Episode 1: The Big Gay History Lesson

Thank you for listening to the first ever episode of The Lavender Witch Podcast! Below you can find links to all the resources I mentioned in the show and a full list of the sources I used in writing this episode.

Resources and Links:

• "Why Is The Colour Purple Gay?" by Jessica Kellgren-Fozard [YouTube video]

• *Lavender Witchcraft by Sam Wise [my book!]

• Bloom: a Sapphic Solstice Experience [event page]

• Rome, Georgia Pride Festival [website]

• Southern Fried Queer Pride Festival [website]

*For those who do not wish to support Amazon, you can instead preorder from Charis Books & More, an independent feminist bookstore based in Atlanta. You'll find that link here. However, to be fully transparent, my publisher uses Amazon sales numbers to determine the success of a title, which is in turn used to make decisions such as whether that title will be adapted into an audiobook. This is why I continue to share the Amazon link.

Sources:

• Betancourt, R. (2020, October 7). The overlooked queer history of medieval Christianity. Time. https://time.com/5896685/queer-monks-medieval-history/  

• Clauss, J. J., & Johnston, S. I. (Eds.). (1997). Medea: Essays on Medea in Myth, Literature, Philosophy, and Art. Princeton University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv10vm25j

• Conner, R. P. L. (2000.) Men-Women, Gatekeepers, and Fairy Mounds. Parabola, 25(1), 71-77. 

• Goodman, E. (2019, June 19). How the Lavender Menace Fought for Lesbian Liberation in the 1970s. Them. https://www.them.us/story/lavender-menace

• Halley, C. (2020). Four flowering plants that have been decidedly queered. JSTOR Daily. https://daily.jstor.org/four-flowering-plants-decidedly-queered/

• Heath, C. (2021). Elves, Witches & Gods: Spinning Old Heathen Magic in the Modern Day. Llewellyn Publications.

• Heliogabalus’ religion (1) - Livius. (n.d.). https://www.livius.org/articles/person/heliogabalus/heliogabalus-religion-1/?

• Human Rights Campaign. (2020, November 23). Two spirit and LGBTQ idenitites: Today and centuries ago - HRC. Human Rights Campaign. https://www.hrc.org/news/two-spirit-and-lgbtq-idenitites-today-and-centuries-ago 

• Johns, A. (2004). Baba Yaga: the ambiguous mother and witch of the Russian folktale (Ser. International folkloristics, vol. 3). Lang.

• Johnston, E. (2023, October 23). Four flowers that have become queer symbols. Kew. Retrieved January 29, 2025, from https://www.kew.org/read-and-watch/plants-LGBTQ-symbols

• Kahn, E. (n.d.). Lavender menace action at Second Congress to Unite Women – NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project. NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project. Retrieved January 29, 2025, from https://www.nyclgbtsites.org/site/lavender-menace-action-at-second-congress-to-unite-women/

• Liberman, A. (2015, July 30). The Oxford Etymologist goes Trick-or-Treating. OUPblog. https://blog.oup.com/2007/10/witch/ 

• Plouff, S. V. (2024). Queering the runes: Reclaiming Ancestral Wisdom in Rune Magic and Mythology. Weiser Books.

• Sabin, T. (2006). Wicca for Beginners: Fundamentals of Philosophy & Practice. Llewellyn Worldwide.

• Witch. (2023). In The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/witch

• Zhang, Yuxin. (2015, June 22). China’s misunderstood history of gay tolerance. The Diplomat. https://thediplomat.com/2015/06/chinas-misunderstood-history-of-gay-tolerance/