Kickass Queers Rachel Stuart; Larry Womack

We're trying something different this episode!
With a little help from our friends Noah and the Comedatrix Ms. Grey, we're going down a surprise list of contemporary and controversial queer people and deciding on the fly if they are kickass, or... something else entirely!
A few of the personalities we'll be covering:
An occultist filmmaker who tried to off his leading lady on-screen;
An academic even more controversial than Michel Foucault;
A lesbian separatist with an enviable sexual history;
A trans activist with a history of next-level personal vendettas;
The 80s' most-irritating icon;
And--most controversial of all--a journalist who once wrote something problematic.
Learn More & Support the Show:
(Spoilers - Come back to these after you listen to the episode!)
Hollywood Babylon, Kenneth Anger's super trashy, mostly false Hollywood tell-all https://amzn.to/4db4Zb2
The Films of Kenneth Anger V. 1 https://amzn.to/4dcMoLx & V. 2 https://amzn.to/4d9IlQ3
Patricia Highsmith's Ripley Novels https://amzn.to/4d8mWXG
The Price of Salt https://amzn.to/447MCjb
Camille Paglia's Provocations https://amzn.to/44iOc1K & Sexual Personae https://amzn.to/3U9pxb1
Rubyfruit Jungle https://amzn.to/3xKHQvD
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe https://amzn.to/3U9VXlY
All of Us Strangers https://amzn.to/3QgGqzo
The Smiths first album https://amzn.to/3xXAeWH
Phranc https://www.phranc.la/
Lil Nas X documentary https://amzn.to/3WalPk0 & his Crocs because why not? https://amzn.to/3W5LYRb
Jodie Foster's lion story https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRVxLH5EiYs & singing in French https://youtu.be/sBmAuWMEX0I?si=tFwgFLR5utjTXxlg
Susan Sontag: Essays of the 60s and 70s https://amzn.to/3QdOqkO
If you love this episode, remember to show it by subscribing, rating, reviewing and sharing with your friends. Or, better yet, leave us a tip at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/kickassqueers
Email: larry@kickassqueers.com | rachel@kickassqueers.com
Instagram: @kickassqueerscast
Facebook: facebook.com/kickassqueers
Note: This episode does contain some audio distortion on one track. We're super sorry, but such is the cost of including awesome guests!

Before the Beatles, before Elvis (but after Sinatra,) there was Johnnie Ray. Ray overcame partial deafness to become the world's biggest pop idol and inspire generations of songwriters to come. He was also pretty queer! Larry has the whole story.
We'll also be talking briefly about two other queer trailblazers who helped shape modern music: Little Richard and Sister Rosetta Tharpe.
Kickass Queers shares the incredible life stories of amazing lesbian, gay, transgender, gender-nonconforming and otherwise queer people.
Learn More & Support the Cast
The Best of Johnnie Ray https://amzn.to/4arHvwf
Johnnie Ray Singles Collection https://amzn.to/4a5ueJp
Rocking the Closet: How Little Richard, Johnnie Ray, Liberace, and Johnny Mathis Queered Pop Music https://amzn.to/4cpDGth
Oregon Experience: Johnnie Ray documentary https://www.pbs.org/video/johnnie-ray-zatqth/
Johnnie Ray in Concert on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PdvMAPZeNo
Johnnie and Elvis joke about their perceived rivalry https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9A_Ort7_aP0
If you love this episode, remember to show it by subscribing, rating, reviewing and sharing with your friends. Or, better yet, leave us a tip at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/kickassqueers
Email: kickassqueers@gmail.com
Instagram: @kickassqueerscast
Facebook: facebook.com/kickassqueers

In the conclusion of Rachel's very first sprawling epic, we learn about the later life of pop culture's most talked-about philosopher. We'll learn how Foucault's independent thinking led him to be way ahead of the curve on some issues... and tragically wrong on others. We'll also talk about perceptions of his massive impact on contemporary culture and politics.
Oh, and, we'll also hear about Larry's brief visit to an adult entertainment convention.
Kickass Queers shares the incredible life stories of amazing lesbian, gay, transgender, gender-nonconforming and otherwise queer people.
Learn More & Support the Cast
Biography by Didier Eribon https://amzn.to/3ItnQQg
Books by Michel Foucault https://amzn.to/3wQPxjn
If you love this episode, remember to show it by subscribing, rating, reviewing and sharing with your friends. Or, better yet, leave us a tip at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/kickassqueers
Email: kickassqueers@gmail.com
Instagram: @kickassqueerscast
Facebook: facebook.com/kickassqueers

Michel Foucault was one of the most famous, influential and controversial scholars of the 20th century--and, perhaps, all time.
He did it all to impress boys.
Rachel walks us through the first four decades of his life and career, with plenty of asides about the bizarre personal predilections that influenced his work for the better... and for the worse. (Don't worry; we'll be talking about that problem in part two.)
Kickass Queers shares the incredible life stories of amazing lesbian, gay, transgender, gender-nonconforming and otherwise queer people.
Learn More & Support the Cast
Biography by Didier Eribon https://amzn.to/3ItnQQg
Books by Michel Foucault https://amzn.to/3wQPxjn
If you love this episode, remember to show it by subscribing, rating, reviewing and sharing with your friends. Or, better yet, leave us a tip at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/kickassqueers
Email: kickassqueers@gmail.com
Instagram: @kickassqueerscast
Facebook: facebook.com/kickassqueers

Did someone say flashback episode?
Rachel and Larry revisit the highs, lows and give you the Cliff's Notes versions of all the stories we've told so far! (While they diligently prepare the next batch of kickass stories.)
Kickass Queers shares the incredible life stories of amazing lesbian, gay, transgender, gender-nonconforming and otherwise queer people.
If you love this episode, remember to show it by subscribing, rating, reviewing and sharing with your friends.
Email: kickassqueers@gmail.com
Instagram: @kickassqueerscast
Facebook: facebook.com/kickassqueers
Leave a Tip: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/kickassqueers

In the conclusion of our King James VI and I Christmas special, we meet poor James soon after he has parted with his first love. We'll talk about his triumphs, his struggles, his lovers, and the man he called his wife. (Among other things.)
If only Shakespeare had outlived this guy, right?
We'll also encounter a statement so astonishing that even Rachel is shocked.
Kickass Queers shares the incredible life stories of amazing lesbian, gay, transgender, gender-nonconforming and otherwise queer people.
If you love this episode, remember to show that love by subscribing, rating, reviewing and sharing with your friends.
Learn More and Support the Cast
King James and the History of Homosexuality https://amzn.to/49DRLl1
Email: kickassqueers@gmail.com
Instagram: @kickassqueerscast
Facebook: facebook.com/kickassqueers
Leave a Tip: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/kickassqueers