Queer Radio & Dykes On Mykes – His&herstory

Since 1978 4ZZZ has continually presented programs in support of the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender community. On 30^th September 1992 the weekly lesbian and gay program “Gay Waves” changed in both format and name. It became a cycle every three weeks (Wednesdays 6-9pm) of “Queer Radio” for men, “Queer Radio” for LGBT’s and “The Lesbian Show” by and for women.  The Queer Radio shows were to be magazine style, dealing with specific topics and invited guests. The Lesbian Show changed its name to Dykes On Mykes in the mid-90’s.

The rotation of the shows (men/men & women/women) sounded like a good idea at time, but it soon became apparent that women presenters were only coming in for the women-specific show. So we decided to alternate Queer Radio with Dykes On Mykes each week. However even this arrangement also had problems - it was confusing for listeners as to what show was on in any given week – and some listeners needed to hear weekly gender-specific support. On 5^th December 2001 the presenters of Queer Radio and Dykes On Mykes decided to split what airtime was allocated to us and do weekly programs. It was more work for all of us – but hugely beneficial for listeners. Suddenly we could be totally up to date with everything that was happening in LGBT news and community activities.

The station generously increased total queer airtime to 4 hours (7-11pm Wednesdays) in August 2002 – Queer Radio agreed to give Dykes On Mykes the early shift (7-9pm) to suit work commitments of announcer Deb Murphy. The later shift (9-11pm) also allows Queer Radio the benefits of a more “adult” timeslot - we can say anything we like and still be easily accessible by young and older listeners alike.

(this file was updated November 2003)

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