Tender Subject

This week, Kayte and Mae are joined by writer and professor Jo Isaacson to dissect the polarizing new body horror film by Coralie Fargeat, THE SUBSTANCE! We dig really deep, and discuss camp, old Hollywood and hagsploitation, Marxist alienation, unboxing videos and giving birth to a new beautiful monster.  Sources mentioned: The Monstrous Feminine and The Return to the Monstrous Feminine by Barbara Creed ”Whatever Happened to Monstro Elisasue: In Defense of Psycho-Biddies in the Substance and Beyond” Jo Isaacson, Blindfield Journal  “The Guardian View on Female Led Horror: Time For a New Formula”, editorial, The Guardian  Where to find Jo: @StepfordDotter on Twitter Stepford Daughters book Facebook horror group Blind Field Journal Mae is also a co-host on The Ladykillers Podcast and makes music at eversonpoe Kayte is also a co-host on Fangs for the Memories and makes art here

This week on Tender Subject, Kayte, Jay and Dave have cooked up a feast of an episode on the demon barber himself, Sweeney Todd! Join us as we sink our teeth into the movie, the play, the sets, the songs and lots and lots of blood. Media referenced: “Is That Just Disgusting?" Mapping the Social Geographies of Filth and Madness in "Sweeney Todd" by Aleksei Grinenko link here  Six by Sondheim Jay is also a co-host on Library Punk! Dave is also a co-host on Genre Reveal Party and hosts This is Your Afterlife  Kayte is also a co-host on Fangs for the Memories and makes art here!

In honor of Texas Chainsaw's 50th anniversary and Jo's Post45 cluster (Kayte's collage is in it!) we are re-publishing our TCM episode. Enjoy! Did somebody order head cheese? If you did, you're in luck! This week, we're joined by Johanna Isaacson, author of Stepford Daughters: Weapons for Feminists in Contemporary Horror, to talk about the one, the only, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre! We ask the important questions, such as, "does Leatherface represent feminized labor?" and "is Leatherface trapped in an MLM?" (We worry about Leatherface's wellbeing a lot.)   Readings: “Blood for Oil,” Chuck Jackson Men, Women, and Chain Saws, Carol Clover Splatter Capital, Mark Steven “The American Nightmare,” Robin Wood “Cannibalism, Class, and Power: A foodways analysis of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” Mark Bernard “Horrible Form,” Evan Calder Williams “Headcheese and a Side of Benjamin,” Jerry D Metz “Film Bodies: Genre, Gender and Excess,” Linda Williams   Jo’s links:  Twitter handle @StepfordDotter Stepford Daughters link  Facebook horror group Blind Field Journal Precarious Souls (a super DIY movie they're making with friends)   Follow us on Twitter @tender_subject and on Instagram @tendersubjectpod We're also on Bluesky @tendersubject.bsky.social Art by Anya R. Hueing Music by @coffin_flops

Jay and Kayte are joined by Carlee from Hit Factory podcast to talk about a movie near and dear to all of our hearts, Julie Taymor's brutal and gorgeous Shakespeare adaptation, Titus (1999). We discuss intentional anachronisms, faithfulness to texts, how Victorians tried to re-brand Shakespeare (and the Classical Era!) and heroes and villains.  This is an incredible movie that we all love so much but it's hard to find so please enlist your tech-savvy friends! (big wink) Media referenced:  David Sterling Brown talks about Aaron and Black Lives Matter Dr. Mia Escott discusses Aaron and Race on Shakespeare Anyone? The making of Titus on Youtube Where to find Carlee: Co-hosting Hit Factory podcast Writing essays about sex in film Jay is also a co-host on Library Punk! Kayte is also a co-host on Fangs for the Memories and makes art here!

Facehuggers, Xenomorphs, Offspring, oh my! This week Kayte and Mae are joined by writer/educatrix Tina Horn (@tinahornsass) to talk about our favorite body horror scenes in the Alien Franchise! We're talking about guts, gore, psychosexual horror and more in our longest, rowdiest episode yet! But hey, we watched SEVEN alien movies in a week for you!  Where you can find Tina:  Buy Tina's new book, Why Are People Into That? Listen to Tina's podcast, Why Are People Into That?! Check out Tina's comix and other writing Mae is also a co-host on The Ladykillers Podcast and makes music at eversonpoe Kayte is also a co-host on Fangs for the Memories and makes art here.

Kayte and Jay and guest R.E. Parrish are zipping up our wyrm-skin jumpsuits and plunging into the gnostic fantasy that is Elytron Frass' Moieties. We talk about Ergodic literature, Ero Guru nansensu, the history of gnosticism, the book as tactile object and all sorts of other esoteric weirdness. Media referenced:  "The Erotic Japanese Art Movement Born Out of Decadence" by Evelyn Wang, Dazed Magazine. "George Bataille Book Club Bonus", Girls, Guts, Giallo, S3, Ep6. "On Eleytron Frass' Moieties" by Germán Sierra, Apocalypse Confidential. You can find R.E. here:  Comics Etsy Jay is also a co-host on Library Punk! Kayte is also a co-host on Fangs for the Memories and makes art here!

"The End of the World is Nuts" Writer J †Johnson joins Kayte and Mae to talk about the beautiful and bloody novel Manhunt by Gretchen Felker Martin. We talk about how refreshing it is to read a gender apocalypse book that doesn't deal in binaries. Plus: don't trust rich libs, incredibly hot sex and how to build community at the end of the world.  Media we referenced: Heat Death interview with Gretchen JJ is the co-editor of Cul de Sac of Blood, a horror poetics journal and the author of two books with Punctum Books. Their forthcoming book, Janky Materiality will also be published by Punctum. Mae is also a co-host on The Ladykillers Podcast and makes music at eversonpoe Kayte is also a co-host on Fangs for the Memories and makes art here.

Guys, are cars bad? We ask this and so many other important questions as we dig deep under the hood of Julia Ducournau's oil slicked film, Titane with writer Sophie Lewis (@reproutopia) We're talking about abjection, family abolition, gender fluidity and what it means to f*ck a car. Let's ride!  Sources referenced: Return of the Monstrous-Feminine: Feminist New Wave Cinema by Barbara Creed "A New Humanity: Interview with Titane's Writer/Director Julia Ducournau" The Final Girls Where to find Sophie: Join Sophie's patreon here. Buy Full Surogacy Now: Feminism Against Family Buy Abolish the Family: A Masnifesto for Care and Liberation  Take a class with Sophie at BISR And look out for their new book Enemy Feminisms: TERFs, Policewomen, and Girlbosses Against Liberation from Haymarket soon!

Press play on your PJ Harvey cassette tape, we are talking about season 1 of Yellowjackets with writer Madeline Lane-McKinley! We dissect themes of adolescence, maenadism, fandom and ‘90s culture. Plus! Are teenage girls really that mean? Is there enough cannibalism in Yellowjackets or just enough?  Buy Madeline’s book Comedy Against Work here  Pre-order Fag/Hag here soon!  And look out for Solidarity with Children here soon!

This week, Kayte and Jay are joined by Jon from Horror Vanguard and we are back in the world of Hannibal Lecter! We talk about Ridley Scott's 2001 movie Hannibal and the Thomas Harris novel (1999) of the same name. On the menu: Dante! Opera! Hannibal shopping! Florence! Surveillance and Mediation!  Sources discussed in this episode: "A Postmodern Reproduction of Dante Alighieri's Exile" by Antonio Sanna "“A very well-tailored person suit” Hannibal Lecter as Genderqueer American Gothic Cannibal" by Alena Kiel Jon's Patreon Buy Jon's books here and here

Writer, worker and agitator Vicky Osterweil joins us this week to talk about the 1999 horror western dark comedy (?) Ravenous! Come along with us as we head out to the snowy wilds of the Western mountains; we talk Wendigos, colonizers, monstrous gays, the myth of the "noble frontiersman" and bravery. Also, a bananas soundtrack by Michael Nyman and Damon Alburn! Subscribe to Vicky's newsletter: https://all-cats-are-beautiful.ghost.io/about/ Buy Vicky's book, In Defense of Looting  Stay tuned for Vicky's new book The Extended Universe (2025) with Haymarket Books, which is about Disney movies, intellectual property, and franchise cinema.

Hello Sapphic sickos! It's a femme extravaganza this week on Tender Subject as we are joined by Mae of the Ladykillers pod and Beth of Kayte's polycule to talk about Love Lies Bleeding! We talk about service tops, muscle mommies, Macho Sluts and giant women! Plus, is the end of the film real or fantasy and does it matter? Sources mentioned in the episode: Macho Sluts by Patrick Califia (borrow it on The Internet Archive) "Inside Kristen Stewart and Katy O'Brien's Sapphic Fever Dream on Steroids" by Wren Sanders, Them Magazine

This week, Kayte and new co-host Dave Maher are talking about David Cronenberg’s earliest features, Shivers and Rabid. We dish about sexual repression, white flight, zombies and wonder what it would be like if the United States funded arts and culture.  Sources we referenced:  “Film Bodies: Gender, Genre and Excess” by Linda Williams  “A Mindless Orgy: Liberation and Monstrosity in Cronenberg’s Body Horror“ by Sam Moore ”David Cronenberg’s Dreams and Nightmares” by Adam Nayman

We are joined by Donovan and Audrey from Radio Free Tote Bag to talk about the Netflix Zombie show, Santa Clarita Diet! We talk about the origins of zombies, the Capitalist hoard and what to do if your partner is undead.  Some readings Kayte references: On the Frontlines of the Zombie War in the Congo: Digital Technology, the Trade in Conflict Minerals, and Zombificationby Jeffrey W. Mantz from Monster Culture in the 21st Century: A Reader A Zombie Manifesto: The Nonhuman Condition in the Era of Advanced Capitalism By Sarah Juliet Laura and Karen Embry

----more----Om nom nom.  Eating the Rich: why aren’t we doing it yet? This week we are Joined by Luisa Diez from Why You Mad to dish over the “Eat the Rich” movie trend. We talk Saltburn, The Menu, and Triangle of Sadness plus, Luisa has an “Eat the Rich” movie Taxonomy!  Eat the Rich: The Evolution of a Slogan By We are the Mutants https://wearethemutants.com/2020/02/13/eat-the-rich-the-evolution-of-a-slogan/ The Movie Industry’s Confused “Eat the Rich” Fantasy by Sam Adler-Bell https://www.vulture.com/2023/02/the-movie-industrys-confused-eat-the-rich-fantasy.html Selling Yourself for Pretzel Sticks: Masculine Crisis in the Dystopian Triangle of Sadness by Jess Flarity https://blindfieldjournal.com/2022/12/05/whoring-yourself-for-pretzel-sticks-masculine-crisis-in-the-dystopian-triangle-of-sadness/ Find Luisa at https://twitter.com/luisadieznuts  Follow us on Twitter @tender_subject and on Instagram @tendersubjectpod We're also on Bluesky @tendersubject.bsky.social Art by Anya R. Hueing Music by @coffin_flops

Leòn from The Left Page and Here Be Media joins us again to discuss season 2 of everyone's favorite queer cannibal show: Hannibal!    Find Leòn (and Frank) wherever you get your podcasts: https://linktr.ee/leftpagehbm Follow us on Twitter @tender_subject and on Instagram @tendersubjectpod We're also on Bluesky @tendersubject.bsky.social Art by Anya R. Hueing Music by @coffin_flops

Saddle up that celestial cow, we're talking about origin myths.  Media mentioned:  Crecganford video: https://youtu.be/Cgku-koMiLM?si=YJCZtg64whw5vQiy Patai (1967) The Hebrew Goddess https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hebrew_Goddess Wakeman (1969). https://www.jstor.org/stable/3263723?casa_token=4KQFNyu0U8kAAAAA%3ASMiTgV4YZTO_-XS013hZaXBv9-su2WO3lpnb2G1mEzyyTKrGiq27Ww0rJG8pbbD7ezmdUWYJ1-Lpb_HCO8WmqStxO-kcBAE0KiyeO27uPSftzMkpyQ   Listen to Justin (and Jay!) on the librarypunk podcast, wherever fine podcasts are distributed. You can find them at librarypunk.gay, or on Bluesky and Twitter @librarypunk. Oh, and we have a discord! https://discord.gg/RsxRZ3TA9  Follow us on Twitter @tender_subject and on Instagram @tendersubjectpod We're also on Bluesky @tendersubject.bsky.social Art by Anya R. Hueing Music by @coffin_flops

Have you turned your flangers down? You better, because this week, we're joined by Dave Maher to talk about the film Flux Gourmet! This film had us questioning the nature of authenticity, and it also made us equate farts with noise music, but in a good way. Dave Maher is a super cool comedian! You can view his work, such as the podcasts This Is Your Afterlife and Genre Reveal Party, at https://linktr.ee/thisisdavemaher.   Palestine Resources: Decolonize Palestine. https://decolonizepalestine.com/. Fauda. 2023. Voices from the Front Line Against the Occupation: Interview with Palestinian Anarchists Interview by Black Rose / Rosa Negra – International Relations Committee (IRC). Zine. https://blackrosefed.org/interview-fauda-palestine/. Palestine Action US. https://linktr.ee/palactionus. Solidarity Cinema. https://www.solidaritycinema.com.     Oh, and we have a discord! https://discord.gg/RsxRZ3TA9  Follow us on Twitter @tender_subject and on Instagram @tendersubjectpod We're also on Bluesky @tendersubject.bsky.social Art by Anya R. Hueing Music by @coffin_flops

Who's hungry? This week, all the way from the bottom of the stew, we're joined by noted Herschell Gordon Lewis expert LaborKyle to talk about Blood Feast (1963). In doing so, we summon Ishtar (which means we talk about all sorts of stuff like treating your artistic work as work, how Victorians ate mummies, and the warm piss stream of Marxism). You can find LaborKyle on places like YouTube, Patreon, Twitter, and Bluesky! He also has the podcast All Gamers Are Bastards (AGAB) and the show Profane Illuminations with friend of the pod TheLitCritGuy.   Media Mentioned: Arendt, Hannah, ed. 2007. “Theses on the Philosophy of History.” In Illuminations, by Walter Benjamin, translated by Harry Zohn, 253–64. New York: Schocken Books. https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/benjamin/1940/history.htm. Chris, Jason, and Kevin. 2023. “Bathing in the Warm Stream: The Romantic and Gothic Strain of Marxism with Jon (TheLitCritGuy) of Horror Vanguard.” The Regrettable Century. https://regrettablecentury.buzzsprout.com/220523/13227904-bathing-in-the-warm-stream-the-romantic-and-gothic-strain-of-marxism-with-jon-thelitcritguy-of-horror-vanguard. Cohen, Margaret. 1995. Profane Illumination: Walter Benjamin and the Paris of Surrealist Revolution. Weimar and Now. Berkeley: University of California Press. Steven, Mark. 2017. Splatter Capital: The Political Economy of Gore Films. London: Repeater Books, an imprint of Watkins Media Ltd.   Palestine Resources: Decolonize Palestine. https://decolonizepalestine.com/. Fauda. 2023. Voices from the Front Line Against the Occupation: Interview with Palestinian Anarchists Interview by Black Rose / Rosa Negra – International Relations Committee (IRC). Zine. https://blackrosefed.org/interview-fauda-palestine/. Palestine Action US. https://linktr.ee/palactionus. Solidarity Cinema. https://www.solidaritycinema.com.     Oh, and we have a discord! https://discord.gg/RsxRZ3TA9  Follow us on Twitter @tender_subject and on Instagram @tendersubjectpod We're also on Bluesky @tendersubject.bsky.social Art by Anya R. Hueing Music by @coffin_flops

"Food doesn't get a last will and testament." This week, Kayte and Jay are joined by the designers of Head of the Family, Jacqueline Bryk/Jax Romana and Jason Burnett. What's Head of the Family? We're glad you asked! Head of the Family is a Live Action Role Playing game (LARP) that your co-hosts were invited to participate in! Why? Because: It's a LARP set in the world of Tender is the Flesh.   You can find Jax at https://linktr.ee/rufflejax, with links to her website, her works, and more. You can find Jason at https://www.amnestylarp.com/, https://www.drachenfest.us/, https://www.concordolympus.com/, and https://www.realroyalty.co/. And you can find Sereia (and hire them!) at https://sereiaspinner.carrd.co/.   Oh, and did we mention WE HAVE A DISCORD NOW?! https://discord.gg/RsxRZ3TA9    Follow us on Twitter @tender_subject and on Instagram @tendersubjectpod We're also on Bluesky @tendersubject.bsky.social Art by Anya R. Hueing Music by @coffin_flops