Em Rusciano On Her Book Blood, Sweat and Glitter, Queer Joy, and Finding Her People
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Australian comedian, performer, and unapologetic glitter bomb of unfiltered ADHD energy Em Rusciano has always known where she belongs, surrounded by queer people, a little chaos, and a lot of sparkle.
Her new book, Blood, Sweat and Glitter, is a love letter to anyone who’s ever felt like too much or not enough and, in true Em fashion, it’s as heartfelt as it is hilarious.
“I’ve, since I was a very little girl, sought refuge with gay men, especially because they enjoyed me, whereas everyone else seemed to endure me,” she laughs as she reflects of the role the queer community has played in her life.
“When I would get around straight people, there’d be a lot of eye rolling and, ‘Oh, you’re a bit much, aren’t you?’ But when I got around the gays, they were like, more. And I was like, oh, these are my people.”
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Raised on Love and Lesbians
Em’s affection for the LGBTQIA+ community goes back to her childhood. “My mum worked at the AIDS hospital when I was little, and I would hang out with the men at the hospice waiting for her to finish work. We spoke about Disney and Madonna and Whitney, and I would put on little musicals for them,” she recalls fondly. “My mum was friends with a lot of the lesbian nurses, of course they were, back in the day.”
That sense of belonging became a foundation for Em’s life and work. “I don’t know where I would be without the queer community, in all honesty,” she says. “They’ve saved me on more than one occasion.”
Her love for queer folk extends to her own home. Both of her older children identify as queer, something that, for Em, was never a “big reveal” moment. “Their generation don’t really label themselves,” she explains. “There wasn’t a coming out or anything. They don’t need to with me, obviously. It’s just them. It’s not a big deal.”
Her household has always been one of love and acceptance,“They went to drag shows when they were kids, and all my friends are gay men. There’s just a lot of lesbians in my life because I need a lot of organising,” she says with a grin. “It was never presented to my kids as something that is this scary life choice. They’ve always been encouraged to love whoever they love as long as they’re a good person.”
Blood, Sweat and Glitter – for the Outsiders
Em’s new book Blood, Sweat and Glitter is as loud, emotional, and unapologetically queer coded as its title suggests. The cover alone is a camp masterpiece. “If this front cover isn’t for gay men, I don’t know what else I can do for you,” she says of her leopard print outfit adorning the cover.
Inside, the book sparkles with sincerity and self awareness. “The whole book isn’t just for women of a certain age,” Em explains. “It’s for anybody who has felt othered in life and likes to go on little side quests and likes random plays and scenes shoved into their books.”
Accessibility was a big focus for her. “We used a special font for people with dyslexia,” she says. “People have told me, ‘I haven’t read a book since I was 12, but I read yours in two days.’ I made sure the way I wrote it was with my brain cadence, it had to work for people who think like me.”
And in pure Em Rusciano style, it’s not just memoir, it’s therapy, comedy, and chaos all rolled into one. “I wrote it for Em when she was in crisis, hoping that other people would see themselves in my stories,” she says. “I want it to be on your bedside table to reassure you if you’re having a bad night. I give you the problem and the solution every time. I want you to feel found. I want you to feel like you’re not alone.”
The Neurodivergent and the Fabulous
Em has become an unexpected beacon for the neurodivergent community a connection that, again, overlaps beautifully with her queer audience. “Obviously, a high proportion of the queer community are neurodivergent,” she points out. “And they’ve found me through my advocacy for the neurodivergent community as well.”
“I’m a staunch ally of the queer community and the neurodivergent community, and the Venn diagram of that is obviously me in the middle,” she laughs. “My shows are always gay men and straight women and gay women also, and a lot of non-binies. No straight men” she says of her music and comedy shows.
The Unfiltered Star We Chose
Despite her stints on Australian Idol and The Masked Singer, Em doesn’t see herself as a traditional celebrity. “I think I’m that new generation of online. People choose me,” she says. “I buried myself away off mainstream media because I didn’t exactly fit in. If you know me, you love me but I can walk around fine if you don’t, and I prefer that.”
Her relationship with social media is refreshingly real. “I forget to film constantly because I’m experiencing life, not documenting it,” she admits. “It’s just much easier to put up what’s actually happening. I don’t have time to create a false narrative. I have ADHD, I’m perimenopausal, I don’t know how my frontal lobe’s doing, I’m concerned for her!”
But what she’s built online, a community of queer, neurodivergent, and gloriously weird people is her proudest achievement. “I love social media. It’s given me a career and enabled me to find my own community. All of us who are othered for being whatever, we all found each other online,” she says.
Finding Joy and Glitter in Every Chapter
Her life now is a whirl of podcasts, performances, and pinch-me moments. She recently lent her voice to the upcoming Disney Pixar film Elio, a surreal, full circle moment for the self-confessed “Disney adult.” “It was such an incredible experience,” she says. “For my son to hear my voice in a movie with his name in it, it’s just lovely and so full circle.” Her interview with Wicked stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande saw her go viral, even landing Erivo as a one on one guest on her podcast, Emsolation.
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And while television producers keep calling, she knows exactly what she wants. “I’d love a shiny floor variety show where I have a band and I sing an opening number and then the guest comes out and we chat,” she muses. “But it would have to be on a streamer. My days of bowing to those people are behind me. I’m the boss now. I make stuff for people I like, with people I like. It’s the dream.”
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Em Rusciano’s Blood, Sweat and Glitter is out now online and in stores. Catch her on tour across the country as she launches the book, including a Brisbane Powerhouse appearance in late November.
Bring your glitter, your gays, and your good energy, she’ll provide the rest.
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