In Conversation With: Dr Sharon Husbands

One of the biggest new queer performance nights of the past year and a half on the gay London scene has been ‘Naked Boys Reading’, which literally combines the twin attractions of naked boys and reading. But another factor of its appeal is undoubtedly also its fabulous, acerbic hostess, the wonderful Dr Sharon Husbands. Patrick Cash caught up with la Husbands to find out more about herself, her boys and her reading…

 

Who is Dr Sharon Husbands? 

Dr Sharon Husbands is just like your big sister, only way taller. She likes dark basements and naked dudes. She has a penchant for Lacanian Feminism and gingers. A door whore, a lecturer, a performer, hostess and producer: Sharon is every-woman but she’ll never be a DJ. She also hates the third person so from now on she’s gonna switch to a more fitting narrative voice.

What books do you like reading?

I haven’t read anything that wasn’t related to queer art, theory and performance since probably 2004. Currently I’m working through the new book out by Dr Jonathan Kemp (a guest curator at Naked Boys Reading) called The Penetrated Male (Punctum Books). It’s wonderful. Alongside that I’m reading Lauren Berlant and Lee Edelman’s Sex, or the unbearable. It’s a dense dialogue piece on questions of the politics of sex.

 

What boys do you like naked?

As noted above, I’ve got a raging lady boner for gingers. Some ink doesn’t hurt either. But as a Amazonian lady-boy I’m very pro-bodies in general. I do think 90% of men look better with a beard, but that’s cause I like a little chin tickle on my no-no from time to time.

Where do you source your naked boys from? 

My little black book over-floweth! The Duchess of Pork and I began Naked Boys Reading by asking friends of ours who had plenty of experience being naked in public. From there we reached out to the porn industry and our performance friends. But boys are very forthcoming in asking if they can read and we love it! While we usually have about two months of boys planned at a time, there’s always need for new and more naked men to read! We encourage boys to contact us at [email protected] and let us know they want to read.

 

When you started NBR did you think it would be as huge a success as it has been?

The honest answer is that I knew cock would sell. The humble reality is that I never realized there would be such a wonderful group of regulars and so many people who get that while the event jives on a bit of titillation, there are actually some more levels operating. What are even more successful to me are the creative relationships that have formed because of NBR – between our boys, our curators and guests.

I’m really happy to have had a part in creating NBR and hope the boys, gals and those somewhere in between that come to enjoy it continue to find their way to us!

What have been some of your highlights of the past year and a half of packed nude literary salons?

Top highlights include: the pavlovian response to LEATHER which saw half the audience mostly naked and the toilets packed with action after the readings; Sam Ashby/Little Joe Magazine’s beautiful video created for our JARMAN event; Ashley Ryder’s rendition of The Hungry Caterpillar, and the boy at DADDY’s that left me speechless (a rarity) when asked about his daddy experiences…

 

Any plans for a Naked Boys Reading anthology/gallery? 

We are hoping to do a combo installation/anthology with a collection of various photographers and the work by and read by our boys. Holly Revel has done some amazing work in her “Darkroom” series with us and we are super lucky to have regular photographers Christa Holka, Zbigniew Kotwiewicz and Vanek London; their work needs to not just end up on tumblr! Keep your eyes peeled for this special event late 2014 or early 2015.

 

And what’s coming up this year with the next NBR? Does Sharon ever come out to play outside her salon? 

We are super excited for the upcoming events, including our first lady edition: Naked Girls Reading, curated by queer literature wonder-duo Hotpencil Press. March sees the boys back on stage with a cure for the winter blues. I’m curating my favourite pervert in May, a birthday celebration of Sigmund Freud! We will also be doing a small tour around the UK – so boys in areas outside of London, we want you and we’re coming to you!

You can often find me at Vogue Fabrics on the door; I also run a night there called TALL GAY AGENDA (a playful celebration of the more alpine man). I perform regularly as a part of a collective called I’m With You – in fact we have an event at the new ]Performance Space[ opening on the 28th and then in April taking our work up to Glasgow for BuzzCut Festival. That magical tranny with a fanny Holestar and I have a couple tricks up our sleeve in the coming year as well, so look out for us making some drag-art out and about. And I’m always around teaching the children about the wonders of sex and critical theory – my two favourite things!

Dr Sharon Husbands will be hosting Naked Girls Reading on Thursday 27th Feburary and the next Naked Boys Reading will be on Thursday 27th March, both at Vogue Fabrics, 66 Stoke Newington Road, Dalston, N16 7XB. 

 

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