Gender Stories

In this solo episode, your host, Dr Alex Iantaffi reflects on the impact of gender during the COVID-19 public health crisis. How does the way in which we are gendered influence the ways in which we are impacted by this pandemic? Why is talking about gender relevant and necessary at this time? Listen to find out what Alex thinks and feel free to share your thoughts and experiences by emailing them at [email protected]
You can also support the podcast on Patreon. Thank you for listening.

Instagram: GenderStories
Hosted by Alex Iantaffi
Music by Maxwell von Raven
Gender Stories logo by Lior Effinger-Weintraub

In this episode Alex Iantaffi interviews award-winning educator, curriculum writer and sexologist Bianca I Laureano. In fact, they had so much fun that their conversation is split between two episodes, so make sure to listen to both parts. Bianca is a founding member of the Women of Color Sexual Health Network (WOCSHN) and The LatiNegrxs Project. Her most recent project is ANTE UP! a virtual freedom school for justice workers offering professional development and certification we need for doing the work during these challenging times. Bianca earned her BA in Individual Studies with a focus on Latina Sexualities in 2000 from the University of Maryland, College Park. She earned a Masters of Arts from NYU in Human Sexuality Education in 2002 and a second Masters of Arts from the University of Maryland in Women’s Studies with a focus on sexualities, race, and racialization in 2006.  While at UM she was a CrISP Scholar at the Consortium on Race, Gender, and Ethnicity and helped create the Intersectional Research Database. She has written several curricula that focus on communities of color: What’s the REAL DEAL about Love and Solidarity? (2015) and Communication MixTape: Speak On It Vol 1. (2017) and wrote the sexual and reproductive justice discussion guide for the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene published in 2018. Bianca has been on the board of CLAGS, the LGBTQ Center at CUNY, and The Black Girl Project; and is currently on the SisterSong board. She currently resides in Oakland, CA with her core partner G and is an AASECT certified sexuality educator and supervisor. Find out more about Bianca at her website BiancaLaureano.com and about ANTE UP! at www.AnteUpPD.com  You can also follow Bianca on Facebook. Bianca's call to action is to support the wonderful Patty Berne's GoFundMe!

Instagram: GenderStories
Hosted by Alex Iantaffi
Music by Maxwell von Raven
Gender Stories logo by Lior Effinger-Weintraub

In this episode Alex Iantaffi interviews award-winning educator, curriculum writer and sexologist Bianca I Laureano. In fact, they had so much fun that their conversation is split between two episodes, so make sure to listen to both part 1 & 2. Bianca is a founding member of the Women of Color Sexual Health Network (WOCSHN) and The LatiNegrxs Project. Her most recent project is ANTE UP! a virtual freedom school for justice workers offering professional development and certification we need for doing the work during these challenging times. Bianca earned her BA in Individual Studies with a focus on Latina Sexualities in 2000 from the University of Maryland, College Park. She earned a Masters of Arts from NYU in Human Sexuality Education in 2002 and a second Masters of Arts from the University of Maryland in Women’s Studies with a focus on sexualities, race, and racialization in 2006.  While at UM she was a CrISP Scholar at the Consortium on Race, Gender, and Ethnicity and helped create the Intersectional Research Database. She has written several curricula that focus on communities of color: What’s the REAL DEAL about Love and Solidarity? (2015) and Communication MixTape: Speak On It Vol 1. (2017) and wrote the sexual and reproductive justice discussion guide for the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene published in 2018. Bianca has been on the board of CLAGS, the LGBTQ Center at CUNY, and The Black Girl Project; and is currently on the SisterSong board. She currently resides in Oakland, CA with her core partner G and is an AASECT certified sexuality educator and supervisor. Find out more about Bianca at her website BiancaLaureano.com and about ANTE UP! at www.AnteUpPD.com  You can also follow Bianca on Facebook. Bianca's call to action is to support the wonderful Patty Berne's GoFundMe!

Instagram: GenderStories
Hosted by Alex Iantaffi
Music by Maxwell von Raven
Gender Stories logo by Lior Effinger-Weintraub

Alex Iantaffi interviews Cassandra Snow, author of Queering the Tarot. Cassandra Snow (they/them/she/her) is a professional tarot card reader, teacher, writer, and theatre maker in Minneapolis, MN. Cassandra believes tarot is a powerful tool for insight that leads to healing that leads to liberation and empowerment. Their tarot practice centers around empowerment of queer seekers, overcoming personal trauma, practical step by step business or creative plans and spiritual guidance. As a writer, tarot is also one of Cassandra's  focuses, and she penned the long running queer journey through the tarot, Queering the Tarot at Thecolu.mn and Little Red Tarot, now available on Patreon. This series has been turned into a book through RedWheel/Wieser Publishing and was released in May 2019! Cassandra's writing has been featured not only on their own blog and at Little Red Tarot, but at Take Your Pills (a mental health blog), and Howlround. Cassandra also served as Contributing Arts Editor at TheColu.mn until its closing. Cassandra also runs Gadfly Theatre Productions, a queer and feminist theatre company in Minneapolis, MN who makes queer art by and for queer people. They serve as co-artistic director for the company and have for the past ten years. Cassandra has been reading tarot for over about 14 years and has "gone pro" for about 9 years. You can find out more at www.cassandra-snow.com.  Their instagram handle is tarotcassandra and they offer daily tarot guidance and advice there and on their community style patreon at patreon.com/cassandrasnow

Instagram: GenderStories
Hosted by Alex Iantaffi
Music by Maxwell von Raven
Gender Stories logo by Lior Effinger-Weintraub

Alex Iantaffi interviews Jackson Bird about his first book - Sorted: Growing Up, Coming Out, and Finding My Place -  as well as being a trans creator and so much more! Jackson Bird is a writer and digital creator dedicated to demystifying the transgender experience by sharing his and others’ stories online. You can hear some of those stories on his YouTube channel jackisnotabird. A TED Resident and Speaker, Jackson’s TED Talk “How to talk (and listen) to transgender people” has been viewed over a million times. Jackson was also a 2018 GLAAD Rising Star Digital Innovator, a YouTube NextUp Creator, and a LogoTV Social Trailblazer nominee. Currently a Civic Media Fellow at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg Innovation Lab, he is also known for his past work with the Harry Potter Alliance. Jackson lives in New York City, where he regularly puts his apartment at risk with his slapdash YouTube series, Will It Waffle? You can follow him online @jackisnotabird 

Instagram: GenderStories
Hosted by Alex Iantaffi
Music by Maxwell von Raven
Gender Stories logo by Lior Effinger-Weintraub

Alex Iantaffi interviews the creator, host and producer of the weekly, award-winning podcast Gender Reveal. Molly Woodstock is a journalist, audio producer, and inclusivity educator. They are queer and trans and biracial and other things. Molly frequently leads diversity & equity workshops with an emphasis in transgender topics. They have been featured as a gender educator in the New York Times, NPR, Washington Post, SF Chronicle, and other publications. They were a 2019 Third Coast/Ragdale radio resident and a 2019 Third Coast featured speaker. Molly has previously worked as a health editor, a vegan food writer, and the editor of the Portland visitors guide. They’ve written 500+ articles for various publications and edited hundreds more. Their bylines include such outlets as the Washington Post, Bitch, and Portland Monthly, You can find out more about Molly and their work at https://mollywoodstock.com/

Instagram: GenderStories
Hosted by Alex Iantaffi
Music by Maxwell von Raven
Gender Stories logo by Lior Effinger-Weintraub

Alex Iantaffi interviews Sam Lofgren. They are the owner of Companion in Shadow and are dedicated to helping folks in transitional times find clarity and affirmation. They offer services as a 20+ year professional tarot reader and educator; death, abortion, and loss doula; shadow work specialist; and jewelry artisan, exploring the intersections of divination and death. Sam is the author of Tarot of Little Secrets, and the column "Death Needs a Bureaucrat" (on the paperwork involved with end of life planning). Their call to action is for folks to complete their end of life/advanced planning paperwork, to ensure their decisions about their care are honored and respected. You can find out more about Sam's work at companioninshadow.com or follow them on Instagram and Facebook  @companioninshadow 

Instagram: GenderStories
Hosted by Alex Iantaffi
Music by Maxwell von Raven
Gender Stories logo by Lior Effinger-Weintraub

Alex Iantaffi interviews De Ana Jones and the conversation is wide-ranging: from why we need diverse games, what stories we choose to tell and how conventions can be more truly inclusive. De Ana Jones is a blogger and podcaster from Southern California who in elementary school learned that the stories in her head were easier to keep track of on paper. She previously liked to talk about nerdy things on the Nerdgasm Noire podcast (and hopes to start again soon) and currently enjoys playing Indie RPGs with The Reclaimers group on the I Need Diverse Games twitch channel. She's had fiction previously published in Hidden Youth by Crossed Genres and an essay published by Fireside Fiction. She's also working on a web comic (https://www.patreon.com/hexschoolforgirls) and is a self-proclaimed Professional Smartass on twitter as @NaniCoolJ.

Instagram: GenderStories
Hosted by Alex Iantaffi
Music by Maxwell von Raven
Gender Stories logo by Lior Effinger-Weintraub

Dr Alex Iantaffi moderates a live panel discussing 10 years of Reclaim, an organization devoted to to increasing access to mental health support for queer and trans youth so they might reclaim their lives from oppression in all of its forms. The panelists are: Janet Bystrom, Reclaim's Founder; Autumn Brown, Co-Host of the Podcast How to Survive the End of the World and former interim Executive Director of Reclaim; and Reclaim Alum Elizabeth Soleayst. They discuss Reclaim's history, how the organization touched their lives and the way in which their gender stories were shaped by Reclaim. If you're interested in queer and trans youth, mental health and healing justice, this episode is for you.
If you would like to find out more about Reclaim, please visit https://www.reclaim.care/

Instagram: GenderStories
Hosted by Alex Iantaffi
Music by Maxwell von Raven
Gender Stories logo by Lior Effinger-Weintraub

Dr Alex Iantaffi interviews Dan Hinz, MBA about money and relationships. Dan is the gentle soul and financial coach behind Adulting With Money. For six years, Dan has taught newlyweds how to be on the same page with money and stop money fights before they start. His 20,000+ word ebook, How to Talk About Money with Your Spouse: The Ultimate Guide, teaches couples how to focus on meaningful, lifelong habits and sprinkles in some helpful hacks. To download the free guide "How to talk about money with you spouse; the ultimate guide", please go to: adultingwithmoney.com/GS

Instagram: GenderStories
Hosted by Alex Iantaffi
Music by Maxwell von Raven
Gender Stories logo by Lior Effinger-Weintraub