Black, Queer, & ...

Whew chile! It's been a long ass minute, but through many dangers, toils, snares, a pandemic, quarantine, and injustice- we are finally back with a new episode. Thanks for listening in... and lets not forget- All Black Lives Matter! 

Quarantine thoughts... How do we do we deal with and heal from the baggage of past sexual trauma- especially when we are now in healthy relationships? Can some of this trauma be eliminated if adults stop over sexualizing our children and just let them be free spirits and dare we say, children??? 

We missed ya'll!!! Our home is pneumonia free, cold free, done with birthdays, engagement celebrations, and finally getting back to normal! This week we're talking about when we first realized or acknowledged that we were queer.... come on in and listen to our very different stories. 

Did ya'll miss us?! We feel like it's been forever since we released an episode, but we were over here dealing with Christmas colds, birthday pneumonia, and an ENGAGEMENT! That's right- we're engaged and talking about our sappy ass happiness. 

New year, new episode! On this weeks episode we're talking about how we heal from childhood hurt and trauma, letting go of toxic people (friends and family included), and finding safety in chosen family. 

A couple months ago we ventured out to Brooklyn, New York to visit family and attend a wedding. Since I was young, one of my favorite things about New York was seeing my cousin Jewly. This trip we got to sit down with some cocktails and chicken, and have an intimate conversation with Jewly about trans visibility, family, and the impact of Pose. 

We're sitting down to talk about our anxieties, how we cope, and learning to let go of the things that we love, but don't necessarily love us. 

An intimate conversation with singer/songwriter, Jaila Simms. You may know Qing Jaila as the winner of Diddy's "Making His Band," background singer for Faith Evans, Grammy nominated songwriter, or GLAAD Award nominee- but she is also a solo artist and fierce activist in the trans community, using her music to uplift the queer community.     

We had the opportunity to sit down with Rev. Kamal Hassan- a spiritual leader, educator, and community servant in the Oakland/San Francisco Bay Area. He is an unapologetic advocate for inclusivity regardless of one's sexuality, sex or gender. Though toxic masculinity is the topic for the week, make no mistake, Rev. Kamal is a strong ally for the (queer) community. He leads the charge for black cisgender men, in positions of leadership, across the bay area and beyond.

This is the episode Schmian has been on my case about! She's so excited to talk about her experience at Twitchcon and the everyday homophobia and racism in the gaming world. 

10 black & queer folk walk into a bar... well, actually a winery (true story), but this outing got us thinking about new friendships. How important is it to form friendships as an adult? When forming these relationships, do you factor in gender, ethnicity, culture, sexuality, or community? Meaningful and healthy relationships can be important at any age... let's talk about why. 

Take a listen, and join us for an intimate conversation with photographer & activist Marcus "Lex" Thompson, a.k.a. LEX NUMAN. We talked about his perspectives on toxic masculinity, transphobia, and why it was important for him, a cis het male, to show the world the humanness & beauty of trans women through the beauty awareness movement- Feminini_T.  

Last week we ventured back East (Brooklyn Baby!!!) for a family wedding. It got us thinking about the feelings around attending family events when you're queer, and the things people go through just to gain acceptance from those they love.   

Writer & Producer, Rhonda Kennedy joins us to talk about her new short film- "Medicated Dawn," as well as the importance of black & queer writers and producers developing black and queer projects.  

We're talking about sex.... sex.... and more sex.... plus intimacy, and what all of that means as we get older and our relationship keeps growing. Sex is what you make it!

We went to So Oakland Day Fest last month and started thinking about community. Sense of community is so important to us- as Black folk, and as members of the LGBTQ community. What happens when one part of your community doesn't fully accept the other part??? Let's chat about that, along with some other random thoughts. 

In this episode, let's look at the ups and downs of relationships, what "healthy" means to us, and how we've learned to be flexible. Extra commentary from my favorite seminarians, super scholars, and same gender loving couple- Shannon & Joslin. 

What gives you hope... and who has had the audacity to try and take it from you? Let's talk about it.... as well as lessons we learned from the Lion King

Take a few shots with us and lets just talk shit about anything and everything that comes up. www.backqueerpodcast.com 

As people of color and queer folk, is it ever appropriate to assimilate??? Let's talk about it....www.blackqueerpodcast.com 

It's our first episode! Come figure out who we are, why we're here and what being Black & Queer means to us. Extra Commentary from Marvin K. White (Poet Extraordinaire), Ms. Crystal (Beautiful Trans Woman), and Rae Ingram (Host of QueerVotion Podcast). www.blackqueerpodcast.com