A lot of people - especially those in the LGBTQIA+ community - struggle with body image issues. For Raven, it was her journey to being a masculine-presenting queer woman who also has a feminine shape to her body. For Richard, it was dealing with the pressure from his father to lose weight and be classically good looking. For both, the preoccupation with body image took a dangerous toll on their physical well-being.

In this episode, Phil and Alex discuss Raven’s and Richard’s stories, their own experiences dealing with body image, and the factors in and out of the queer community that contribute to how we see ourselves.

Some people discover their sexuality later in life and some are aware of it from a very young age. Noah Michelson knew he was queer from some of his earliest memories. First he was sexually attracted to Mr. Rogers, then Jesus, and ultimately “was in love with the garbage man.” After doing a saucy dance for the sultry sanitation worker, Noah was asked if he was “a little queer or something.” Though he didn’t know what it meant, he knew that it was magnificent and something he wanted to be.

In this episode, Phil and Alex welcome Noah to the show where the three discuss owning one’s sexuality, combating the sex-negative culture we live in, and the ways in which Noah is pushing the conversation farther along, both as a journalist for HuffPost and through his podcast, D is for Desire.

Welcome back to Season 2! Here's a teaser featuring our talented co-host Phil aka Corinne welcoming you all back and sharing some of the topics we'll be covering in our second season.

Season 2 Premieres December 24! Alex is excited to welcome everyone back and to share what she's looking forward to most this season.

When Stephen started going out to gay bars, he was immediately made to feel like a Black visitor in a predominantly white gay world. When Femi was socializing in queer spaces during and after college, she was struck by how it was segregated by race in the south and by gender in the north.

In this episode, Phil and Alex listen to Stephen and Femi’s story and discuss the race, racism and gender in the LGBTQ social scene, the need for safe spaces, and what it truly means to be an ally to the Black community.

Pearl Bennett transitioned later in life. While she was preparing to head back to NYC from Fire Island, she was going through her regular routine of taking off her women’s clothing to present as a man. “But Pearl came out of me,” Pearl explains, “and said ‘I’m not taking them off.’” That’s when her life changed forever, allowing her to live a fuller, more authentic life as a woman.

In this episode, Phil and Alex talk to Pearl about her transition journey, her family, and what she’s up to today.

When Robyn heard homophobic comments as a child, she had no idea how her grandmother would react when she eventually came out as trans as an adult. Similarly, Courtney wasn’t sure if he would be accepted for being gay after his father made a disparaging offhand remark about two men kissing in a music video. Would they be accepted? Or would their fears be proven true?

In this episode, Phil and Alex discuss Robyn and Courtney’s coming out stories, share their own coming out stories, and the importance of allies speaking up when they hear homophobic or transphobic remarks.

Before his transition, Teo was repeatedly dismissed by healthcare professionals when he realized he’d contracted HIV from an ex-girlfriend. Doug, meanwhile, was kicked out of a hospital room by a doctor because he wasn’t related by blood to his boyfriend, who was living with HIV at the time. Different people, different walks of live, but both shared a similar experience: culturally incompetent healthcare.

In this episode, Phil and Alex explore the discrimination in healthcare and the evolving conversation around HIV/AIDS and prevention.

When Don Bell came of age as a gay man in college, the United States was engaged in a disastrous war in Vietnam. Were it discovered that he was gay, he would’ve surely been kicked out of school and drafted into the military, a dangerous outcome at a time when Black servicemembers were disproportionately serving - and dying - overseas.

We had a chance to hear these and other stories when we filmed Don back in 2017. In this episode Phil and Alex catch up with Don about his parents, the history of Chicago’s famous gay district, the parallels is our country’s social justice movements, and what his own future holds.

Substance abuse and addiction do not discriminate. In fact, in the LGBTQ community, it sometimes feels like we are hit harder with dependency issues than any other community. In this episode, Alex and Phil discuss the stories of Ashley and Vernon, two people who turned to substances to help deal with their queer identities.