The History of Queer Folklore: Monsters, myths, gender and sexuality

Have you ever been to a Pride Parade? 

You’ll often see a glorious display of papier-mâché unicorn heads, drag queens in mermaid tails and more fairy wings than you can shake a trident at. But these aren’t just accessories –  they’re queer symbols with deep historic roots. To truly understand who queer people are today, we must confront the twisted tales of the past. 

Monsters and magic have always played a central role in LGBTQ+ history. Queer people have long been overrepresented among storytellers, magicians, spiritualists, and those who reinvent fairytales and myths. From the literary vampire to Disney’s The Little Mermaid, and from ancient Syria to the mainstage of RuPaul’s Drag Race, these stories span time and place – and they reveal more than just fantastical worlds. So, what can these queer myths and magical creatures teach us about gender, desire, and who we are today?

Doors open at 7pm, talk starts at 7.30pm - come down early to grab a good seat!

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Speaker Bio:

Sacha Coward has worked in museums and heritage for over fifteen years. For the past eight years, he has been freelancing as a historian, public speaker, tour guide and researcher. He has run LGBTQ+ focused tours for museums, cemeteries, archives and cities around the world. Sacha is passionate about queer history, mythology, folklore and storytelling in all their many forms. Queer As folklore is his first book published with Manchester University Press.

This talk is 18+ 

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