
Oct 16, 2019•1 hr 20 min•Season 3Ep. 17
Known in her lifetime by many names, Malintzin would be recorded in history as the infamous La Malinche. Born into nobility and sold into slavery, from a young age Malintzin possessed a gift for language and diplomacy. In 1519, she was given to Hernán Cortés, the leader of the Spanish invading forces. When her translation skills were discovered, Cortés used her as his interpreter and, eventually, took her as his lover. Positioned as a vital go-between for the Spanish and indigenous peoples, her ...
Oct 03, 2019•1 hr 11 min•Season 3Ep. 16
In the dark and seedy cabarets of Weimar Berlin, where sex was a performance and decadence was king, one woman ruled the room. Born to artist parents at the turn of the century, Anita Berber was destined for a life on the stage. Famed for her kohl-rimmed eyes, her bright red hair, and her provocative burlesque, Berber became an underground sensation. But she was just as infamous for her scandalous bisexual affairs and hotel orgies as her avante-garde performances, and with dances named 'Cocaine'...
Sep 19, 2019•1 hr 13 min•Season 3Ep. 15
During the turbulent years of World War II the pool halls and billiard rooms of the U.S. were quiet: the men who had once populated them had gone off to fight. But after the war a new buzz brought audiences flooding back to professional billiards, and an unexpected star was on the rise. Known as the 'First Lady of Billiards', Masako Katsura hailed from Japan, where she had already established herself as a national champion. But after meeting and marrying an American serviceman, Katsura found her...
Sep 05, 2019•1 hr 1 min•Season 3Ep. 14
We are Alicia and Lauren, your Deviant Women hosts! Each fortnight, we discuss a ‘deviant’ woman from history, fiction, mythology or the contemporary world. Women who aren’t afraid to break the rules, to subvert the system, to explore, to seek and to challenge the status quo. But we also like to dig deep into the ideas that have restricted women's lives and shaped the way we tell their stories. Who gets to be a virgin? Who gets to be a whore? Why not be both?! (It's always better to be both). So...
Aug 30, 2019•46 sec
When Wendy Carlos released Switched On Bach, the first classical album recorded on a synthesizer, she radically transformed people's understandings of what electronic music could do. At the time of the album's release, Wendy was also six-months into hormone therapy and struggling with her rising fame and anxieties about how the public might react to her transition. But Switched On Bach was a huge success and Wendy went on not only to critical acclaim, but to work with famed composers and film di...
Aug 21, 2019•55 min•Season 3Ep. 13
What the hell is queer theory? Who gets to identify as queer? Does it mean anything to call yourself a “queer ally”? These are the kinds of questions writers Benjamin Riley and Simon Copland ask on Queers, a discussion and interview podcast about critical queer politics and culture. Simon Copland is a PhD Student in Sociology at the ANU. He is a freelance writer with a focus on gender, sexuality and politics. In his spare time he does powerlifting, loves rugby union and is a David Bowie fanatic....
Aug 17, 2019•28 min
*Content Warning. This episode contains discussion of mass murder and suicide* Carolyn Layton had an idyllic childhood. Daughter of a socially progressive Methodist minister father and peace activist mother, she grew up believing passionately in social justice and racial equality. After marrying Larry Layton, a conscientious objector, the two began a new life together, a life founded on their shared principles of equality, freedom and social progress. Then they found an incredible new church, th...
Aug 08, 2019•42 min•Season 3Ep. 12
After fleeing her arms-dealing husband and his castle in the Austrian countryside, Hedy Lamarr made her way to Hollywood and the open arms of MGM Studios. She was going to be a star! The only problem: she'd gained a risque reputation for herself in the Czech film Ecstacy . This temptress image is one that would follow Hedy for much of her career, despite the fact that not only was she an extraordinary talent, she was also an extraordinary mind. Because little did most of Hollywood know, Hedy spe...
Jul 25, 2019•1 hr 7 min•Season 3Ep. 11
As colonial powers muscled in on 18th century India, one woman rose from obscurity to become the leader of a powerful and formidable mercenary army. From the life of a dancing girl to life on the battlefields, the Begum Samru was feared and respected not just by her troops, but also by those who held the highest power. But she loved just as boldly as she fought, and her heart led her to desperate measures of Shakespearean proportions. Follow us into the wild and vibrant streets of the Mughal Emp...
Jul 11, 2019•1 hr 4 min•Season 3Ep. 10
Marsha P. Johnson was a legend of Christopher Street, a revolutionary trans and LGBTQ+ activist, and a leading figure of Stonewall. Famed for her extravagant floral headdresses, her bright red plastic heels, and her generous spirit, Marsha made a name for herself not just as a drag queen, but as a mother to the queer street and trans youth who needed her. Together with her best friend, fellow trans activist Sylvia Rivera, she created STAR, the Street Transvestite (now Transgender) Action Revolut...
Jun 28, 2019•1 hr 6 min•Season 3Ep. 9
In part two of our look at the history of reproduction rights in America, we trace the life of Pat Maginnis: a grassroots activist who campaigned tirelessly to change America's abortion laws. After two harrowing years spent working in an army hospital in Panama, it was Maginnis' personal struggle to find safe and legal abortion providers in the U.S. that cemented her desire to enact change. Pounding the street corners of San Francisco, Maginnis and 'The Army of Three' helped thousands of women, ...
Jun 13, 2019•1 hr 13 min•Season 3Ep. 8
In the early 20th century the highly restrictive Comstock Act made it almost impossible for American women to gain access to, or an understanding of, contraceptive methods. Arriving into the impoverished communities of New York city's East side, nurse Margaret Sanger saw women struggling with enormous families of children, the health ramifications of multiple births, and the horrors of back-alley abortions. This motivated her to act, starting a campaign of birth control advocacy that would form ...
May 30, 2019•1 hr 6 min•Season 3Ep. 7
Famous today as the overlooked illustrator of the influential Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot Deck, in her own time Pamela Colman Smith something of an enigma. Known for her lively and enchanting Jamaican folklore performances, her publishing press and literary magazine, and for her extraordinary miniature theatre, Pamela - Pixie to her friends - wove magical worlds where women had agency and gender was fluid. But she was also a woman cloaked in mystery, and who was often Othered by her contemporaries. ...
May 17, 2019•1 hr 11 min•Season 3Ep. 6
Along the rivers and waterways of Mexico, a woman's cries can be heard in the night. Punished for the crime of infanticide, La Llorona wanders in the dark for eternity, ready to snatch away unsuspecting children. But while her story makes for perfect horror film fare, there is more to her than meets the eye. With echoes of the Aztec goddess Cihuacóatl, her significance as a symbol of women's agency and power has been reclaimed in modern feminist reimaginings of La Llorona lore. So turn the light...
May 02, 2019•1 hr•Season 3Ep. 5
Infamous as the 'Mad Queen of Madagascar', Queen Ranavalona's reign is remembered as one of violence and tyranny. But she was also a queen with a noble mission: to protect the sovereignty and traditional practices of her people from the enormous and oppressive colonial forces of the French and English. Her methods, though, were inventive. Come with us to the island of Madagascar to discover a queen unafraid to poison a witch or two (or a few thousand), hang herself some Christians, and lead her ...
Apr 18, 2019•1 hr 1 min•Season 3Ep. 4
Celebrated as the iconic model and muse for the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, Elizabeth Eleanor Siddall has become one of the most recognisable faces in the history of Western art. However, famed for her beauty and romanticised for her tragic personal life, Lizzie Siddall's own art and poetry was largely brushed aside, diminished by the grandeur of the "great men" who surrounded her. Come with us as we button our bonnets and prepare for some grave-digging in order to examine the mythic story of he...
Apr 04, 2019•1 hr 12 min•Season 3Ep. 5
From conservative Melbourne to the Bohemian underworld of Paris' Rive Gauche, and a wild mountain hideaway in Positano, Vali Myers led a life like no other. Heralded as the original hippy and the muse of beatniks and hipsters, Vali Myers was an artist, dancer and environmentalist who left entire movements in her wake. After living on the streets and dancing in jazz clubs to stay alive, she went on to establish a wildlife sanctuary in Italy where she painted profound images of the sacred, nature ...
Mar 21, 2019•56 min•Season 3Ep. 2
In our first episode back for Season Three, we get piratical with the most successful pirate of them all ... a woman! From infamous beginnings, Ching Shih's path crossed with Cheng I, a notorious sea dog who terrorised China's southern coastline. Together, they formed an unstoppable coalition of pirates, with a stranglehold on the precious trade that ran through the Pearl River Delta to Canton. But when Cheng I died a new leader was needed, and Ching Shih stepped up to write her place in history...
Mar 07, 2019•59 min•Season 3Ep. 1
It's the holidays and whatever you celebrate - Christmas, Hanukkah, Yule or the Solstice - we hope you have a most excellent break and enjoy some festive cheer! In our end of year special, we talk about some of our favourites from the season and then get deep into the figure of Frau Pertcha, the Alpine Goddess whose naughty list you *don't* want to end up on! We then trace her connection to Holda, the protectress of women's crafts and children's souls. So grab some eggnog, charge your yule glass...
Dec 23, 2018•33 min
In 1993, in the freezing Siberian Steppes, archeologists unearthed a remarkable grave. In it they found the tattoed and mummifed remains of a 2500 year old female shaman. This discovery would contribute to a complete re-imagining of the lives of women in antiquity, and allow historians to see the connection between the mythical Amazons and their real-life counterparts, the Scythians. Join us as we untangle myth from reality, unlocking the Ukok Princess' secrets, and those of her warrior sisters,...
Nov 15, 2018•1 hr 9 min•Season 2Ep. 17
This week we teamed up with the wonderful Kendra and Autumn of Reading Women to get spooky and chat all things Shirley Jackson, the queen of horror! From her unhappy childhood as the unwanted daughter of aspiring socialites, to her equally unhappy marriage to the philandering Stanley Hymen, we investigate how the demons of domesticity and anxiety (and a dose of a love for the occult) primed her to become one of the greatest gothic horror writers of all time. We then dive into her masterful short...
Nov 01, 2018•1 hr 8 min•Season 2Ep. 16
To celebrate the release of I Used to be Normal: A BoyBand Fangirl Story, Deviant Women sat down with producer Rita Walsh to dish the dirt on what it means when your love for boybands is larger than life. From shame to empowerment, hysteria and the formation of sexuality and identity, we explore how fandom shapes the lives of young women, their passions, their communities, and why we should pay attention to them. I Used to Be Normal: A Boyband Fangirl Story (dir: Jessica Leski) is screening in s...
Oct 18, 2018•51 min•Season 2Ep. 15
From humble beginnings as the daughter of a blacksmith, little Emy Lyon could never have known she would end up Lady Emma Hamilton: wife of the English ambassador to Naples, lover to the glorified hero Admiral Nelson, and muse to some of the greatest artists of her age. But history has defined Emma by the men she inspired, overlooking the complex and creative woman who developed her own style of performance art, and who was instrumental in the political machinations that would see Nelson defeat ...
Oct 11, 2018•1 hr 14 min•Season 2Ep. 14
Jennet Device was just nine years old when she found herself at the centre of one of history’s most infamous witch trials. On the stand, she denounced her entire family as witches and set up a precedent for child witness testimony that would have ramifications long after she was gone. We trace the fascinating details of this notorious trial – from its canine familiars to clay figures and forbidden sabbats – and investigate just how complicit Jennet may have been in the Device family’s demise! If...
Sep 20, 2018•1 hr 9 min•Season 2Ep. 13
In the 5th century BCE the Persian Empire stretched from Asia and the Middle East, as far as Africa and Europe. But the Persian King, Xerxes, sought to expand the empire, launching his armies into Greece by land and by sea. Among the commanders of the Persian fleet was Artemisia: Queen of Caria and ruthless naval strategist. Her courage at the Battle of Artemisium set her apart, and her wily recklessness at the Battle of Salamis cemented her place in history, as well as in Xerxes' esteem. But th...
Sep 06, 2018•55 min•Season 2Ep. 12
In our second interview of season two we are lucky enough to be joined by multi-award winning author, Hannah Kent. Based on the true story of the last person to be executed in Iceland, Hannah's international bestseller, Burial Rites, follows the last days of the accused murderess, Agnes Magnusdottir, while her second novel, The Good People, examines the lives of three very different women caught up in the world of Irish folklore and superstition. We chat to Hannah about her historical research, ...
Aug 23, 2018•59 min•Season 2Ep. 11
Famed as the legendary Nun Lieutenant, Catalina de Erauso, fighter, lover and all round adventurer, was perhaps even more revered for her status as a supreme seducer than her skills with a sword. After escaping the convent where she spent her childhood, Catalina fashioned herself hose and doublet and made her way through Spain and South America under a number of male guises. Her pattern of lawbreaking, finding sanctuary in churches and evading execution eventually got her an audience with the Po...
Aug 09, 2018•1 hr 9 min•Season 2Ep. 10
Carry A. Nation was born Carrie Amelia Moore in 1846 in Kentucky. By the time the Civil War had ended, Carry had experienced first hand the devastation that alcoholism could inflict. Headstrong and determined, Carry left an abusive husband to start her life over again. When she met and married David Nation, Carry took the surname that would define her and her God-given mission to end the spread of alcohol, setting out to single-handedly reform a nation caught in the grips of liquid sin. Go get y...
Jul 26, 2018•58 min•Season 2Ep. 9
To celebrate NAIDOC week, we wanted to honour the extraordinary life of one of Australia’s foremost, but often misremembered Indigenous women, Truganini. Born on Bruny Island off the Tasmanian Coast in the early 19th century in the Palawa community, Truganini’s life was quickly transformed by the arrival of British invaders. After surviving a tragic early life, she realised she could help her people by becoming a guide and interpreter. But when she lost hope in even that, she turned to the bush ...
Jul 12, 2018•51 min•Season 2Ep. 8
