We take a bite out of Chappell Roan through a brief queer history of Midwest music and media influences. Host R.B. Brooks (they/them) highlights queer and trans music artists with ties to the Midwest, how the Midwest is used intentionally in film and streaming series for dramatic effect, and the impact of Midwest stereotypes on racialized and gendered assumptions about the region.
View the transcript for this episode.
Additional references and resources
In a Queer Time and Place by Jack Halberstam
Rolling Stone article about Chappel Roan’s Casual release
Teen Vogue culture story about Chappell Roan
Right On, Cuee (Take the Last Bite interview with Black trans hip hop artist Cuee Wright
About the podcast
Take the Last Bite is a podcast by the Midwest Institute for Sexuality and Gender Diversity. It's a direct counter to the Midwest Nice mentality— highlighting advocacy and activism by queer/trans communities in the Midwest region. Through each episode, we're aiming to unearth the often disregarded and unacknowledged contributions of queer and trans folks to social change through interviews, casual conversations and reflections on Midwest queer time, space, and place.