On this week’s episode, hosts Tre’vell Anderson and Shar Jossell discuss trans visibility within the reality tv realm with very special guests, Grammy award nominated artist and winner of MTV’s Diddy’s Making His Band, Qing Jaila Simms and writer, comedian, and Survivor: Game Changer key player, Zeke Smith. Both reality tv pioneers discuss their experience filming on set and navigating high visibility in the real world once the cameras stopped rolling. But first, Tre’vell and Shar discuss “Possibility Models” or the first examples of queerness/transness in media that queer audiences may have related to growing up - stars like Isis King in America’s Next Top Model or Leiomy Maldonado from America’s Best Dance Crew or even children’s media like the Powerpuff Girls, Sailor Moon, and Sesame Street. And later, we hear from Bryanna, Calypso, Ney who share their personal connections with trans characters from the last 20 years, on shows like Pose, Noah’s Arc, and RuPaul’s Drag Race. 

Over the course of this series, Tre’vell and Shar will be including the personal experiences of ‘everyday’ trans people. To that end, anyone in community who wishes to comment on or speak to issues brought up on the show, please share your thoughts with them. We’ve made it easy to record a message. Just click SpeakPipe.com/WeSeeEachOther and follow the very simple instructions. If you’d like to email Shar and Tre’vell, you can send any message to [email protected] and put WSEO in the subject line.

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We made it easy to share your thoughts. Go to SpeakPipe.com/WeSeeEachOther

You can buy We See Each Other: A Black Trans Journey Through TV & Film the book wherever books are sold

Mentioned in the Show

To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything! Julie Newmar 

Diddy’s Making His Band 

Survivor: Game Changers 

Pose

Isis King 

Leiomy Maldonado

IG:

@Rayzhon 

@sharsaysso 

@slayzhon (WSEO IG) 

Twitter

@trevellanderson 

@sharssaysso 

@slayzhon 

@vivalapalma (Producer, Palmira Muniz)

@swishswish (Senior Producer, Laura Swisher) 

Music: Neverending Nina (IG @neverendingninanotes)

Producer: Palmira Muniz

Senior Producer: Laura Swisher

Laura Swisher is senior producer 

Music: Neverending Nina

We See Each Other: The Podcast is produced and distributed by MaximumFun.org

This podcast is supported by Critical Minded, an initiative to invest in cultural critics of color co founded by The Nathan Cummings Foundation and The Ford Foundation. It’s a production of Slayzhon and Maximum Fun!