Malafemmina: A New Podcast by Professor Chloé Barreau

JCU Communications Professor Chloé Barreau’s upcoming podcast Malafemmina will be released on Storytel on November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. Malafemmina tells the story of a friendship between a French filmmaker and a transgender artist in Rome. It is a vibrant journey in the life of an underground artist, an intimate look at the theme of transition, and a diary of friendship and sisterhood.

'Malafemmina' by Chloé Barreau

‘Malafemmina’ by Chloé Barreau

According to the podcast, “Malafemmina” is a term used to describe a charming and unobtainable woman who incites fear. Traditionally the term indicated adulteresses and prostitutes, but also singers and dancers. Lilith Primavera is a singer, performer, actress, poet, model, and feminist who primarily works in the underground clubs of the East Rome neighborhood of Pigneto. She was born a male and started taking hormones and transitioning when she was 18, which is when she took the name Lilith.

Chloé Barreau (left) and Lilith Primavera (right)

Chloé Barreau (left) and Lilith Primavera (right)

In Jewish mythology, Lilith was Adam’s first wife, who was created at the same time and from the same clay as him. “Lilith was feared like a nocturnal demon, associated with storms, witchcraft, and lust, but at the same time she also embodied the cult of femininity,” says Barreau in the podcast. Lilith Primavera is nicknamed “The queen of the night” by Barreau, because she is “a creature of the night, a woman who doesn’t go unnoticed.”

“By focusing on the personal and universal aspects of Lilith’s story, I have tried to cast aside the typical stereotypes tied to transgender people and shed light on the many different ways to be a woman,” says Prof. Barreau.

Chloé Barreau is a freelance creative producer, writer, and documentary director, specializing in podcasts. In Spring 2021 she will be teaching DMA 328 Promotional Videos.

Storytel is a streaming platform founded in 2005 that has a large catalog of audiobooks and podcasts.