40 episodes

Let's get personal! Since the dawn of time, humans have been desperate for connection. Then we realized we could solicit strangers through the Sunday paper. You’ve heard of Craigslist personals, just imagine the pining and thirst from lonely queers searching for love. Listen as we read, drag, and rate personal ads from the ‘70s through today! If you love gay yearning, you’ll love Q4Q!

Q4Q: Queer Personal Ads Podcast Haley Steinhilber

    • Society & Culture
    • 5.0 • 10 Ratings

Let's get personal! Since the dawn of time, humans have been desperate for connection. Then we realized we could solicit strangers through the Sunday paper. You’ve heard of Craigslist personals, just imagine the pining and thirst from lonely queers searching for love. Listen as we read, drag, and rate personal ads from the ‘70s through today! If you love gay yearning, you’ll love Q4Q!

    Itty Bitty Ads

    Itty Bitty Ads

    Welcome to a truly itty bitty episode with guest host,  Gabriel—founder, creator, and archivist for @Itty_Bitty_Queer_History. In this episode, Haley takes a page out of Gabriel’s teeny tiny books to pursue some short & sweet personal ads. These authors are very concise yet have a diverse set of needs—from bowling buddies to sugar daddies, water sports to paranormal experiences. You should probably leave them a voicemail to learn more. 
    Listen to us on Spotify, Stitcher, Apple Podcast, or wherever you listen to your tunes!


    Interested in being on the show? Contact us at Q4QPodcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter @Queerpersonals and Instagram @Queerpersonalspodcast.


    Cover art by Bekah Rich. Music by Kaz Zabala.


    Sources:
    The New Works (Indianapolis, IN) - April 1987
    BLK (Los Angeles, CA)- April 1990
    BLK (Los Angeles, CA)  - January 1994
    Washington Blade (Washington, DC)-  November 20, 1981
    Gay Community News (Boston, MA) -  February 15, 1986
    Kick! (Detroit, MI)- October 1996
    OUT FRONT (Denver, CO)- March 11, 1988
    OUT FRONT (Denver, CO)- April 18, 1980 
    The San Francisco Bay times (San Francisco, CA) Sep 1989
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    • 32 min
    Heavenly Bodies Looking for Venus: Sapphic Ads with Jack Jen Gieseking

    Heavenly Bodies Looking for Venus: Sapphic Ads with Jack Jen Gieseking

    Are you ready to source the galaxies of love? Dip your tongue into this new episode, where Haley & Dr. Jack Jen Gieseking (author of the incredible book A Queer New York) match with some sapphic ads. Whether you’re looking for a good old-fashioned co-dependent, a skateboard bean, a Genteel Daddy pretty boy butch, or a chic Joni Mitchell lookalike—come explore the full spectrum of the sapphic longing. 

    Listen to us on Spotify, Stitcher, Apple Podcast, or wherever you listen to your tunes!
    Interested in being on the show? Contact us at Q4QPodcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter @Queerpersonals and Instagram @Queerpersonalspodcast.
    Cover art by Bekah Rich. Music by Kaz Zabala.
    Sources:
    Joni Mitchel TweetJen Jack Gieseking WebsiteA Queer New York: Geographies of Lesbians, Dykes, and Queers, 1983-2008 (NYU Press, 2020) on contemporary lesbian-queer society, economies, and spaces in New York CityLBQTS Dating StudyThe Star Tarot Card MeaningJewel Box Lounge, Kansas City Primary Sources:
    Personally, (Kansas City, MO) January 1988 Vol. 4 Issue. 1 Gale Archives of Sexuality and Gender
    On Our Backs– summer and fall 1985 and 1986 (volume 1, issues 1-3, and volume 2, 1-2)- From Brown University Archives 
    Outweek (NYC) Jan 28 1990 
    Outweek Sept 19, 1990 (NYC) 
    The San Francisco Bay times., Dec 1989
    The Lesbian Tide, 1 Nov 1979
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    • 50 min
    Androgynous Ads with Asho

    Androgynous Ads with Asho

    Attention all you macaroni boys and genderful twinks! Asho joins Haley for a series of ads written by self-acclaimed androgynous lovers. Do you dream of tossing a salad with a cute “she-boy” or maintaining eye contact all the way “through”? Catch these ads before another 30 years passes!

    Follow Asho on Instagram at @Asho_Buckingham to view & purchase their incredible art!
    Listen to us on Spotify, Stitcher, Apple Podcast, or wherever you listen to your tunes!
    Interested in being on the show? Contact us at Q4QPodcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter @Queerpersonals and Instagram @Queerpersonalspodcast.
    Cover art by Bekah Rich. Music by Kaz Zabala.
    Sources: 
    Online Etymology Dictionary, accessed December 2023
    The Her app slang glossary
    LGBTQ fandom Wiki page
    McNeil, Peter (1999-11-01). ""That Doubtful Gender": Macaroni Dress and Male Sexualities". Fashion Theory. 3 (4): 412. doi:10.2752/136270499779476081. ISSN 1362-704X. 
    Fisher, Harriet (2015-01-19). "The Queen of Androgyny – Marlene Dietrich". Barnebys. Archived from the original on 2016-06-16. Retrieved 2016-05-22.
    Ads: 
    LA Weekly (Los Angeles, CA) 1995 October 10 - Accessed from @LongLostPersonals
    Focus Point (Minneapolis, Minnesota), 1994 November 17 
    Outweek (NYC) 12 Nov 1989
    Outweek (NYC) 11 July 1990
    The San Francisco Bay times., Nov 1989
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    • 52 min
    Bitesized Bit: Lesbian Phone Sex

    Bitesized Bit: Lesbian Phone Sex

    You think you're sexually frustrated? Try talking to a gal on the lesbian party lines in the '90s! In this truly tiny bite-sized episode, Haley reads from Liz Tracey's article in Outweek: "Hung Up on the Lesbo Line." 

    Listen to us on Spotify, Stitcher, Apple Podcast, or wherever you listen to your tunes!
    Interested in being on the show? Contact us at Q4QPodcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter @Queerpersonals and Instagram @Queerpersonalspodcast.
     Cover art by Bekah Rich. Music by Kaz Zabala.

    Sources:

    Liz Tracey, "Hung Up on the Lesbo Line," Outweek, January 14, 1990.

     Out on the Town: Liz and Sydney in Outweek 1990-1991.



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    • 5 min
    Cult... or Commune?

    Cult... or Commune?

    Buckle up queers and prepare for a new episode of Q4Q! In this episode, Haley is joined by Esther Bley of @QueerAnimation to share some stories of cults, queer communes, and personal ads from people searching for a little bit more than a partnership. Will you decide to worship at the shrine of Pussy, or become a husband of Christ in Boston’s gayest monastery? The possibilities are endless.  
    Follow Esther’s work on Instagram @QueerAnimation. 
    Explore the Queer Animation website.
    Buy a Queer Animation button! 
    Listen to us on Spotify, Stitcher, Apple Podcast, or wherever you listen to your tunes!
    Interested in being on the show? Contact us at Q4QPodcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter @Queerpersonals and Instagram @Queerpersonalspodcast.
    Cover art by Bekah Rich. Music by Kaz Zabala.

    Sources: 
    ROBINOU. “QUEER COMMUNAL KINSHIP.” In Queer Communal Kinship Now!, 79–148. Punctum Books, 2023. http://www.jstor.org/stable/jj.2353823.7. Accessed November 2023.
    Mack Moore, “What is the difference between a cult and a commune?” Quora comment, ca. 2019. Accessed November 2023.
    Elizabeth Yuko, Cult or Commune? How Utopian Communities Turn Dangerous, Rolling Stone, November 10, 2016. Accessed November 2023.
    Stephen Vider,  “The Ultimate Extension of Gay Community”: Communal Living and Gay Liberation in the 1970s, Gender & History. Volume 27, Issue 3. November 2015. Accessed November 2023.
     Kaliflower Commune - Wikipedia
     Radical Faeries - Wikipedia
     Faeriefilm by Eugene Salandra that you can watch on Queer Animation
    Lavender Hill: A Love StoryProducer/Writer: Austin Bunn | Cinematographer/Editor: Bob Hazen
    Gorsline, Robin Hawley. “Queering Church, Churching Queers.” CrossCurrents 49, no. 1 (1999): 111–14. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24460524.
    Charles Manson's Hollywood, Part 8: Sharon Tate and Roman Polanski — You Must Remember This


    Ads:
    Outweek (NYC), 26 December 1990
    Gay Community News (Boston, MA) 1974
    GAY (Houston, TX) 19 July 1971 
    The Atlanta Barb (Atlanta, GA) April 1976
    RFD Issue 73 Spring 1993
    Just Out (Eugene, OR) 30 March 1984
    Sentinel USA (San Fran, CA) - 11 Oct 1984
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    • 54 min
    The Body Politic with Dr. Alex Ketchum

    The Body Politic with Dr. Alex Ketchum

    Haley sits down with Dr. Alex Ketchum, a professor at McGill University’s Institute for Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies, and author of books such as Engage in Public Scholarship: A Guidebook on Feminist and Accessible Communication & Ingredients for Revolution: A History of American Feminist Restaurants, Cafes, and Coffeehouses. In this episode, we’re playing matchmaker for several Canadian hotties who posted personals in a 1984 issue of Toronto’s The Body Politic. Will the shy young woman find a gal to satisfy her fantasies? Can we crack the code to some super spy language? Is it possible to be hedonistic AND unpretentious? Come find out! 
    Follow Dr. Alex Ketchum at: 
    Twitter (X) and Instagram @aketchum22
    https://www.alexketchum.ca/
    Read her latest book, Ingredients for Revolution a History of American Feminist Restaurants, Cafes, and Coffeehouses.
    Listen to us on Spotify, Stitcher, Apple Podcast, or wherever you listen to your tunes!
    Interested in being on the show? Contact us at Q4QPodcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter @Queerpersonals and Instagram @Queerpersonalspodcast.
    Cover art by Bekah Rich. Music by Kaz Zabala.


    Further Exploration: 
    The Arquives: Canada’s LGBTQ2+ Archives
    Archives gaies du Québec - Mémoires de nos communautés
    Archives lesbiennes du Québec
    Pussy Palace Audiograms
    Esto no tienne nombre Collection, founded by tatiana de la tierra, housed at UC Santa Barbara
    Sara Youngblood Gregory, “Raging Against Cultural Amnesia: tatiana de la tierra and Latina Lesbian Herstory,” Autostraddle, June 19, 2018. Accessed September 5, 2023. 
    Gordon Richardson, “What’s in the Archives?The Body Politic” The Arquives website, April 17, 2013.  Accessed Sept 5, 2023. 
    History of The Body Politic - A Timeline, Information in the timeline has been taken from Bébout, online and Jackson & Persky, pgs. 224-24, Western University, Canada. 
    Denise Benson, “Then & Now: Voodoo,” Then and Now Toronto, September 20, 2014. Accessed Sept 5, 2023. Article originally published November 16, 2011 by The Grid online (TheGridTO.com).
    The Body Politic Wikipedia page, Accessed Sept 5, 2023. 
    Arshy Mann, “What was The Body Politic, anyway?: A brief explainer on a radical gay and lesbian magazine,” Xtra, June 9, 2016. Accessed Sept 5, 2023.

    Jack Gieseking, A Queer New York
    Find the Ads here: 
    The Body politic (Toronto, Canada), March 1984  Archives.org. 


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    • 1 hr 5 min

Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5
10 Ratings

10 Ratings

-Kenneth Wade- ,

My favorite queer podcast

Q4Q is my new favorite queer podcast! So glad I found it :)

Kai Bobbi ,

My queer enby butt is here for it <3

Just listened to the Take Me Home, Country Dykes episode and what an absolute romp! Haley is a wonderful host and really takes care of their guest. Love the curiosity/open dialogue while they both broke down each ad. Bachelor Cowboy needs to be a movie! Also I will now be referring to myself as intense but drama free. Thanks for the laughs! I will be back!

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