Fran Tirado: Content Across Differences

It was my encounter with Hello Mr in 2016, the magazine about men who date men, that inspired me to throw my hat into the LGBTQ media ring; for the first time, I saw what was possible and I was hooked. I turned to the masthead, saw Fran Tirado’s name and emailed him. We connected, we bonded and he’s since become one of my friends and queeroes. 

In this conversation, Fran and I discuss the ever-evolving landscape of LGBTQ media, the end of white twink idolatry, enjoying your own company, working in service of a greater purpose and extending and expanding the modern queer cultural canon.

We recorded this conversation in New York City during World Pride 2019. Thank you to the team at Acast NYC for all your help.

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Fran Tirado is the former executive editor of Hello Mr and the former deputy editor of Out. He’s the co-creator of Food4Thot, co-host of Queerly Beloved and has recently started his new role at Netflix where he leads the brand’s editorial and engagement strategy for LGBTQ content.

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Authors, works and poets named in this episode include:

How to Write an Autobiographical Novel, Alexander Chee https://www.alexanderchee.net/autobiographical-novel

Looking for Langston, Isaac Julien https://www.tate.org.uk/visit/tate-britain/display/spotlights/isaac-julien-looking-langston

Nature Poem, Tommy Pico https://tinhouse.com/product/nature-poem-by-tommy-pico/

Night Sky with Exit Wounds, Ocean Vuong https://www.coppercanyonpress.org/pages/browse/book.asp?bg=%7B22111C10-96F9-4D24-AD78-EF8192FDFBE4%7D

Trap Door, Reina Gossett https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/trap-door

Danez Smith http://www.danezsmithpoet.com/bio-encore

Angel Nafis https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/angel-nafis

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@_busybeingblack is the podcast exploring how we live in the fullness of our queer Black lives. If you like what you hear, please take a moment to rate, review and subscribe; doing so lets other like us hear the voices amplified here.

Thank you to our partners, UK Black Pride and BlackOut UK.

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