EPISODE · Oct 30, 2020 · 30 MIN
Halloween is a Queer Thing - from Celtic peasants to LGBT communities in the US
from Blessed Are the Binary Breakers · host Avery Arden
Avery draws from multiple sources to discuss Halloween as a holiday that has elevated gender diversity since its origins deep in the ancient Celt observance of Samhain. As a holiday that has undergone various transitions, traveling across time and space and religious experiences while maintaining its binary-breaking core, Halloween is the perfect time for those of us who don't fit into gender norms to live into our holy truths. Indeed, its rise in popularity in the United States may well have relied on LGBT communities! Click here for an episode transcript that includes resources & citations. Talking Points: - (2:50 - 5:19) Leslie Feinberg - "...The old butches told me there was one night of the year that the cops never arrested us – Halloween." - (5:20 - 8:10) Judy Grahn - "The qualities of impersonation and the dangerous business of crossing over from one world to another help explain why Halloween is the most significant Gay holiday." - (8:11 - 16:10) Samhain's survival in spite of Church suppression; history of matrilineal peasants vs. patriarchal landlords and priests - (16:11 - 19:35) Feinberg - "Transgender [expression] has been outlawed by the ruling classes of both our systems -- feudal nobility and modern industrialists alike." - (19:36 - 23:40) Halloween comes to the USA; "cross dressing" policed until ~1914 when the police give up and no longer arrest "cross dressers" on Halloween night - (23:41 - 25:54) David Frum - "the Halloween craze started in gay culture," 1970s San Francisco - (25:55 - end) Grahn - "On Halloween 1980, my lover and long-time partner Wendy Caden and I...go to San Francisco and look at the Fairies and Queens..."
What this episode covers
Avery draws from multiple sources to discuss Halloween as a holiday that has elevated gender diversity since its origins deep in the ancient Celt observance of Samhain. As a holiday that has undergone various transitions, traveling across time and space and religious experiences while maintaining its binary-breaking core, Halloween is the perfect time for those of us who don't fit into gender norms to live into our holy truths. Indeed, its rise in popularity in the United States may well have relied on LGBT communities! Click here for an episode transcript that includes resources & citations. Talking Points: - (2:50 - 5:19) Leslie Feinberg - "...The old butches told me there was one night of the year that the cops never arrested us – Halloween." - (5:20 - 8:10) Judy Grahn - "The qualities of impersonation and the dangerous business of crossing over from one world to another help explain why Halloween is the most significant Gay holiday." - (8:11 - 16:10) Samhain's survival in spite of Church suppression; history of matrilineal peasants vs. patriarchal landlords and priests - (16:11 - 19:35) Feinberg - "Transgender [expression] has been outlawed by the ruling classes of both our systems -- feudal nobility and modern industrialists alike." - (19:36 - 23:40) Halloween comes to the USA; "cross dressing" policed until ~1914 when the police give up and no longer arrest "cross dressers" on Halloween night - (23:41 - 25:54) David Frum - "the Halloween craze started in gay culture," 1970s San Francisco - (25:55 - end) Grahn - "On Halloween 1980, my lover and long-time partner Wendy Caden and I...go to San Francisco and look at the Fairies and Queens..."
NOW PLAYING
Halloween is a Queer Thing - from Celtic peasants to LGBT communities in the US
No transcript for this episode yet
Similar Episodes
Mar 26, 2026 ·1m
Mar 19, 2026 ·34m
Feb 18, 2026 ·11m
Feb 11, 2026 ·45m