Trans in the South Podcast

Come along with us as Gem has their top surgery!Please note that this episode is about a medical procedure so there is mention of needles, IV, incisions, drains, etc. Also our usual open discussion about sex and masturbating. ^_^

Gem here! A little bit about how life has changed since surgery, what I'm doing to maintain my new chest, and when is the damn Top Surgery Episode coming out already!?Trigger warning: brief talk about stitches, small wounds

It's the night before surgery! 

Gem has an adventurous day visiting the doctor the final time before surgery, and trying to figure out who on earth wanted them to bring $1300 cash to the hospital.

Hi! Gem here with a list of items I bought for my upcoming non-binary breast surgery (nine days, eee!). Lots of helpful items and some coping ideas for anxiety that I've gleaned from therapy, r/reduction, and my obsessive YouTube search on the subject of anesthesia. Hope you enjoy this mini-update.

Listen along as Gem goes to their surgery consult, preps, gets scared, tries to get through it, goes to therapy, and pays their surgery fees.Trigger warning, brief talk about needles/IVs, exposure therapy, and a little longer talk about eating disorders, from 10:36 to 12:30.

Jules has had some interesting changes on the HRT front.

Hey, it's Gem! Are you worried about medical procedures?? Meeeee too. 

Gem has an exciting announcement! (No, they are not pregnant.)

We have been listening to our first episodes again, as is tradition. Things have changed for Jules. And she's hopeful that the world is becoming more trans friendly. 

Jules and Gem take you along with them to their local Pride festival. We get free mom hugs, stickers, hooked up with a support group, and misgendered?? 

Jules and Gem are prepping for their first post-covid Pride, and hype up a new insertable sex toy. 

Some of you may know Madeline Gregg from Tiktok; she often talks about "smex education" in an understandable way. Well today we welcome her parter Pat to our show! Pat grew up and lives in the south, recently came out as non-binary and began their HRT journey. We had a fascinating conversation stretching from polyamory to cartography. Join us!

Jules and Gem have some common-sense ideas for helping make society more trans-friendly, even if you're not trans yourself. Jules discusses how she gained confidence to outwardly transition. We wrap up with a request for submissions to share your story or suggest a trans person we should interview.

Jules and Gem take a dive into what orgasm means in the intimate experience, and then talk about the reasons we might pursue passing as cis. 

In Part 2, Jules and Gem talk about their favorite and less favorite dildos, and give you their best budget recommendations for both insertable toys and vibrators. Also we stick them to the wall to see what happens.

Jules and Gem dump all their sex toys out on the bed and let you know what they have discovered to be good, not great, and truly terrible for both the natal and post-op vulva/vagina. Part 1 covers lubricants and vibrators, with special attention paid to post-vaginoplasty toy selection and use.

We are so thrilled to talk with Katherine, who is a voice teacher and a specialist in gender affirming voice care. She shares her personal experiences, some tips for masculinizing/feminizing your personal "instrument", and resources for our community to help with affirming voice training. 

J and G are back from the fanciest event of their lives, and talk about how they felt, how many things you can fit in all the pockets of a tux, and how high heels suck.

We are going to A Very Fancy WEDDING! Jules gets a dress from Rent the Runway, Gem gets a rented tuxedo. They try them on, gender euphoria ensues.

Jules and Gem are doing an advent-calendar-style listen-through of the GCS episodes each day to celebrate a year after Jules's vulvovaginoplasty. They remember ice chips, speaking Japanese to the nurses, and Gem experiencing sleep deprivation and anxiety while Jules enjoyed being cared for by the excellent medical team and her family. 

We catch up with Gem's childhood neighbor, Dean, who tells us the fascinating and fabulous story of how he/she/they grew up, got into drag, and came out as non-binary. An interview you don't want to miss!

Jules and Gem debuted their new swimwear this weekend. 

Jules goes through yet another fun traditionally feminine rite of passage. You can guess what it is from the title. We also touch on Gem's non-binary HRT regimen.

Jules has changes up her lube for dilation; we talk about trans voice lessons.

Jules has finally finished changing her name. Regular listeners may not be surprised to find out that it isn't actually "Jules".

In which we reveal if we have COVID19! And how we were feeling!

Gem dilates whenever Jules does for an entire day, leading to some interesting, uncomfortable, and possibly titillating discoveries. (Their two cats also make an appearance.)

Sick in bed on the 2nd day of the New Year, Jules and Gem have nothing to do but talk about name changes (both of theirs), penii, debate what color sage really is, and Gem tells how they helped a small mob of hippies to eject a mask-denier.

A quick shout out from Gem as Jules leaves to begin her name change process.

Jules and Gem (and their cats) move from *redacted* to *redacted*, with lots of adventures along the way. TW: poop talk

We got silly one night and decided to share Jules's texts while she was waking up from her anesthesia after surgery.

A nice mashup of a few stories from different days here, as Jules and Gem recap Jules's 6 week checkup with Papillon Center, and get too excited to hear from several listeners for the first time! Thanks for writing!

We are hiking today, and took a minute near a giant waterfall to admire the view and discuss trans politicians, hiking lesbians, and Gem's tenuous grasp of US geography. We DO NOT talk about dilating (for once!). So enjoy that. :)

We have gotten into hiking again, and we seem to be seeing a lot of women in flannel. Also, we talk a good bit about what Jules calls our "proto-sex" experiences with the new equipment.

Gem and Jules reveal some exciting recent life news, then talk pretty medically about how the healing process has gone (listener discretion advised). We also wonder about douches and when Jules will get cleared for sexytimes.

4 weeks out of surgery now, Jules and Gem discuss recent hiking activity, democratic activity, and sexual activity,

Recorded on a car ride Nov. 4 (3 weeks out from the surgery), we BRIEFLY touch on our hopes for the country's future, then dive right back into recovery: the good, the uncomfortable, and the stinky. Also: just how dumb Jules' family Dalmation was.

Reunited, Jules and Gem discuss the process of getting home, a solid diet for recovery, and learning more about dilation from experience (hey, it's all we're doing these days!).

As Jules' time in the northeast comes to an end, she talks dilation (again, ouch), revisits pepper spray safety, and gets her "okay-to-fly" checkup with Dr. McGinn's office. Also, moving up dilator sizes... yikes!

The big day has arrived! Listen in with Gem as they join Jules via video for her "unboxing" at Dr. McGinn's office. Then, Jules takes us through her first day dilating (kinda sexy?), peeing (not quite as sexy), and finally finding out why AFABs use so much toilet paper.

Jules is settled in her AirBNB and ready to regain normal bodily functions. It's going... okay?

Jules gets released from the hospital and settled at the AirBNB with her family. Recovery continues with peeing standing up, driving through the PA countryside flat on her back, and a panty scare.

Jules takes us through her day recovering in the hospital as Gem flies home. Topics include blessedly solid food, walking around the ward, and the fascinating novel sensations she's getting from her brand new parts.

Gem takes us to the hospital to talk to Jules about her first 24 hours of recovery, what's uncomfortable (and what surprisingly isn't), and how she's doing emotionally after her vulvo-vaginaplasty procedure.

Gem attempts to get into the hospital to visit Jules (thanks COVID), Jules fights through the meds to tell us how she’s feeling post-surgery, and Gem loses the rental car at the valet.

It’s finally the morning of Jules’ GCS! Follow us through all the fun pre-procedure activities, meeting the care team, finally seeing the elusive (and hilarious) Dr. McGinn, and being wheeled away to the OR.

24 hours away from surgery, it’s time to do final preparations: COVID testing and hospital admissions papers, shopping for hair accessories and groceries, packing, losing things, finding things again, and the dreaded bowel prep.

In the 48-hour countdown to Jules’ surgery, we visit the CVS for all our recommended supplies, stop to pee a lot (Jules discusses her experience using the bathroom as a trans person; Gem talks playing “pooping chicken”), Jules gets her first hot flash, and we arrive at the airBnB... but did Gem leave their suitcase in VA?!?

5 hours into the trip, Jules and Gem share about surgery packing and prep so far, the “fun” 48-hr liquid diet starting tomorrow, shaving with friends, and how girls shouldn’t go get gas alone at night in strange towns.

Jules and Gem are so excited to prep for Jules' much-anticipated bottom surgery in just 7 days! But COVID19 threatens to throw a wrench in the works at the last moment...