Content note: This episode contains words and discussions relating to genitals.

The words we use to describe parts of our bodies are often reflective of how we feel about these body parts. At the same time, these words we use can also affect how we feel and our relationship to these body parts, a case in point being perhaps the most intimate body parts, the genitals.

In German, the word Scham ('shame') is part of multiple words that are commonly used to describe genitals and the pubic area. Pubic hair is Schamhaare, 'shame hair'. The pubic area is the Schambereich, 'shame area'. And the labia are Schamlippen, 'shame lips'.

In this episode I talk to Gunda Windmüller and Mithu Sanyal about their campaign to introduce the term Vulvalippen as an alternative to the term Schamlippen, and in doing so, to reduce the stigma and feelings of shame that are connected with our bodies.

Gunda Windmüller is a journalist and author. Her podcast with Katja Berlin is called Fix und Vierzig.

Mithu Sanyal is a novelist, broadcaster, and cultural critic. Her book is called Vulva: Die Enthüllung des unsichtbaren Geschlechts.

Episode transcript: https://yellowoftheegg.com/transcripts/shame-transcript/

Guests:
Gunda Windmüller
- Instagram: @gundawindmueller (https://www.instagram.com/gundawindmueller)
- Podcast (with Katja Berlin): "Fix und Vierzig" (https://podfollow.com/1605101565)
- Website: https://www.gundawindmueller.de/

Mithu Sanyal
- Instagram: @mithumelanie (https://www.instagram.com/mithumelanie)
- Book: Vulva: Die Enthüllung des unsichtbaren Geschlechts

Yellow of the Egg is hosted and produced by Luke Green.

Links and socials:
- Web: yellowoftheegg.com
- Instagram: @yotepodcast (https://www.instagram.com/yotepodcast)
- Facebook: @yellowoftheegg (https://www.facebook.com/yellowoftheegg)
- Email: yellowoftheegg.podcast@gmail.com

- YOTE theme music by Vincent Tone (PremiumBeat.com)

“Words are not just words. We do things with words.” And among the things we can do with words is express our attitude towards something. We can say things in a certain way to express it as a fact, or as something unreal, or to show that we want to be neutral about whether something is true or not. For these purposes and more, we have the subjunctive mood – in German, the Konjunktiv.

In this episode I talk to Verena Hofstätter, a linguist and German teacher from Vienna. Together we take a dive into the German subjunctive – what it looks like, when it’s used, and why it’s suffering an identity crisis.

Episode transcript: https://yellowoftheegg.com/transcripts/der-konjunktiv-transcript/

Guest:
Verena Hofstätter
- Instagram: @daslehrwerk (https://www.instagram.com/daslehrwerk)
- Podcast: "Wissen Schafft Sprache" (https://podfollow.com/1587196838)
- Episode of “Wissen Schafft Sprache” featuring me as a guest: “S3E6 SprachGeschichte Luke” (https://pod.fo/e/183a60)
- Website: https://lehrwerk.at

Yellow of the Egg is hosted and produced by Luke Green.

Links and socials:
- Web: yellowoftheegg.com
- Instagram: @yotepodcast (https://www.instagram.com/yotepodcast)
- Facebook: @yellowoftheegg (https://www.facebook.com/yellowoftheegg)
- Email: yellowoftheegg.podcast@gmail.com

- YOTE theme music by Vincent Tone (PremiumBeat.com)

NOTE: In this episode, I say the following: "In simple terms, an AFAB queen is a cisgender woman who does drag as a drag queen." While AFAB queens are very often cisgender women, and the term is typically used to describe cisgender women doing drag, this is not necessarily the case for everyone. Anyone who does drag and was assigned female at birth can be considered an AFAB queen, and this can include trans men, non-binary people and more. Apologies for the confusion and the inaccuracy!

*****

Right now, the drag scene in Vienna is experiencing a period of real blossoming on the one hand, but it’s also under threat, as the right wing is trying hard to frame drag as a danger. Despite these attempts to push drag down, drag is becoming more and more mainstream and, as a result, more and more visible, and with it, the language of drag.

In this episode I talk to two Sassica Rabbit and Ryta Tale, two drag artists from Vienna. We talk about what drag is, what language is used to describe it, and about the drag scene in Vienna, as well as their own experiences as drag performers in Austria.

Episode transcript: https://yellowoftheegg.com/transcripts/german-is-a-drag-transcript/

Guests:
Ryta Tale
- Instagram: @rytatale (https://www.instagram.com/rytatale)
- Podcast: "Your Tale - Wiener Drag Artists im Gespräch mit Ryta Tale" (https://podfollow.com/1626085781)
- Links to events and more: linktr.ee/rytatale

Sassica Rabbit
- Instagram: @sassicarabbit (https://www.instagram.com/sassicarabbit)
- The Lipstick Ball - Instagram: @thelipstickball (https://instagram.com/thelipstickball)
- Links to events and more: linktr.ee/sassicarabbit

Petition: "Drag is not a crime":
https://action.allout.org/de/m/3c8d828d/?utm_campaign=mgp-3c8d828d&utm_source=whatsapp&utm_medium=social_share
Petition started by Candy Licious
- Instagram: @candy_licious._ (https://www.instagram.com/candy_licious._)

Slurs and offensive language
- Tunte / Schwuchtel / faggot (21:25-25:00)

Online dictionaries referenced (no affiliations)
- leo.org
- dict.cc
- de.langenscheidt.com
- duden.de

Wikipedia article referenced: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragqueen

Resources
- List of LGBTQ+ terms (Stonewall): https://www.stonewall.org.uk/list-lgbtq-terms
- Transgender terminology, incl. "transvestite" (National Center for Transgender Equality): https://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/Transgender_Terminology.pdf
- Information on the New York ballroom scene (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ball_culture

TV shows referenced
- Queen of Drags
- RuPaul's Drag Race
- Eurovision Song Contest

Events referenced
- The Lipstick Ball (Vienna)
- Tuntenball (Graz)
- Tuntathlon (Vienna)

Yellow of the Egg is hosted and produced by Luke Green.

Links and socials:
- Web: yellowoftheegg.com
- Instagram: @yotepodcast (https://www.instagram.com/yotepodcast)
- Facebook: @yellowoftheegg (https://www.facebook.com/yellowoftheegg)
- Email: yellowoftheegg.podcast@gmail.com

- YOTE theme music by Vincent Tone (PremiumBeat.com)