Angels of Queerdom is a telecommunication radio show shedding light on real mental health stories.

Claudia is calling you.

 

Genderless people aren't going anywhere. We're the quiet legends in the books. Sometimes winged. Assistants to the almighty. Believe it or not, there's a heaven on Earth already; Queerdom. All that is needed to run the show is a few wires strung over the graveyard.

 

Every queer has fallen for an angel at some point, so why do straight parents tell us they're not real? Maybe it’s time to prioritise cancelling Father Christmas, not angels.

 

I knew this person was an angel because they did what the flying beings do; guided me to a good place. I realise I sound "like a teenage boy" but I think some people just have that effect on you; they never leave you and they were never there. I knew they were queer. I crushed on them and froze with glazed eyes. My chin was up. They were shy but lit. And then they disappeared.

 

This person was a dacryphylliac and I am a sapiosexual for a handsome emotive nerd; don't get me wrong. But it strikes me. When they were in the room, everything went away for a second. A path of queer safety shone in front of me.

 

For the last 26 years I have mainly worried about everyone, mummied every lad & daddied every gay within a 50 mile dating radius of my rural village. Don't say it.

 

The only place to go in the village is the cemetery. There's a stream with a waterfall for faeries and a lot of old dead people worth talking to. Being there creates a space for me to contemplate life and question history. As though bodies have risen, I feel surrounded by silent listeners. By spirits. By friends.

 

The home-hitting hit show This Country brings some hard-hitting facts to this countries awareness regarding rural life. Loneliness is more prevalent in youth, than elderly, in the countryside. The thing about living out in the sticks is that there's no-one to talk to. Sometimes nowhere to turn. The pandemic has brought the world to a more level playing field when it comes to isolation, which doesn’t help any of us. Loneliness and stress are contributors to mental health issues, which isn’t surprising when our world is based on grinding empty promise.

 

Some people will say it’s not political, and I can’t tell you how bored I am of influencers trying to sell me things with rainbows on them to make the pain go away, or to at least to fill the pockets of some hugely exploitative brand. There’s a craze right now to abolish everyone in government, which means that the people we need to listen to us are getting away with murder, and the community worker who became an MP, is being ignored.

 

These current times remind me of the quest for purity within church. This disbelief and shunning towards our real struggles in society, only holds us further from truth. The truth is, there’s problems in the way things are being run, and we need to be able to talk about them with everyone, to face them. Casting people you don’t like into your own sea of disapproval, only shields you from problem-solving. The problem is, we need to learn to communicate.

 

 For the love of angels, we need to listen and hold space. Like the people we have buried do all year round. Angels of Queerdom has been a blessing for that. It’s as though phonehacker goes to the confession box, only to find that it’s empty, par a phone. On the other end? Claudia is calling you. We chat about stories that aren't noticed by the media, but are so common.

 

Embracing remote telecommunication just got queerer (and sassier). Starting 14th October at 7PM on Diversity Radio and kicking off with a call about anxiety. This honest and uncensored time warp of a show runs for 6 weeks. Expect conversations about dysphoria, self-medication, self-harm, suicide ideation and eating disorders, carefully framed with content warnings and signposting. Editor-in-chief of Sassify Zine; Jason; is amongst the guests.

 

Y'know when you’re silenced and it really hurts? Well we're here to make noise. Fallen angels to calling angels. Tune in. Even if we can all feel a little less lonely, I’d rather that, than hide from the biggest truth of all; our queer selves.