Q4Q: Queer Personal Ads Podcast Haley Steinhilber

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.
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. 
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.
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In this episode, Haley & Lauren Hoffman of the Capital Jewish Museum wander through New York, San Francisco, and Minnesota following these Jewish sapphic lonely hearts. Check your baggage at the door and prepare to meet a Would-Be Cowboy, a“Highly Flawed and Special” artist, and a gal looking for a “New Age thinker with a specific physical discipline….”? 
Follow Lauren on Instagram @spicylilscorpio and @wanderthrumuseums. 
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:
Jewish Women’s Archive

GBLT History Museum and Archive

2019 Twin Cities Jewish Community Study

Focus Point (Minneapolis, Minnesota), 1994 November 17
Focus Point (Minneapolis, Minnesota), 1997 October 8

 J-Pride - TC Jewfolk

The San Francisco Bay times, December 1989

The San Francisco Bay times, September 1989

Outweek (New York City), 1990 July 11

Additional Websites to Browse:

Instagram: @dchistory @dchistcon @marenorchard

Swann Queen: A Short Film GoFundMe

Marjorie Morgan, "From slavery to voguing: the House of Swann"

Sha’ar Zahav Archives
An inside look at the history of Sha’ar Zahav, San Francisco’s LGBTQ synagogue
Alpert, Rebecca. Like Bread on the Seder Plate: Jewish Lesbians and the Transformation of Tradition. New York: Columbia University Press, 1998.
Alpert, Rebecca, Sue Levi Elwell and Shirley Idelson, Lesbian Rabbis: The First Generation. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2001.
Balka, Christie, and Andy Rose, eds. Twice Blessed: On Being Lesbian or Gay and Jewish. Boston: Beacon Press, 1989.
Beck, Evelyn Torton, ed. Nice Jewish Girls: A Lesbian Anthology. Boston: Beacon Press, 1982; Rev. and updated 1989.
Biale, Rachel. Women and Jewish Law: An Exploration of Women’s Issues in Halakhic Sources. New York: Schocken, 1984.
Brettschneider, Marla. The Family Flamboyant: Race Politics, Queer Families, Jewish Lives. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 2006.
Brettschneider, Marla. “Jewish Lesbians: New Work in the Field.” Journal of Lesbian Studies. 2019, 23(1): 2-20 and passim special issue.
Kaye/Kantrowitz, Melanie, and Irena Klepfisz, eds. Tribe of Dina: A Jewish Women’s Anthology. Boston: Beacon Press, 1986.
Moore, Tracy, ed. Lesbiot: Israeli Lesbians Talk About Sexuality, Feminism, Judaism and Their Live. New York: Cassell, 1995.
Rogow, Faith. “Why Is This Decade Different from All Other Decades? A Look at the Rise of Jewish Lesbian Feminism.” Bridges 1 (Spring 1990): 67–79.
Sarah, Elizabeth. “Judaism and Lesbianism: A Tale of Life on the Margins of the Text.” Jewish Quarterly 40 (1993): 20–23.
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You ignore your voicemail, but have you heard of voicejail? Imagine the world before the internet, before blogs and discord servers and reddit forums or Google reviews. Where did people release their pent up anxieties, how did they share their niche interests, or act out their weird bits? In this bite-sized episode, Haley looks at the fascinating microcosm that sprang up in the 1980s and ‘90s in Silicon Valley, and those that called themselves the voicejailers. Clips of the radio show, “Midnight Voicejail,” are sprinkled throughout the episode to highlight how a few voicejailers manipulated and recreated the messages left on their voicemail boxes. 
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: 
Midnight Voicejail - Episode 01 - What is Voicejail? | NCN | The National Cynical Network
The sonic geeks of KFJC's 'Midnight Voicejail' bring you 'that Sept. 11 show'
By Richard von Busack - Metroactive Music | 'Midnight Voicejail'
Midnight Voicejail FAQ
Phineas Narco’s Livejournal
National Cynical Network: NCN FAQ - What We're All About
Midnight VoicejailRecordings used, from Bandcamp : 
Episode 1 - What is Voicejail?Episode 2 - DrugsEpisode 4 - Manic DepressionFull List of Midnight Voicejail’s episodes: National Cynical Network: Midnight Voicejail Episode Guide
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Throw on some sunscreen and grab your mosquito spray, we’re going to Florida! Haley & Kayleigh read ads from Orlando, Cape Canaveral, and Pasco County. Help us choose between a gay nudist tour guide, Xena the Warrior princess, and the vegetarian aesthete. It’s probably one of the most ‘90s centered episodes yet! 
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 Center Fold (Orlando, FL) January 1992. LGBTQ History Museum of Central Florida.

Watermark, (Orlando, FL) September 20, 1995. University of Florida’s George A Smathers Library and Special Collections in Gainseville, Florida

Watermark, (Orlando, FL) October 2, 1995. University of Florida’s George A Smathers Library and Special Collections in Gainseville, Florida

LGBTQ History Museum of Central Florida Timeline
"'Queer Miami' shows often-erased LGBTQ history of South Florida" Tampa Bay Times, April 5, 2019. Accessed May 24, 2023. 
Jerry T. Watkins III, Queering the Redneck Riviera: Sexuality and the Rise of Florida Tourism, University Press of Florida, 2018. 
Jodi Mailander Farrell, "Florida’s Stonewall Reigns as Nation’s Largest LGBTQ Museum," Visit Florida, Accessed May 24, 2023. 
Nadege Green, "The Queer Stories in Florida's Black History," Harper's Bazaar, February 24, 2023. Accessed May 24, 2023.
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"All my love, Porcupine" was a poetic sign-off for one smitten woodland creature to her mousie lover. Throughout the 1970s and '80s, the personal ads to the Gay Community News in Boston began with an entry addressed to "Mousie Mousie Wildflower." And for once, Haley has found a (vaguely) satisfying conclusion to this classified ad mystery. Tune in to this bite-sized episode to get your daily dose of sweet gay love! 

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. 
Thank you to the staff at Northeastern University Libraries, Boston Public Library (for sponsoring digitization), and the Internet Archive for making this freely accessible by anyone who has an interest!

Sources:

Gay Community News (Boston, MA) 25 December 1982

Gay Community News (Boston, MA) 1 April 1983

Gay Community News (Boston, MA) 1977 March 25

Gay Community News (Boston, MA) 10 March 1979

Gay Community News (Boston, MA) 12 April 1980

Gay Community News (Boston, MA) 9 June 1980

Gay Community News (Boston, MA) 20 September 1980

Gay Community News (Boston, MA) 30 April 1983

Gay Community News (Boston, MA) 5 November 1983

"Nancy Walker" Making Gay History Interview, 1989. Accessed https://makinggayhistory.com/podcast/nancy-walker/

Eric Marcus, "Love is Love," Making Gay History, https://makinggayhistory.com/podcast/bonus-episode-love-is-love/

“Nancy Walker: March 17, 1935 - May 20, 1996 [memorial book],” Documented | Digital Collections of The History Project, accessed April 14, 2023, https://historyproject.omeka.net/items/show/459
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*Ring ring* Hello? Did you know that you could call a phone number to leave a voicemail personal ad? “Talking” personal ads became popular around the 1980s and ‘90s as a quick way to hook up or meet someone cute! This week, mystery fiction author and host of Queer We Are podcast, Brad Shreve, joins Haley to recount his own encounters via the voicemail ads. 
Check out Brad Shreve’s work at his website, Queer We Are or follow him on Instagram and/or Twitter @thebradshreve

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: 
Long before online dating, there was the era of alt-weekly personal ads | Metro Detroit News
A Small Convenience That Changed Everything: The History of Voicemail
The History of Voicemail
Voicemail - Wikipedia
Here's What Happened to the Boston Phoenix
Outweek (NYC) December 16, 1990 
Q-Notes (Charlotte, NC) October 2, 1999
This Week in Texas Magazine (Houston-Dallas, TX) - September 3, 1993
The Body Politic (Toronto, Canada), July-August 1984
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