Welcome to the last series of Pride month! All this week, I will be sharing blog posts featuring different LGBTQ artists in a range of disciplines. Check out all the LGBTQ Creatives worthy of support here!

What is “Queerfully”?

Queerfully is a podcast about queer content (and queering content) run by a pair of girlfriends. Mickie and Blythe (she/her for both) are two (now) Canadian-based lesbians in their twenties (who also use the queer label!) Mickie originally hails from Chile, and Blythe from good ol’ California. The couple began podcasting about a year ago but ran into some bumps with rheumatoid arthritis that made consistency difficult. But as of last month, they are back and ready to deliver!

Identity and the Podcast

Although I’m not usually one for podcasts (my mind can’t focus too long without visual stimulation) I decided to give this one a go for its subject: queer media. As someone who studied film and completed a thesis project on queer representation, this was definitely a topic of interest for me. After listening to the first episode on HBO’s Gentleman Jack, I was certainly not disappointed! Mickie and Blythe deliver several thoughtful considerations of Gentleman Jack’s lesbian rep, interspersed with fandom-like gushes through a charming and humorous back-and-forth.

Plus, their knowledge on the subject shows, and not just in a general “I’m a lesbian speaking about lesbian representation” way. Blythe is currently working on a higher degree in communications, while Mickie holds a degree in gender, sexuality, and women’s studies with a focus in queer representation in entertainment media. (And both also have an anthropology degree! They’re all about that social culture.) Both women see queer media (and the queering of media) “at the base” of who they are.

Growing up in Chile, Mickie strained to find relatable characters on TV (staying up until midnight on Sundays just to get a taste of this from The L Word and Queer as Folk). As a result (and as many queer people can relate to), she relied on “queering” the media available by reading into the subtext and finding connections even where it might not have been intended.

As Blythe explained, “A lot of queer history has revolved around being in/out with explicit queer media also having this struggle,” which is partly why discussing the queering of media (alongside canon queer content) is so important. Not to mention the lack of careful consideration for queer representation in canon content, which still forces LGBTQ people to turn back to subtext for “good” representation.

Where to support

You can listen to the Queerfully podcast here and follow the Twitter account here so you never miss an episode. Currently, the episodes feature discussions on Gentleman Jack, but the two have plans to talk about queer (and subtextually queer) content in movies, books, video games, and sports. This could include a few episodes on Killing Eve, which I’ll definitely be tuning into. They’re also considering taking suggestions from listeners. (So, DM them on Twitter to tell them to talk about Killing Eve on my behalf please and thank you.) You can follow Mickie here and Blythe here.