In this interview, Ryan & I are incredibly honored to travel to Carlton to interview Brenda Appleton.

In 2015, Brenda was appointed as co-chair of the Victorian Government’s LGBTI Taskforce. In 2016 she was appointed to the Victorian Mental Health Expert Taskforce. In 2017 Brenda was inducted into the Victorian Honour Roll of Women. In 2018, Brenda received a Victoria Senior of the Year Award. In 2019 Brenda was awarded an Order of Australia Medal.

Today Brenda talks incredibly openly with us about her love of art, theatre, bridge, sustainable living, and co-housing. She also shares her gender journey over the last 20 years with us. She speaks of giving family time to catch up to gender affirmation, how community services can better meet the needs of trans and gender diverse youth, the importance of end of life planning for transgender people, and providing hope for those that are coming behind.

For further supports please check out our website at callmebymynameproject.com

In this episode, Lee and Ryan spend time with Amao, a proud Fa'afafine who uses the pronouns she/her/diva. Amao talks about the importance of cultural identity, her advocacy work, self-acceptance, love, shifts in language, and laying the foundations for future generations of trans and gender diverse folk. She generously shares her experiences and insights with us, and does so with both humor and grace. Just a note on audio: this conversation was recorded in a cafe, so there is a bit of background noise. We've done our best to minimize it, but you might need to turn the volume up for this episode!

Lee and Ryan head to Swinburne University's queer room to meet Jodie, who is 20 years old and uses she/her pronouns. Jodie shares her experiences growing up in Coffs Harbour, and later Wangaratta, before moving to Melbourne by herself to attend university in 2017. We talk about what it's like visiting Wangaratta since transitioning, gender euphoria, young adult fantasy literature, finding and building community, and coming out in the workplace.

In this episode, Lee and Ryan head to Northcote to meet Tara, who uses she/her pronouns. Among other things, Tara speaks to us about moving to Australia from a small town near Copenhagen, stencil art and rock-climbing, restrictive gender norms and undermining them, pronouns and visibility, how things have shifted since she came out 14 years ago, class, chosen family, and the importance of sharing job-seeking skills and knowledge, and improving access to employment for trans people.

In today’s episode Lee & Ryan travel to Zakaria and Caroline’s beautiful home in Footscray that they share with their two cats.

Zakaria and Caroline generously share their story of their love and relationship with us, which is often comedic but always tender. They speak about growing up in big families, the importance of carving out time to do nice things together, like traveling, watching Netflix, going on drives together, and listening to podcasts and harry potter books. Zakaria discusses the seemingly sudden decision to begin HRT and the ways in which the people around him have loved and supported him to experiment with his identity. Both, Caroline and Zakaria discuss the the importance of nurturing the relationships you have with the important people around you.

For additional support please check out our website at callmebymynameproject.com

In this episode, Lee and I chat with Sage (they/them) at their lovely plant-filled house in Ascot Vale, and get to meet their super sweet dalmation.

Sage speaks to us about growing up in Lebanon, going to an all-girls Catholic private school in Melbourne, the pressures to conform to strict gender norms, and working for Australia's largest youth-driven LGBTIQA+ organization (minus 18). They also talk about experiencing being trans as a gift, undergoing second puberty at the age of 27, their love of camping and being outdoors, and their connection to place.

In this episode Sasja invites Lee & Ryan to her beautiful home in St Kilda. Sasja uses she/her pronouns and speaks about her incredible career in fashion, her love for cooking, and her worldwide travels. Sasja outlines her experience of transitioning at the age of 14 in Singapore, storing clothes in her families letterbox, dressing up in public toilets and going to clubs. She speaks of reconnection with her mum, who is now her best friend, and all the good friends she met along the way, her instincts to help other trans people and the importance of trans visibility.

For a list of resources please visit our website at callmebymynameproject.com. Help support the podcast by rating and sharing wherever you are listening to it and if you’re able to please check out our kickstarter at kickstarter.com/callmekickstarter to help fund the rest of this season. There are rewards for every tier of support.

We hope you enjoy the first episode.

Welcome to Season #2 of the Call Me By My Name Project | A Trans Oral History Project, hosted by Ryan (They/Them) & Lee (They/Them).

Lee & Ryan introduce Season One of The Call Me By My Name Project: A Trans Oral History

Music throughout by 90s Flav. To find more on 90sFlav check out the following links:

🌙 youtu.be/eB_U-mbPuEE

Spotify - goo.gl/UmAVYJ

Itunes - goo.gl/3Ko2N8

Amazon - goo.gl/aL7mth