Tales from the Tea Room

This is the second episode of a mini-series dedicated to talk with the authors of the book The Everyday Lives of Gay Men, Autoethnographies of the Ordinary. Our special guest, filmmaker Julian Triandafyllou talks about his chapter I dreamt of a stranger, through which he offers us an immersive experience of his journey of finding … Continue reading Episode 19 – I dreamt of a stranger →

This is the first of a mini-series of episodes dedicated to talk with the authors of the upcoming book The Everyday Lives of Gay Men, Autoethnographies of the Ordinary. Recorded during lockdown, this episode features author Randy Lopez, who talked with us about family loss, transformational love, body image, and cultural heritage. From Corpus Christi, … Continue reading Episode 18 – Shower thoughts of loss and queer love →

The UK commemorates LGBT History Month every February as an annual opportunity to remember the history of the LGBTQIA+ rights movements. As part of this month-long celebration, we wanted to talk about the 'Dr Anonymous' episode, in which Dr John E. Fryer contributed to pave the way for the de-pathologisation of homosexuality through a powerful … Continue reading Episode 17 – Commemorating LGBT History Month by remembering ‘Dr Anonymous’ →

For this episode of Tales from the Tea Room, our special guest, poet and theologian Pádraig Ó Tuama shared with us some reflections on the pluralities and possibilities found within religions and their close relationship with literary studies. An enlightening conversation recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic. Jason and Edgar having tea by Joel Perez-Negrin

Who gets to call themselves Queer? Where does Queerness begin, where does it end, and who gets to determine these boundaries? These are some of the questions that our special guest, Phiona Stanley, addressed in our 15th episode of Tales from the Tea Room. Drawing on personal experience and rich scholarship, she made of this … Continue reading Episode 15 – The boundaries of ‘Queer’ →

What are the subjects that need to be addressed in queer photography? What are the photographs that you're still to take? To start 2020 on an artsy note, Jason and I invited special guest Ross Jordan to answer these questions and to talk about queer photography. From the night scene in Berlin and art galleries … Continue reading Episode 14 – On queer photography →

In an aim to show our solidarity to the millions of people living with HIV worldwide, this episode from Tales from the Tea Room was dedicated to talk about sexual health. With special guests Alastair Rose and Christopher Ward from SX – an organisation that aims to improve the sex, health, and wellbeing of gay … Continue reading Episode 13 – On World AIDS Day →

After a three-month pause, Tales from the Tea Room comes back with an episode that celebrates our 1st anniversary of conversations on the everyday lives of gay men. On this occasion we talk about LGBTQ couples holding hands and the emotions, thoughts, and responses that this deceivingly simple act generates within ourselves and in others. … Continue reading Episode 12 – Holding hands as an act of bravery →

For the 11th episode of Tales from the Tea Room, we had a conversation with special guest Jamie Smith about the feelings, spaces, and relationships we associate with the concept of 'home' and how our gayness influenced our decisions of where to go in life. Jason and Edgar having tea by Joel Perez-Negrin

For the 10th episode of Tales from the Tea Room, Jason and I talked about music we have grown up with and songs that have influenced us, shaped us, and affected us. The theme of 'portals' emerged as a metaphor of how music evokes a sense of being transported to different times and spaces. Songs … Continue reading Episode 10 – Music that has affected us →

For the 9th episode of Tales from the Tea Room, Jason and I had two special guests, Lewis Clarke and Chase Ledin, Edinburgh-based researchers who led a conversation on gay men and sexual health. Talking from the perspectives of public health, queer theory, and of course, from personal experience, this episode was insightful and thought-provoking. … Continue reading Episode 9 – On sexual health →

For the 8th episode of Tales from the Tea Room, Jason and I invited Grant Anderson to talk about gender nonconformity. Grant was a fantastic guest who illuminated the discussion with theory and examples both from everyday life and empirical PhD work. Grant helped us reflect upon the number of ways we can deconstruct, challenge, … Continue reading Episode 8 – Painting our nails for gender nonconformity →

For the 7th episode of Tales from the Tea Room, Jason and I invited our friend Davide Bargna to talk with us about the gay movies that have been meaningful to us in some way. The conversation was facilitated by some good glasses of Prosecco and a mini buffet Jason provided. Time was short as … Continue reading Episode 7 – Films we’ve grown up with →

Happy new year everyone! For the first episode of Tales from the Tea Room in 2019, Jason Holmes and I invited Mark Kydd to talk with us about his work as an actor, writer, and director, and how these roles interweave with his life as a gay man. From his current work with the National … Continue reading Episode 6 – Life imitates art →