The Sew Manly Podcast

In this episode I talk to Sarah Vezina, one of the creators behind Octopied Mind, a fashion and lifestyle brand that I've recently fallen in love with. We talk about the freedom and responsibility to be inclusive and use inclusive language, the journey to getting there as a business owner, and my experience feeling included in their community as a nonbinary person buying earrings and thongs. We also discussed her journey with mindfulness and psychedelics and Octopied Mind's IWD 2021 plans!

In this episode I chat with Ro Nwosu about her yoga practice and the importance of a global community within it. She also talks about how important inclusivity of all abilities and bodies and people is to her space and the need to listen to feedback from her community on how she teaches in order to keep learning herself. Thankfully, she also gives tips on how we can all find little bits of time to keep moving or keeping our minds engaged in times like these when a pandemic makes this kind of practice difficult.

In this episode I chat with Darby Babin (She/They) about our amazing friendship. But more about her masters research into adding feminist pedagogy into legal education and the fun that comes with talking to legal departments about that. We also talk about her upcoming PhD work in support for sexual assault survivors and where the support and research is lacking. Of course we also talked about their creative side and their amazing earrings that have come out of Peach Tree Pieces too.

In this episode I talk to KJ Forman (they/them), the amazing non-binary artist behind Lucky Little Queer. We talk about their art, collaborations, healing journey, their ongoing learning process, and the expression of queer joy through artistic expression. You can find more about KJ at luckylittlequeer.com.

In this episode I talk with Kat Inokai about the things we are doing to take active ownership of our own identities. Kat talks about spoonie theory and the impact it has had on her life, about the Alinker mobility device she has been using, and both of us talk about the mental health challenges we have faced throughout our lives and how this podcast has had to take place over the course of 10 days because of that. Kat inokai is Bumpandhustle on Instagram and the internets and is one of my favourite people in the world even though I've only had the opportunity to talk to her a few times before. In weird times like these it's a really great reminder for me that we're lucky to have access to the lives of people like Kat who share their wisdom with us daily. She also seems to have a really rad family which is no surprise given the geeky cool parenting inspiration they have.

In this episode I chat with Cat Cabajar about her many passion projects. We chat about body art and the body art movement as well as how she's incorporated art into being able to help others. She talks about her own body journey and how her art helps not just others but also herself and we talk about how we're going to partner to bring my love of nudes into an empowering art project.

In this episode I chat with Dr. Yolanda Kirkham, an Obstetrician Gynecologist and Assistant Professor in Toronto. Dr. Kirkham kindly offered up her time to answer our questions on women's, trans men's, and nonbinary gynecological and reproductive health. We put a call out to our audiences to share their questions and she sat down with me to answer them all! This was a fun episode and a great way to help us all learn and help understand that bodies are bodies and continued conversations on sexual health are a great way to reduce shame around our bodies.

In this episode I got to chat with Ashley Casselman of Hare & Hound Barbershop, who is both a great family friend and also my barber. We chatted about what it's like to be introverts who work in roles where we need to regularly talk with people, about how she creates safe spaces for clients, about confronting sexism in her job, and about Halloween.

Eva is a sex researcher and online sexuality educator focusing on the social psychology of sexuality, with interests in technology, self-compassion, and sexual communication. She is also the host of "What's My Body Doing" --- a web series all about pleasure-inclusive sex-ed for the people traditional sex-ed leaves behind.  In this episode we talk about Eva's sexual communication research, coming out later in life, talking to kids about sex and health education, and the value of lived experiences in learning. ADDITIONAL LINKS patreon.com/WhatsMyBodyDoing youtube.com/c/WhatsMyBodyDoing sexedschool.ca instagram.com/whatsmybodydoing twitter.com/whatsmybodydoin  

I chat with Mike Adamick about his recent work, Raising Empowered Daughters: A Dad-to-Dad Guide which is a wise and witty handbook for dads, suggesting ways to raise girls who won't settle for second-class-citizenship. Mike examines the array of sexisms---both subtle and not-so-subtle-girls encounter and highlights not just the ways that girls and boys are treated differently but how the roles of moms and dads are shaped by society, too. Additional notes Raising Empowered Daughters: A Dad-to-Dad Guide Mike Adamick

Amber Leventry is a queer, nonbinary writer and advocate. They also run Family Rhetoric by Amber Leventry, a Facebook page devoted to advocating for LGBTQ families one story at a time. We chat about advocating for our own mental health, using inclusive language, raising compassionate kids, and some books you should have around the house for better representation of LGBTQ folks. Additional notes Family Rhetoric by Amber Leventry @AmberLeventry scarymommy.com/books-gender-expression scarymommy.com/20-lgbtq-books-preschoolers-to-high-school-kids

In this episode I get to chat with Nick North, a friend I made at the Dad 2.0 Summit in San Antonio. Since listening to him speak on a panel about queer families I have eagerly consumed all the wonderful messages he puts into the world. We chat about raising kids who speak up, finding common ground with those who think differently than us, his experiences about how gender affects our actions, and about The Beautiful Families Project. Additional Show Notes Nicknorth.co @epicdanger

Menstruation is often discussed in a very gendered context. In this episode I talk with Molly, a 27 year old non-binary person with a passion for all things sexuality and gender who focused their degree on making spaces better for trans identified people. We chat about menstruation and its relation to some trans and non-binary people. During our chat they present some tips for how parents can help normalize these discussions and the importance of doing this repeatedly versus having one off conversations. There's an opportunity for us to learn more about how we can change these conversations to be more universally accepting and understand of the individual experiences of people who menstruate. Resources on menstruation transwhat.org/confused plannedparenthood.org/learn/health-and-wellness/menstruation helloclue.com/articles/cycle-a-z?subcategory=trans-health

Religion, or faith, or spirituality is something I have personally struggled with for a long time. But recently, I have been following progressive faith leaders like Reverend Jes Kast. This week we chat about affirming churches, women in leadership roles withing the Church, interpreting scripture, and liturgical fashion as a progressive statement.

Susanna Harris is a Graduate Student in Microbiology at UNC in Chapel Hill, North Carolina whose passion for science ranges from performing primary research to teaching the public about all topics of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math). She also founded The PhDepression in March 2018. They work to increase visibility and provide resources to those dealing with mental illness in Higher Education. I got to chat with her about moving research from the academic side to the masses, about mental health in higher education, and about existing sexism in STEAM fields. Find her at: PhDepression: thephdepression.com Twitter: twitter.com/SusannaLHarris Instagram: instagram.com/susannalharris

Frédérique Chabot is the Director of Health Promotion at Action Canada for Sexual Health & Right. I had the opportunity to chat with her about some of the harmful attitudes we carry around sex work and what we can do to address changing those beliefs. We chat about sex worker portrayal in movies and television, the misconceptions we have about who sex workers are, and about the discourse of disposal that is common when discussing sex work.

Shireen Ahmed is a writer, public speaker and an award-winning Sports Activist focusing on Muslim women in sports, and the intersections of racism and misogyny in sport. She is also one of the co-hosts of the Burn It All Down podcast, which is the first feminist sports podcast that analyzes sports culture from an intersectional feminist lens. In this episode we talk about Serena Williams, representation in all areas of sports, and how to be an ally in the journey to better representation. Additional Notes https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/julie-dicaro/burn-it-all-down http://www.shireenahmed.com Tales from a Hijabi Footballer

Andrew Gurza is a Disability Awareness Consultant and Cripple Content Creator. In his work, he seeks to explore how the lived experience of disability feels, as it interplays with intersectional communities. In this week's episode I learn more about ableism and ways I can approach changing this both as a parent and an individual. Disability After Dark is a brand aimed at talking about sexuality and disability. There is so much fear, discomfort misinformation around sex and disability out there today. GO VISIT Disability After Dark offers you a unique glimpse into sex and disability that shines a light on the intersectionality of sex and disability, the fun found in sex and disability, and the vulnerability of sex and disability that we very rarely talk about. andrewgurza.com

There's not a whole lot about parenting that's not difficult, and having conversations about sex with your kids is certainly no exception. But Dr. Nadine Thornhill is an outstanding resource for parents looking for tips on how to have meaningful conversations with their kids at any point in their lives. Nadine gives us three specific tips for ways to direct these conversations which I personally found extremely helpful. I was also grateful to hear her say that making mistakes in these discussions is not only okay, it's to be expected. We also chat about the Dads Against Daughters Dating mentality and ways men can engage in more meaningful conversations with their kids to allow for experiences. SHOW NOTES http://www.nadinethornhill.com/ https://www.youtube.com/NadineThornhill

I have followed Erynn on Twitter for a while now and have always been amazed by the time she takes to educate others on very complex topics through her (what I consider) famous threads. Her "Ask a Feminist" segment offers a great look into the ways we can change and how we need to be willing to make mistakes, and learn from them, if we are going to truly change. We also talk about how these spaces can be created for people and how she has worked to create and navigate these spaces and how the same can be done for men willing to explore and learn more about masculinity and how their actions impact those around them. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Nice White Ladies erynnbrook.com Erynn Brook on Twitter  

Small things we say to kids can have very large impacts on their life. This is the case with both the words we speak in kindness as well as those throwaway lines about “what a boy does” or “what a girl does.” In this episode I talk with Shannon Hale, author of books like Princess Academy, The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, and The Princess in Black about the differences she sees in how her stories are received by boys and girls and how the gendered treatment of stories (and so much of the way we treat kids) is problematic. We also talk about representation in stories and in authors and the importance for parents to seek out diverse stories to share with their kids and to focus on conversations and questions afterwards. A very useful shift you can make today is how you positions and talk about stories. Talk about genres of stories, and as she mentions, talk about a book as being “about” a boy or a girl versus being “for” a boy or a girl. We even get in to the completely ridiculous treatment of women superheroes on clothes for boys. Things like the absence of raven and Starfire in Teen Titans Go! merchandise and the oft-discussed swapping out of Captain America for Black Widow in Avengers merchandise. ADDITIONAL NOTES On gender and reading: www.squeetus.com/genderread.html Books by Shannon Hale: www.shannonhale.com/books.html Shannon Hale on Twitter: twitter.com/haleshannon New Study Shows Us That Female Superheroes Give Girls Confidence and Inspiration themarysue.com/female-superhero-study

Mental health is a topic I speak about often. I think of it as a very important part of me as a person and it is not something I look at with shame. In this episode I chat with psychotherapist Amanda Carver about the things that may prevent men and boys from talking about their mental health and the impacts this withholding of emotion can have in a number of areas. One takeaway (although there are many here) is to ensure that when we talk with our boys, we give them space for emotional exploration. We allow them to feel and make sure they understand this is okay. ADDITIONAL NOTES acarverpsychotherapy.com twitter.com/2amandalynn2

Hasan Hai is the man behind the stunningly popular MerB'ys calendar. I'd go into detail about how exactly this calendar looks, but it's better if you just go see for yourself. This is a great exploration into the way men are often expected to reject glitter and mermaids and the stereotypically feminine. We also talked about learning to check in on friends and about spreading kindness for the sake of spreading kindness. It was also great to talk to someone who admits to constantly learning ways to be more inclusive, understanding that this is a process that doesn't have an end. It is also wonderful to see the work they are doing is also benefiting organizations that work to end violence against women and children. ADDITIONAL NOTES Project Kindness NL: https://www.facebook.com/projectkindnessNL Doing the Thing: Ideas to Action | Hasan Hai | TEDxStJohns: https://youtu.be/QXmRQDvnQAE Newfoundland and Labrador Beard & Moustache Club (NLBMC): https://www.nlbmc.com

In the first-ever episode of the Sew Manly podcast, I chat with Rachel Miner, Executive Director of Random Acts, actor, and all around amazing person. We talk about RandomActs, kindness as strength, managing through sadness, and some of our favourite presentations of masculinity in popular culture and history. Show Notes: RandomActs: randomacts.org Rachel Miner on Twitter: twitter.com/RachelMiner1 Newt Scamander's fabulous masculinity: youtu.be/C4kuR1gyOeQ Newt Scamander cross-stitch pattern: StitchFiddle.com/c/sipvtj-gchkfe/quickview William Wilberforce: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Wilberforce

Talking about what it means to be a man. Discussing masculinity, feminism, parenthood, and social issues, all while talking about some of our favourite role models and developing a cross-stitch pattern for them.