Shannon Beveridge appears to be a power of nature in queer media, seamlessly merging private storytelling with advocacy to create a vibrant tapestry of illustration for the LGBTQIA+ group.
Recognized for her dynamic YouTube channel, “nowthisisliving,” she first gained recognition for her candid discussions on LGBTQ+ points, culminating in accolades such because the Greatest LGBTQ+ YouTube Channel on the Shorty Awards in 2017. Through the years, Beveridge has grow to be an influential voice, utilizing her platform to make clear id and sexuality by a inventive lens.
Her authentic journey from content material creator in the end expanded into the realms of pictures and directing, with Beveridge collaborating with high-profile artists together with singers Ariana Grande and Fletcher (who additionally occurs to be Shannon’s notorious ex-girlfriend). This has been a core tenet of Beveridge’s profession. Skilled partnerships have allowed her to discover storytelling past her personal experiences, but they’ve additionally intertwined together with her romantic relationships. This duality has been a double-edged sword; the transient nature of affection can usually result in public breakups that go away an indelible mark on her work. Nevertheless, Shannon has embraced these classes. Drawing from her relationships, she has used her insights to counterpoint her relationship and intercourse podcast, “exes & o’s,” remodeling heartache into humor and understanding.
Now, Beveridge is hitting the highway together with her podcast, bringing her digital discussions into an interactive stay expertise at SF’s The Unbiased on March 19. With a mission to domesticate secure areas, notably for lesbians who usually discover themselves eager for group, this tour guarantees a lighthearted mix of viewers participation, video games, and heartfelt conversations.
Beveridge sat down with us to delve into the nuances of queer relationships and the significance of connection in immediately’s world, particularly in a metropolis with such a wealthy LGBTQ+ historical past.
Q: What can attendees count on out of your tour, and what are you personally hoping to get out of it? What’s the mission of this tour, in a way?
A: The first goal for this tour is to create a secure area. Lesbians particularly are considerably missing queer areas and queer occasions which are catered particularly to them. Clearly its open to everybody in the neighborhood, however lesbians usually have much less event-wise. The present itself will probably be a light-weight hearted model of the podcast, plus video games and viewers interplay, so you may really feel such as you’re a part of it. My aim can also be to facilitate folks within the viewers attending to know one another, so that they have that area and people buddies to take dwelling with them after the present.
Q: Your podcast is a mixture of jokes and real exploration of queer intercourse and relationships. How do you mix humor into your podcast with out detracting from the intense conversations at hand?
A: Properly, I by no means supposed my podcast to be an interview. I don’t need it to be me simply grilling some visitor. I need it to be extra conversational, and something extra conversational is inherently extra humorous and it helps facilitate deeper conversations. Incorporating humor lightens the state of affairs and you may go deeper with friends, as a result of it feels safer. I need my podcast to be informative but additionally lighthearted and like an gratifying hour of your day.
I additionally need it to be very digestible to anybody. I at all times take into consideration how my mother might be the primary one to observe each week, and she or he’s simply an ally, however i need to make the conversations informative to her and to folks like her, in order that anybody may tune in and be taught one thing. I need everybody, straight, homosexual or no matter to have the ability to be taught one thing, as a result of all of us have breakups, and all of us have intercourse, proper?
Q: Properly no, not everybody, however I perceive your level, and sure, most individuals are having some quantity of intercourse. That’s a core theme of podcast- that’s the “o’s” of “exes and o’s.” Are you able to inform me a bit in regards to the goal of getting these open conversations in regards to the nuances of queer intercourse? Why does it matter?
A: It issues for me personally, as a result of rising up, I solely ever heard about lesbian intercourse by a really sexual lens. It was at all times very sexualized. I didn’t hear many conversations of individuals discussing intercourse, queer intercourse particularly, in a non sexual lens. We’ve had podcasts like ‘Call Her Daddy,” where they talk about how to perform a certain sex act, but it’s not sexualized. It’s meant to be informative, and I’ve felt like our group doesn’t have as a lot of that. I imply, we don’t have as a lot of something, normally.
Q: As you put together for the tour cease in San Francisco, how does the town’s wealthy LGBTQ+ historical past resonate with you and your work?
A: I believe S.F. is so inherently queer. I consider it and I simply routinely get a psychological picture of rainbow flags. I hope to convey one thing with this tour that S.F. hasn’t gotten to carry earlier than. I do assume it has such a wealthy historical past already, however I hope this may be one thing particular so as to add to that record of historical past. My visitor in S.F. is queer intercourse therapist Casey Tanner, so it must be considered one of my extra sexual conversations of the tour, which I additionally assume makes excellent sense for S.F.
Q: With the current rise of stay excursions for influencers and podcasters, there’s one thing to be mentioned right here about parasocial relationships — the inclination of followers to latch onto leisure personalities and develop one-sided private bonds. The place do you assume your tour matches on this dialog? Is it a part of the issue, or do you assume having a queer viewers, a group that traditionally has lacked areas to assemble, considerably change the principles on {that a} bit?
A: For positive. I believe the principles are completely different for queer folks normally, as a result of nobody is catering to us. We have now to cater to ourselves. We have now to create these areas for ourselves. I additionally assume that in a method, generally, oddly, that nose to nose interplay can type of break down that parasocial third wall factor, as a result of followers may be like “Oh my god, you’re a real person, not just a perfect, edited face on a screen.” So my hope can also be that in being nose to nose with my group, they’ll keep in mind that I’m not only a character.
Q: You first toured stay with Rebecca Black again in 2017 on the “Love is Love” tour. As somebody with an explosively public courting historical past, as properly a podcast on relationships, when is love not love?
A: Love just isn’t love when that love is totally egocentric, as a result of on the core of affection, whether or not it’s romantic love or friendship love or household love, is that it’s selfless. So when love is egocentric, it’s probably not real love.
Q: Along with Rebecca, you’ve labored with many different huge names in queer media together with Fletcher and Zolita. I not too long ago interviewed Zolita for her tour, which had a heavy promenade aesthetic, and I requested her what her promenade sash title is. She mentioned Lesbian Supreme. I’m questioning what your sash title could be?
A: Your ex’s favourite ex.
Q: You’ve additionally collaborated with honorary homosexual icon Ariana Grande. Grande is likely one of the main women of the current queer-coded hit musical “Wicked.” I’m curious, are you an Elphaba or are you a Glinda?
A: I’m Elphaba, however like, Elphaba who’s in love with Glinda.
Q: So, Elphaba then.
A: Yeah. simply with none of Cynthia Erivo’s expertise.
Q: Except for all of the inventive companions I’ve simply talked about, in addition to the friends out of your podcast. Is there anybody you’re dying to work with sooner or later? Who’s your dream collaboration?
A: Doing this podcast, I’ve had the pleasure of speaking to all types of people- athletes, singers, therapists, ‘Rupaul’s Drag Race’ contestants- folks from all completely different sorts of backgrounds. After I began, my reply to that query could have been extra apparent. However now, I’m like, wow, there’s so many queer folks that I’m unaware of, or haven’t heard of earlier than, and so they aren’t essentially the Ellen DeGeneres’s of the world. So, my dream podcast visitor is possibly somebody I don’t even know or know of but.
