Ali reflects on being a shy kid and on his work as a photographer. Ali Choudhry is a collector of slashes. He is a gay / person of color / Asian / refugee / photographer / activist. And those are just the ones he can think of off the top of his head. Ali is a Brisbane photographer whose work explores the dichotomous aspects of identity: differences about our true selves we often balance daily with what we present to the world. Queerstories is an LGBTQI+ storytelling night programmed by Maeve Mar...
Feb 06, 2019•12 min•Ep 117•Transcript available on Metacast Eddie Ayres shares two stories from the 1960s to remind us how to be brave. Eddie Ayres learnt the viola as a child in England, studying in Berlin and London before eight years with the Hong Kong Philharmonic. He presented a long-running and extremely popular breakfast radio program on ABC Classic FM , while teaching music privately and professionally. In 2016, he accepted a teaching position at the world-renowned Afghanistan National Institute of Music but returned to Australia to begin transit...
Feb 04, 2019•16 min•Ep 116•Transcript available on Metacast James looks back on the queer flavours of childhood in 1980s suburbia, and an early taste of the definitive bonds and disruptions of adulthood. James Beach works in theatre and has directed and produced several independent productions in Sydney since he graduated from NIDA in 2007. The list of credits is long so I won't list it all – look him up and go to his stuff. His recollections of growing up to the songs of George Michael - gathered at the time of his death - are well worth a look. Q...
Jan 30, 2019•10 min•Ep 115•Transcript available on Metacast Shaun sheds a spicy light on their experiences as a queer person of colour living so far away from home. Shaun D'Souza is a Brisbane based youth worker and LGBTIQ+ artivist, and a firm enthusiast of naps, books and tea. Their current projects include tackling transgender-homelessness in Brisbane and advocating for queer people of colour visibility through art and community building. Queerstories is an LGBTQI+ storytelling night programmed by Maeve Marsden, with regular events around Australia. F...
Jan 28, 2019•12 min•Ep 114•Transcript available on Metacast Geraldine Hickey terrifies the listener with a slow burning tale about how she managed to manifest her own arachnophobia. Geraldine Hickey is revered in the industry as a comedian's comedian and has been shortlisted for the ‘Piece of Wood' award at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival multiple times. A veteran of many seasons of The Melbourne International Comedy Festival, she is also a regular on the club and pub circuit around the country. Geraldine is a co-host on Breakfasters on...
Jan 23, 2019•11 min•Ep 113•Transcript available on Metacast Tara Suamba shares a story about her constant conflict between her queer and Balinese identities. Tara Suamba studies, practices and teaches law with a human rights focus. She enjoys time with her greyhound Sonny, taking down institutions from the inside and crosswords. Queerstories is an LGBTQI+ storytelling night programmed by Maeve Marsden, with regular events around Australia. For Queerstories event dates, visit www.maevemarsden.com , and follow Queerstories on Facebook. The Queerstori...
Jan 21, 2019•11 min•Ep 112•Transcript available on Metacast Transgender singer Mama Alto recounts her experiences of traveling through the USA to attend an Aretha Franklin concert. Mama Alto is a gender transcendent diva, cabaret artiste, jazz singer and community activist. Her cabaret performances and collaborations have garnered critical praise at the Melbourne Recital Centre, Malthouse Theatre Company, Melbourne Festival, Adelaide Cabaret Festival, Darwin Festival, and so many more. Mama Alto was the 2017 Artist of the Year at the GLOBE LGBTI Awards. ...
Jan 16, 2019•14 min•Ep 111•Transcript available on Metacast Crusader reflects on his relationship to sex and his body, on the punk scene and on his long relationship with partner (and business partner) Roland. Crusader Hillis is a writer, editor, curator and producer. He co-founded (with Rowland Thomson) the queer bookshop Hares & Hyenas in 1991. In its 23-year history, Hares & Hyenas has presented over 700 literary and performance events, both here and interstate. Queerstories is an LGBTQI+ storytelling night programmed by Maeve Marsden, with re...
Jan 14, 2019•14 min•Ep 110•Transcript available on Metacast Ginger Valentine takes what they were given at birth, and makes it better. Ginger Valentine is a writer, a podcaster and a pop-culture commentator, pastimes that feel as natural to them as breathing. And, like breathing, they'll keep doing it even when no one's listening. You can buck the trend, and listen to their podcast, Common Sense with Burt Franklap . Queerstories is an LGBTQI+ storytelling night programmed by Maeve Marsden, with regular events around Australia. For Queerstories event date...
Jan 09, 2019•9 min•Ep 108•Transcript available on Metacast Pola remembers her childhood in Tonga, and shares her often heartbreaking journey becoming the woman she is now. Epipola Taulafo is an an entertainer, singer, dancer, and a member of the LGBTIQ group in the Asylum Seeker Centre . She is currently studying business management, and is a former Miss Galaxy Queen 2008-09. Queerstories is an LGBTQI+ storytelling night programmed by Maeve Marsden, with regular events around Australia. For Queerstories event dates, visit www.maevemarsden.com , and foll...
Jan 07, 2019•15 min•Ep 107•Transcript available on Metacast Faced with the chance to change herself, Liz Duck-Chong had to ask herself if the act of changing would involve a bigger shift than expected. Liz Duck-Chong is a writer, sexual health advocate, filmmaker and transgender bon vivant who is a true renaissance figure in the sense that most of them were really gay. She can be found on Twitter at @lizduckchong , in your ears on the podcast Let's Do It , or lying in the sun eating dolmades and thinking about sex. Queerstories is an LGBTQI+ storytelling...
Dec 31, 2018•8 min•Ep 106•Transcript available on Metacast Chantell Martin reflects on her experiences of transition and some of the major emotional turning points in her life. Originally from New Zealand, Chantell Martin has worked predominantly in the community sector. She worked for ACON as their housing officer, then went onto work for the Gender Centre as a case worker and housing officer within their residential project. Chantell is an active trans sex worker who works as the Transgender Outreach Officer at SWOP . And she is one of the founding me...
Dec 26, 2018•9 min•Ep 105•Transcript available on Metacast Wil shares stories about family and relationships, about how lives intersect messily but, in the end love helps us heal. Wil Roach is a writer of poetry, short stories and essays, and he has completed a memoir manuscript currently being edited for publication later this year. As a performance poet and creative producer, he has had work performed at the Sydney Writers Festival, Sydney Fringe Festival, Adelaide Fringe Festival and Unspoken Word Festival, among others. Queerstories is an LGBTQI+ st...
Dec 23, 2018•10 min•Ep 104•Transcript available on Metacast Groovii Biscuit recalls a series of queer life lessons learnt while living at the Twenty10 LGBTQI youth refuge in the late 80s. In the 90s, Groovii Biscuit contributed to many a queer gathering, Club Bent and the Alternative Mardi Gras parties to name a few. Groovii was one of the original trio that birthed Club Kooky and is committed to sprinkling the Kooky ethos wherever life takes her, trailing behind her like a fine mist. For fun nowadays she likes to move furniture out of the way as blindfo...
Dec 19, 2018•13 min•Ep 103•Transcript available on Metacast Originally performed at Nailed It (another excellent Giant Dwarf event), Rebecca Shaw's thesis that the sky is gay is watertight, and bloody hilarious. Rebecca Shaw AKA brocklesnitch , is a writer and creator of the parody Twitter account @notofeminism , which was developed into an illustrated book with Affirm Press . She was on the writing team at Tonightly, and has written for Junkee, The Guardian, Daily Life, Kill Your Darlings and heaps of other outlets. Queerstories is an LGBTQI+ storytelli...
Dec 17, 2018•10 min•Ep 102•Transcript available on Metacast Mitch Hibbens speaks frankly and openly about his relationship to alcohol. Mitch Hibbens is a failed athlete, emerging academic, Aboriginal activist and part-time Drag Queen. He has been a performer all his life but has only recently stepped onto the stage. A Wiradjuri man and country boy to his core, Mitch currently volunteers his time as an Indigenous Rights Campaigner for Democracy in Colour . He is a Board Member at the local Aboriginal Health Service and is employed in the tertiary educatio...
Dec 12, 2018•13 min•Ep 101•Transcript available on Metacast Rachel Richardson talks about growing up trans in a cisgender world and the devious play strategies she used as a kid to help her cisgender playmates see her. Rachel is a writer, academic, and advocate for transgender health services – especially those cutting edge medical technologies available nowadays for children and others who know their bodies don't reflect the truth of their gender. Dr Rachel Richardson is currently Sub-Dean, Learning and Teaching, with the Faculty of Arts & Edu...
Dec 10, 2018•14 min•Ep 100•Transcript available on Metacast Steven shares his memories of his mother, and reflects on how she impacted his life as a gay, black man. Steven Oliver is a descendant of the Kuku-Yalanji, Waanyi, Gangalidda, Woppaburra, Bundjalung and Biripi peoples. He has worked with numerous theatre companies and arts organisations across Australia but became notorious with ABC's hit sketch show Black Comedy . He flies about the country working as an actor, writer, MC, keynote speaker, poet, wannabe cabaret performer or as he simply likes t...
Dec 05, 2018•11 min•Ep 99•Transcript available on Metacast Faustina Agolley reflects on her anxiety issues and on the strategies she used to kick it to the curb! Faustina Agolley is a TV Host, Actor, DJ, Producer and writer. She's hosted Video Hits , The Voice and the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras . Last year she made her stage debut with a Sydney Theatre Company and Melbourne Theatre Company's co-production and she's toured Australia and New Zealand as Oprah's resident DJ. Queerstories is an LGBTQI+ storytelling night programmed by Maeve Marsden, w...
Dec 03, 2018•11 min•Ep 98•Transcript available on Metacast Liz Jackson reflects on her nickname, on relationships and on moments of connection. Liz Jackson looks at disability through the lens of fashion and design. She is the founder and president of The Disabled List , a disability design self-advocacy organisation, and WITH, a fellowship that helps match creative disabled people with design studios and other organizations. Queerstories is an LGBTQIA+ storytelling night programmed by Maeve Marsden, with regular events in Sydney, Melbourne and Bri...
Nov 29, 2018•9 min•Ep 97•Transcript available on Metacast Simon Hunt reflects on his time in West Berlin, and a night spent hunting for a gay bar. Simon Hunt is a composer, performer, activist and writer who lectures in Media at the UNSW Faculty of Art & Design. He has won awards internationally as a filmmaker and composer, but is best known for his character ‘Pauline Pantsdown' - a drag simulacrum of politician Pauline Hanson - who enjoyed a top ten hit in the 1990s made from Hanson voice samples, and has more recently operated online as a v...
Nov 27, 2018•14 min•Ep 96•Transcript available on Metacast From dagger dykes to dapper daddies - butch history from the perspective of a masculine of centre millennial. Kait Fenwick is a queer poet living in Newcastle. In 2017, they completed their Honours thesis titled ‘Digital Queeries', a series of poems that explored the relationship between millennial queers and the internet. Their work has been published in the Contemporary Australian Feminist Poetry anthology, Butch Is Not a Dirty Word magazine, Archer and Cordite Poetry Review. Queerstorie...
Nov 21, 2018•9 min•Ep 95•Transcript available on Metacast William Yang shares his experiences being gay and Australian Born Chinese. William Yang moved to Sydney from North Queensland in 1969 and worked as a freelance photographer documenting Sydney's social life which included the glamorous, celebrity set and the hedonistic, sub-cultural, gay community. In 1989 he integrated his skills as a writer and a visual artist and began to perform monologues with slide projection in theatres. He has done eleven full-length works and toured the world. “Sad...
Nov 19, 2018•15 min•Ep 94•Transcript available on Metacast Kaya Wilson reflects on his photoshoot in an abandoned gay sauna with Patrick Boland. This story was shared at Queerstories x Archer Magazine launch in Sydney. You can see the images Kaya refers to in his story by ordering a copy of Archer Magazine's 10th issue . Kaya Wilson is a writer and scientist based in Sydney. He writes lyrical non-fiction essays with a focus on queer identity and his work has been published widely. Queerstories is an LGBTQI+ storytelling night programmed by Maeve Marsden...
Nov 14, 2018•8 min•Ep 93•Transcript available on Metacast Roused rebel Razia Zakaria experiences seemingly different cultures only to find they have more in common than first expected. This story was shared at Queerstories x Archer Magazine , launching the magazine's 10th issue in Sydney. Razia Zakarya is a PhD candidate in Science at UTS. Her secret superpowers are mondegreens and malapropisms. Queerstories is an LGBTQI+ storytelling night programmed by Maeve Marsden, with regular events around Australia. For Queerstories event dates, visit www.maevem...
Nov 12, 2018•10 min•Ep 92•Transcript available on Metacast Sara reflects on her time spent in Orlando, Florida in 1998, on a man she met there, and on memory itself. Sara Knox was born in Wellington, New Zealand, in the year that country got television. She was raised in a family addicted to BBC dramas and books, where humour counted as the seventh sense. Her first novel, The Orphan Gunner , was short-listed for the regional Commonwealth Writer's Prize and won the Asher prize for the best novel by a woman about war. Sara has been a poet, and an essayist...
Nov 08, 2018•12 min•Ep 91•Transcript available on Metacast Bali shares a story about an intimate and life-changing experience: his first haircut. Bali is the ultimate slashie - Actor, Producer, Director, Development Executive and Diversity Advisor for Australia's theatre and screen industry. He is the Chair of MEAA's Equity Diversity Committee and represents Australia's professional actor community as an elected representative on MEAA's National Performers Committee. He's performed in theatres around the world, as well as on TV, he's even been on Home &...
Nov 05, 2018•12 min•Ep 90•Transcript available on Metacast Facial hair, family advice, and how not to use a razor. Jen Peden is a committee member for queer soccer club, the Flying Bats FC , falling over on the field for them during games on Sundays and pfaffing around on their social media through the week. And she recently received an Inner West Council Volunteer Recognition Award. Queerstories is an LGBTQI+ storytelling night programmed by Maeve Marsden, with regular events around Australia. For Queerstories event dates, visit www.maevemarsden.com , ...
Oct 31, 2018•11 min•Ep 89•Transcript available on Metacast Not exactly a story about queer activism... Elizabeth Humphrys is an academic at UTS. She researches work, trade unions and social movements. She grew up in a working class family in Werribee, Melbourne, and has been temporarily living in Sydney for the past twenty years. She is an AFL obsessive and Stupendous Bisexual. Queerstories is an LGBTQI+ storytelling night programmed by Maeve Marsden, with regular events around Australia. For Queerstories event dates, visit www.maevemarsden.com , and fo...
Oct 24, 2018•12 min•Ep 87•Transcript available on Metacast Gary takes us back to the early naughts when, as a teenager, he learns about the paradoxes of desire, identity politics and meeting people online. Gary Paramanathan works at the intersection of arts, culture and community. Born in Sri Lanka and raised in Australia, Gary has written and directed a number of short films, including for ABC iView. He has written feature essays and recounted personal narratives. This is his first attempt at telling a story to a live audience. Queerstories is an ...
Oct 17, 2018•15 min•Ep 85•Transcript available on Metacast 
