Published by Abi Mcintosh
Podcast hosts Rose Frimpong and Nana Duncan tell us how their show became one of many go-to resources of activity for a lot of Black British lesbians and just how this has played a role that is significant their very own life, too.
You could battle to think about many Black British lesbians in the eye that is public if any after all. It’s something both Rose Frimpong, 29, and Nana Duncan, 28, from London felt once they had been searching for representation into the conventional news. This not enough existence encouraged them to start out their extremely platform that is own Two Twos Podcast.
The duo would be best buddies met through just just what they describe as “classic lesbian introduction” – through an ex-girlfriend five years back.
The podcast, which initially started off as a YouTube channel, is nearing its very first birthday and neither of them expected the a reaction to be so good as well as anticipated their conversations to spark in-depth conversations on the Twitter schedule weekly. While amassing tens of thousands of listens across all streaming web web sites, spotlighted on Spotify and in addition collaborating with RCA label – they’re for a roll that is great.
The hosts have honest and hilarious yet thought-provoking discussions with each other about everything from sex and relationships to lazy stereotypes, which of course is made easy because of their close friendship during each episode. “A great deal among these conversations are conversations we now have with no microphone anyhow,” Frimpong says, “So it simply flows.”
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She wasn’t yes the cis right men who follow her on Twitter would “even go through the link to listen” but to her shock, they are among Two’s Two’s devoted listeners and also have expressed into the hosts that they’re are thankful to own an area to concentrate to LGBTQ+ problems and tales. “They feel like they learnt a great deal plus it’s helped them to beat their pre-judgement,” Frimpong says.
Through the years, I’ve seen a giant change with individuals accommodating those who find themselves through the LGBTQ+ community and becoming greater allies nonetheless there was still plenty of strive to be achieved specially aided by the older generation. “We come from households where our moms and dads had to unlearn particular things,” Duncan says. “I guess we just expected exactly the same from individuals who we don’t know”.
Over 41 episodes, Two Twos have already been accompanied by guests to talk about topics such as for instance bisexuality, starting a household in a couple that is same-sex being gay and Muslim and interracial lesbian couples. The show has grown to become this kind of crucial hub for those into the LGBTQ+ community, so much so for certainly one of people they know whom arrived as non-binary for an episode. “They’ve for ages been an enormous supporter of our content from our YouTube times and now have actually mentioned it really is a safe room for them,” claims Duncan.
While their platform has offered as fundamental for a lot of, it has additionally been destination where both hosts have discovered and found a great deal in the last year. Certainly one of their most unique episode on Christianity and homosexuality with guest Reverend Jide Macaulay, who’s gay is a certain be noticed.
Macaulay could be the founder of home of Rainbow, an organization that aims to produce a space that is safe QTIPOC. The episode dedicated to making peace with sex and religion, which can be something large amount of LGBTQ+ individuals from the Black community in specific have a problem with. It absolutely was also essential to Frimpong since it had been comforting to possess a mature Ebony man 
whom affirmed her sex. “He ended up being validating us, whereas in the home, anyone who looks like him in our households ended up being telling us, вЂNo, you can’t repeat this, you can’t be in this way’” she says. “Maybe when we possessed a vocals like this inside our home, perhaps a few of the traumas that we’ve skilled we’dn’t have. I believe for me personally, I went back once again to more youthful Rose, while recording for this episode and younger Rose had been delighted at the time,” she continues.
Portrayals associated with experience that is queer so poor that numerous of us await Pride to see ourselves in the forefront of main-stream media nevertheless the hosts share the belief that the representation for Ebony lesbians during Pride thirty days is restricted. Duncan argues that “there is not one experience that is queer but judging in what is being offered during June and July, you will be mistaken. Whenever Pride thirty days rolls around, social networking is filled up with anything from rainbow profile images to tees, to sandwiches, however the exact same types of faces are submit for these campaigns – also it’s maybe perhaps not diverse.
Handling those brands and organisations that are performative, Ducan claims “Queer individuals don’t just occur in June and July. We’ve been right here, we’ve for ages been right right here”. And she’s bang on – representation has to go further compared to those 61 times. Echoing this, Frimpong states representation is not only a buzzword, for Black lesbians, this will be truly essential at you so you don’t feel so alone as it helps to be able to see a version of yourself reflected back.
Duncan claims Ebony masc-presenting women can be lacking from the conventional news since they’re maybe not viewed as palatable. “I think they brands have actually inside their brain a sense of just just what lesbian is, and I just don’t think we fit that scope.” Frimpong interjects, including: “We don’t really see dark-skinned Black, queer females, and plenty of the full time them, they are American” if you do see.
Duncan happens to be a tomboy since she was a teenager, but she states it is often a gradual process on the next ten years of her becoming comfortable being masc-presenting. “I absolutely encountered backlash from my children, my mum, in specific, ended up being upset whenever she discovered I became boxers that are wearing. At that true point i wasn’t troubled by anyone’s viewpoint on your way I delivered, we just ignored it”.
Frimpong says, “I tried to be what exactly is socially called feminine but I became constantly so embarrassing doing so.” She identifies as masc-presenting just 2 to 3 years back. “I dropped labels like stud and stem that I identified formerly. We felt masc-presenting gave room for me personally to convey myself the way I desired and I also felt less restricted using this identity,” she stocks.
