We’re getting into the business of podcasting! Sister Sister is GayIceland’s brand new podcast on the experiences of queer women hosted by Yaz Duncan. We talked to Yaz and began by asking her about herself.
“I identify as a lesbian. I’m 25 years old, from Edinburgh and I’ve worked among other things in communications and PR, but I’ve got a journalism background. I’m particularly interested in feminism, queer issues, intersectional feminism as well. I think all those are connected, and I think if you’re for those kind of things then you should look at other movements as well. You never know who would be first on the list if things got ugly, so you have to try and understand other groups and spread a bit of intelligence about other groups.”
Tell us some more about this podcast … What’s your “elevator pitch”?
“The podcast is called Sister Sister. There used to be a TV show in the ‘90s called Sister Sister and I used to watch it all the time, so I decided to name it after that because I wanted it to be quite female focused. The podcast itself is for and by queer women. It looks at issues that queer women face, which I don’t think get discussed enough, and which I think are pretty universal. The idea is to get a lot of different voices on those issues, and lots of different types of women, not just cis queer women.”
“The podcast … looks at issues that queer women face … The idea is to get a lot of different voices on those issues, and lots of different types of women, not just cis queer women.”
What kind of background do you have in the media and podcasting?
“I have been doing article writing and things like that for quite a while. At university I was involved in a queer publication where I wrote an article about being in the navy, and basically about how that was the queerest thing I’d ever done. And then I actually went on to do a journalism degree where I did a bit of podcasting, I did quite a lot of podcasts about coming out experiences. Most of the subject matter that I tend to do for myself is centered around queer issues.”
Why do you say the navy was the queerest thing?
“I joined the navy reserves at university, so you are in the navy, but you’re a reserve so you don’t go anywhere. So it’s all training, and being in a uniform, and drinking gin and tonics, and it’s just the biggest queer fest of all time. I felt like G.I. Jane!”
Will you only be interviewing Icelandic women on Sister Sister?
“Most people I’ve spoken to have been from Iceland, but I’ve spoken to a couple of British women as well. And what I’m seeing is there’s not that much different between the experiences that folks have. Iceland and the UK, they’re different places, but they’re not a million miles away in terms of what we’re actually like. So it’ll be mostly focused on women from Iceland, but there will be some British women as well. And I’m from Scotland, so I’ll put in my two pence as well.”
What are you doing to reach out to queer communities in Iceland for the podcast?
“I’ve been pretty active online. I’ve spoken with some people from Iceland, but it’s been a bit of an electronic relationship. I think when you get to speak with someone from outside your own immediate community you have to explain things a lot more, so it might get you talking a bit more about what’s actually going on. It’s been quite a good experience to speak with people from a different part of the world and get their view on what’s going on.”
“… it’ll be mostly focused on women from Iceland, but there will be some British women as well. And I’m from Scotland, so I’ll put in my two pence as well.”
What do you hope to bring as the host of Sister Sister?
“I‘ll hopefully bring a journalistic element to it. I think I’m quite good at getting people to talk, and I’m quite good at listening as well. I think some journalists ask a question and then they try to answer it themselves. Also, I think that humor doesn’t go amiss when you’re interviewing people, especially when you’re interviewing people about big issues. So a bit of humor and a bit of experience, and I hope that people will enjoy it.”