I’ve been a fan of Vaishnavi Sundar for over five years, and it was amazing to interview her for this episode.

Our mutual friend Sacha Jones of Terf Vibes introduced me to Vaishnavi after hearing me gush about her two gender-critical films, ‘Dysphoric' and 'Behind the Looking Glass.’ I binged all four episodes of ‘Dysphoric’ the minute I heard the film existed. By that time, 2019, I’d been living with an ROGD daughter for three years and felt quite alone and dismayed by the lack of objective information about the problem. ‘Dysphoric’ filled that void in a way that felt incredibly reassuring, plus it was a highly engaging a piece of art.

Vaishnavi’s most recent film, 'Behind the Looking Glass,’ is the first-ever documentary about the wives and children of trans-identified men. It’s been widely celebrated for its artistry and also for the dignity and respect it shows its trans-widow subjects.

We discuss le fléau sans frontières (the plague without borders) and the way it finds the peculiar vulnerabilities of disparate cultures in order to barge in and make itself at home, sporting the entitlement of the most opportunistic virus. Maybe the best antidote will prove to be the intelligent, creative expressions of truth in works of art like Vaishnavi’s.

Links:

More about Vaishnavi Sundar

Watch the 4-part series, Dysphoric

Watch the documentary, Behind the Looking Glass

Credits:

Theme music by William A. Ferguson

UnMuted logo art by Anne Gibbons

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