Masculine Birth Ritual

Today we are talking with Sara Flores-Boudreaux. They are a Mestiza Mujer Midwife that has been providing health, wellness, and birth care to Masculine of Center Queer, Trans, non-binary, and Two-Spirit people, primarily Black, Brown, and Indigenous people, for decades. Sara is a parent and also one of the Principal Authors of the Brown Bois Health Guide, Freeing Ourselves, a Guide to Health and Self Love for Brown Bois, which was released in 2011. They run their own midwife practice, RECLAIM Midwifery, which is currently in hibernation while they work in a hospital setting and shares her knowledge through education.

This is part one of a two-part conversation with Sara.

Show notes and transcription are available at https://www.masculinebirthritual.com/

To support this show: patreon.com/masculinebirthritual

In Episode 5 Rabbi Elliot Kukla talks with us about Jewish birth rituals, Yiddish women's traditions surrounding fertility and birth, non-binary parenting, and the documentation of gender-queer, non-binary, and intersex people within the Jewish tradition. He is the first known ordained Trans Rabbi and is a nonbinary Papa to a 3-month-old baby.

Show notes and transcription of this episode are available at masculinebirthritual.com. To continue the conversation, follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. If you liked this episode, share it with your friends! Thank you for supporting these conversations as they make their way out into the world.

In this interview, we talk with Ryan, a transmasculine birth parent, about how he felt during pregnancy and after birth. We talk about how a lack of transmasculine competency in most birth and post-birth services impacted his medical options and post-birth care, as well as how he felt not-seen, welcome, or fully supported within the community as a birth parent. He bravely shares with us the challenges of what happens when gender dysphoria intersects with pregnancy and birth. This conversation goes deep into some of the hard parts of birthing outside the lines.  

For show notes and transcription of this episode check out our website:

https://www.masculinebirthritual.com/

Mac Brydum is a doula and a transman that is trying to conceive (TTC). In this interview, we discuss the role of the doula, particularly how they can support queer and transmasculine families. Mac talks about his hopes and dreams for pregnancy and birth, and we talk a lot about building a community that supports queer and trans parents and our kids.

The interview today is with Vanya Hollis, a butch birth parent and high school science teacher. We talk about gender, conception, challenges in lactation, the politics of biological sex and the "need" for people to know, and parasites of the chosen variety. We also dig into feelings about queer community ethos vs. her and her partner's social experience of having a new baby.

Resources mentioned in the show today include:

The Ultimate Guide to Lesbian Conception and Birth by Stephanie Brill (Book)

Music for this episode:

"Detroit" by Great White Buffalo

"Part-Time Lover" by the Undynamic Pop Experiment

A full transcription of the show can be found at:

https://www.masculinebirthritual.com/show-notes-transcribed-episodes

In this introductory episode to the Masculine Birth Ritual podcast Grover Wehman-Brown gives an overview of the what and why of Masculine Birth Ritual. She gives an introduction to herself and why she answered a call to build this project. This episode includes information on how to follow Masculine Birth Ritual through social media, what kind of stories and artists we are actively seeking to talk with, and information on how to support the work through becoming a patron or sponsor.