'There Is No Word for Gay in the Samoan Context' - with Edward Cowley (aka Buckwheat)

Lost Spaces: Memories from Gay Bars, Lesbian Clubs, and LGBTQ+ Parties

One of the things that I get asked a lot when people find out that I do this show is 'well, why are queer spaces important? bars and clubs close all the time, why should we care about them just because they're queer?'.

And there are lots of answers to that, but the one that I keep coming back to is that they aren't just businesses - they're community hubs, they're late-night befriending services, and they are places where people get to explore and push themselves.

And it was wonderful to be reminded of all of that in this week's conversation (which is our first ever episode focussed on a lost space in New Zealand!).

I got to talk to Edward Cowley, who you may know by his drag alter-ego Buckwheat, about The Staircase, a legendary space (or, spaces, rather, as it moved to a few different venues over its time) in Auckland where Edward first started going when he was underage and before homosexuality was even legal in the country.

It was here that he first found his tribe, started drag, and shook his thing on the dancefloor.

In fact, he has such an affinity to the space that he even went on to be a co-owner - and, as co-owner he made sure that the space was more than just a business, but a community hub.

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