We’re queer, we’re here, and we’re on the air! Introducing ‘Borderlines’ – Tasmania’s only queer radio show. Adam Bub reports.
Every Wednesday between 2pm and 3pm, the static fuzzes, ears prick up and the stilettos come out for a camp, political and spirited celebration of everything queer. Welcome to ‘Borderlines’ Queer Radio on Hobart’s Edge Radio 99.3FM. Expect anything.
Two years ago ‘Borderlines’ became Tasmania’s first and only queer radio show when two friends pitched the idea to Edge Radio, the community radio station run from the University of Tasmania, with a target audience of predominantly 15-30 year olds, broadcasting to Hobart and its surrounds.
One of the most active presenters, Tracey Wing, thinks it gives the Tasmanian gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community a chance to validate their own experiences.
“It’s really important to hear a local voice that represents your community and your issues, especially for young people,” Wing tells GayTAS.
“You’ve just got to put your voice out there. We do have faith that there are people listening, because we do get very positive feedback. Listeners can log onto edgeradio.org.au, and give us feedback there, make requests for songs, and make suggestions for topics.”
Being a community radio station, Edge Radio is driven by volunteers’ desires to represent voices rarely heard in mainstream media. By that token, Edge Radio is a natural fit for a queer radio program.
“I love the principles [community radio] runs on,” Wing says, “a freedom of expression that isn’t limited by commercial interests. It fills in those gaps for minority groups and interests. People like myself are on there because they believe they have something useful to say.”
Not long after it started, Wing joined the show’s founders, Baden and Sam, to bring a lesbian voice to the mix. Only recently, Wing has run the show by herself, with other regular contributors and new ones being trained.
“All the people doing it are women, so I’d like to find some fellas to get back on board,” she notes. “It would be good to find younger people too, but we often speak to young people – like university sexuality officers.”
Wing is 41, but her life experiences have given her ample hindsight to be able to connect with younger audiences. Having completed a Bachelor of Arts in Film Studies and Media Production at Queensland’s Griffith University, she developed her radio skills doing graveyard shifts for University of Queensland station Triple Z. Five years ago, she moved from the Sunshine Coast to Hobart when a friend invited her down to buy property. She now works as the Information Officer for Women’s Health South, as part of the State Health Department.
Wing is conscious that she is a role model for young GLBT listeners. “At different times, I make sure to say that I’m a lesbian – I think it’s really helpful to hear someone proudly saying that on air.
“Young people tend to shy away from labels. But there’s no harm in hearing someone describe themselves as a gay man, or as a lesbian or bisexual person. It’s not something you get labelled with, it’s actually a tag that you can embrace yourself.”
With that message in mind, the show’s content varies from current affairs and political discussions about Tasmanian and Australian gay rights issues, to more light-hearted fare, such as segments like the ‘Queer Hall of Shame’, in which “we sentenced people for unnatural crimes against queer nature,” Wing says. “John Howard and Fred Nile were long-standing members!”
Wing says she and her co-presenters are never at a loss for things to talk about. “The hour goes really quickly. If there’s more than one presenter available, then sometimes we don’t fit everything in.
“We do tackle serious subjects, but we also want to make sure that we’re keeping it light-hearted. But if we’re talking about something we know could be difficult for people, we offer listeners details about where they can go and seek out information for themselves.”
In this respect, ‘Borderlines’ performs a community service for Tasmanian youth, of which 43 per cent above the age of 15 listen to community radio, according to a McNair Ingenuity Research survey conducted in 2006.
Management at Edge Radio have also recognised the significant contribution the show makes to their schedule, in keeping with their mission statement that highlights inclusivity and artistic diversity amongst its ambits.
“They always promote our show,” Wing says of the station. “We got one of their awards in 2006 for Best Special Interest Show. Our competition was fierce, because there were a lot of good shows to do with environment, film and television. We’re very proud of that.”
Indeed, queer radio shows have found a comfortable home on community and university radio stations across Australia for many years now. While Sydney’s Gaywaves on 2SER 107.3FM disappeared in 2005 after 25 years of broadcasting, it has since been replaced by Queernoise on the same station. Brisbane has Queer Radio and Dykes on Mics on 4ZZZFM, Adelaide has Aqueerium on Radio Adelaide 101.5FM, and, of course, Melbourne and Perth have their very own round-the-clock GLBT stations, respectively with Joy 94.9FM and Queer104.9FM.
‘Borderlines’, like these other shows, is part of a movement towards greater cultural visibility for the GLBT community. But as Wing highlights, this does not curb homophobia in some rural areas in Tasmania, or in any other state.
“Around the cosmopolitan centres, people are pretty out and generally not hassled too much,” Wing says. “But as soon as you get out of town into some of the rural areas, you’ll find that weird split that seems to happen in some places, when a new queer couple will arrive and they’ll find heaps of acceptance and support, while in other places they’ll be targets of homophobic abuse.”
All the more reason to celebrate queer identity – the essence of ‘Borderlines’.
“‘Borderlines’ means talking about those issues that always seem on the outside borders,” Wing explains. “In some ways, the queer community is walking that middle line, finding that balance of being part of the general community but also maintaining its own identity.”
Tracey hopes to bring more presenters on board to diversify the perspectives and music tastes for the show – although she thoroughly enjoys creatively directing the show. “I’ll play just about anything, but I do tend to baulk at fluffy folk music. And I occasionally dedicate a song to my partner. It’s the perks of being a presenter!”
Wing slyly admits that she’s played Madonna’s ‘Borderline’ just once in the entire time she’s been broadcasting. “Someone contacted us and said ‘I just knew you were going to do that one day’!” she laughs.
Add this song to an ever-changing playlist that has included Garbage’s ‘Queer’, Mika’s ‘Big girl (you are beautiful)’ and a roll-call of David Bowie hits, and you have yourself the queerest radio station this side of the border.
‘Borderlines’ airs every Wednesday from 2pm-3pm on Edge Radio 99.3FM. Visit edgeradio.org.au.
We’re queer, we’re here, and we’re on the air! Introducing ‘Borderlines’ – Tasmania’s only queer radio show. Adam Bub reports.
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