queering springsteen

apparently this is a topic i'm S L O W L Y acquiring a stash of knowledge about, so we'll call this a work in progress bibliography

Episode 122 of Set Lusting Bruce: Bella and Bruce's Gayest Songs, an episode of a podfic where the host talks with someone about bruce springsteen. the Good Gay Shit only really starts about halfway in, but i found the rest of the episode relatively enjoyable anyway

Beyond blood brothers: queer Bruce Springsteen by Rosalie Zdzienicka Fanshel. Unfortunately, this is an academic article, so you need a way to access it (or come talk to me). shout out to frecklebombfic for sending this to me a while ago

Because The Boss Belongs to Us: Queer Femmes on Bruce Springsteen, a zine i found on tumblr ages ago that i really should save somewhere i can find it again.

My Butch Lesbian Mom, Bruce Springsteen by Natalie Adler. an essay about reading Springsteen's performance as queer.

Playlist and Roundtable: We’re Here and We’re Queering Bruce Springsteen, from Autostraddle. pretty much exactly what it looks like - a playlist of Springsteen songs with a little blurb about each one

“Terry was a dude”: A dialogue on “Backstreets” and “Governor Chris Christie’s Fort Lee New Jersey Traffic Jam”. two people talking about how great Backstreets is and how it's queer (i don't totally agree with their conclusions, but i think they have some great arguments).

if you know of anything else like this, send it my way! or just come talk to me about it

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hi i'm back several years later with NEW MATERIAL!

Things That Can Only Be Found in the Darkness on the Edge of Town, by Naomi Gordon-Loebl. an article about why springsteen's music might resonate with queer fans in particular.

Because the Boss Belongs to Us. a podcast by two queer people investigating whether Springsteen can be considered a queer icon. [see below.]

one of the hosts of the above podcast has a few zines about bruce, including this one, "Me and Bruce #4: Queers on the Edge of Town," which i am seriously considering buying rn.

i also have to shout out this iconic tumblr post quoting the My Butch Lesbian Mom, Bruce Springsteen article in combination with an article about Dolly Parton's performance of gender/femininity

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hi it's me back again with this wild clip from a jimmy fallon interview: "previously we played to a lot of young men, due to the homosexual undercurrents of my music—" so uh, thanks for that bruce. what do i do with the rest of my day now.

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i finally listened to all of Because the Boss Belongs to Us, and can now say: it's great! highly recommend! the two hosts break down what they consider their criteria for someone to be a queer icon, and then walk through how they might apply or not to springsteen, including talking to many other queer fans, interrogating the idea of a queer icon in general, and discussing how queer people relate to celebrities. SEVERAL of the people already cited in this post make appearances, and the hosts have a whole episode sitting on a depression bench where they wonder if they even should be trying to make this project. excellent stuff.

ALSO: the podcast created this spotify playlist titled Queer Springsteen, which includes both covers of springsteen songs by queer artists and original springsteen songs that they feel are particularly queer. i don't vibe with all the covers but i think they're all interesting and i like the project a lot overall.