20 Questions is a Q&A interview series with authors, musicians, and everyone in between, celebrating experiences both shared and individual in the messy game of being human.
“I think everyone’s looking for stories that feel familiar, and when we can’t find them, we have to become detectives, sniffing those stories out where they might not be immediately obvious.” Matt Baume is a Seattle-based writer, podcaster, and video-maker whose work focuses on pop culture and queer history. His latest book, Hi Honey, I’m Homo! (read my review here), traces the evolution of LGBTQ+ characters on American sitcoms. His previous book, Defining Marriage, chronicles the personal stories of people who fought for marriage equality over the last forty years. In his popular YouTube series, Matt shares behind-the-scenes stories about the movies and TV shows that changed the world, and the fascinating people involved. He’s also the creator of the podcast The Sewers of Paris, which explores the entertainment that has shaped the lives of queer people. I got to chat with Matt for this week’s edition of 20 Questions.
What is your earliest memory of wanting to be a writer?
I don’t think it was so much a question of WANTING to be a writer as it was simply BEING a writer. Books were always a constant presence in my life, and there was never a time when I didn’t want to make my own. I can recall a time when I was very young and hadn’t quite learned the alphabet — I would ask for sheets of paper and draw what I thought letters looked like, because I was so impatient to be able to write books of my own.
What inspired you to start your YouTube channel, where you make videos about pop culture from a queer perspective?
I take a lot of inspiration from the video essayists who were on YouTube when I got started — Lindsay Ellis and Rantasmo in particular.
What is the most challenging part of writing for you?
Reducing! I usually start with a million different ideas and fragments, and it’s a real challenge for me to whittle them down into something coherent.
Favorite book of all-time?
For a long time I would have said The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, a book that I truly lived by for many years in my teens and early twenties. These days, it’s harder for me to say because I spend so much time with so many books that my favorite really is whatever I happen to be holding at any particular moment. One of the most useful in my work is Alternate Channels by Stephen Capsuto.
As an enthusiast of pop culture, what have you always loved most about it and why, especially in an era of escapism?
I think my favorite feeling is when I’m watching something purely for entertainment, and then suddenly realize that there’s some aspect of the story that’s familiar — that shows me something about myself or someone I know in a new way.
One piece of advice you would give to your younger self?
If you want to write professionally, you’ll have to learn how to treat writing as a job — which includes a lot of stuff that isn’t writing, but that makes writing sustainable.
The last series you binge-watched?
What We Do in the Shadows.
The best book you’ve read in the last year?
Favorite movie of all-time?
I can’t say there’s one single movie that’s at the top of my list, but I don’t think I’ll ever tire of My Neighbor Totoro.
Your latest book, Hi Honey, I’m Homo!, looks at some of America’s most classic sitcoms and how the threads of queer visibility can be traced throughout history through programming that seemed, on the surface, staunchly heteronormative. (This book and its premise alone scratch the itch in my brain in precisely the right spot.) What do you make of the ways that young queer people, especially from previous generations with less representation, often find it in the least likely of places?
I think everyone’s looking for stories that feel familiar! And when we can’t find them, we have to become detectives, sniffing those stories out where they might not be immediately obvious.
If you could have one writer, dead or alive, to compose your obituary, who would it be and why?
Quentin Crisp.
What’s your current read?
The Queer Film Guide by Kyle Turner.
Favorite quote of all-time?
Quentin Crisp: “There is no need to do any housework at all. After the first four years the dirt doesn’t get any worse.”
One song that you will never be sick of?
I bet I’d get sick of anything after a while but I tend to focus best on my work when listening to the Tron soundtrack.
Are you a Mary, a Rhoda, or a Phyllis?
Can I be a Murray?
You’re stuck on a long flight. Which world-famous musician would you want sitting next to you and why?
I would’ve loved to solve crosswords with Stephen Sondheim.
As a writer and artist, what would you say is the best way to rest or decompress?
For me, it’s gardening.
Favorite social media app?
YouTube’s made it possible for me to reach millions of people with my videos so I’m quite happy about that!
One thing that kept you sane during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic?
I’m lucky enough to get to spend every day at home with my partner and best friend, which is pretty great.
What can we expect to see next from you?
Chugging away on more YouTube videos! I’ve got tons of topics in the works and can’t wait to share them.
Follow Matt Baume on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube, and buy his latest book Hi Honey, I’m Homo! wherever books are sold.
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