Transform: Beyond the Transition

On this very special election day podcast, we interviewed Mara Keisling, the founder and Executive Director of the National Center for Transgender Equality.  Mara took her valuable time to share her stories and experiences of being on the front lines of policy work to protect transgender folks and we were so grateful to learn from her. 

You can check out the work of the NCTE at https://transequality.org/

She mentioned getting involved with their 501C4 advocacy organization, which can be found at https://www.ncteactionfund.org/

Follow them on twitter @transequality and on Facebook at National Center for Transgender Equality.

To explore running for office yourself, check out https://runforsomething.net/

Please follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pg/TransformPod and please subscribe or follow us on your favorite podcasting app. You can contact us at [email protected] with questions or anything you would like to share with us - we do ask that you keep all correspondence respectful. And be sure to check out www.transformpod.com our new website!

Last but not least, a huge thank you to Skylar Kergil for the use of his beautiful song "Tell Me A Story" as the intro and outtro music for our podcast. You can find more information about Skylar and you can support his work at http://www.skylarkergil.com

In today's episode we explore the idea of growing into your identity and life via an interview with Ashton Skinner. Ashton talks about how they have grown into their identity and life that feels comfortable and authentic by pursuing their passions, coming out, and personal reflection. This is an interview you don't want to miss so tune in and give a listen to Ashton's story!

Please follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pg/TransformPod and please subscribe or follow us on your favorite podcasting app. You can contact us at [email protected] with questions or anything you would like to share with us - we do ask that you keep all correspondence respectful. And be sure to check out www.transformpod.com our new website!

Last but not least, a huge thank you to Skylar Kergil for the use of his beautiful song "Tell Me A Story" as the intro and outtro music for our podcast. You can find more information about Skylar and you can support his work at http://www.skylarkergil.com

We'll be back in the fall with all new episodes and a lot more discussion about trans folks, beyond the transition.

The Trump Administration’s attacks on the trans and gender non-conforming community continue. Today we discuss the proposed change to the legal definition of sex (and gender, since the two are conflated legally). This change would be incredibly harmful to trans and gender non-conforming people. Please note, we’ve recorded this less than 24 hours after the release of the information – so the emotions are raw and we’ve done our best to process this as quickly as possible and bring you reliable information, action steps, and a little hope.

You can learn more about the Equality Act here: https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/2282

You can download OutVote here: https://www.outvote.io

Read the New York Times Article that broke this story: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/21/us/politics/transgender-trump-administration-sex-definition.html

If you need support please reach out to the Trans Lifeline: https://www.translifeline.org

tell your member of Congress to support the equality act  https://nwlc.org/take-action/support-the-equality-act/

Listen to RadioLab’s series “gonads” to learn about how human sex characteristics and sex hormones develop https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/radiolab/projects/radiolab-presents-gonads

here is one science-y thread from twitter about the complexities of gender: https://www.facebook.com/100008394885719/posts/2229423744014100/

Contact the White House: https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact

Contact DHHS: https://www.hhs.gov/about/contact-us/index.html

Remember, we love you, we value you, you are fabulous and deserving of a life that is free from this kind of hate.

Please follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pg/TransformPod and at instagram @transform_pod and please subscribe or follow us on your favorite podcasting app. You can contact us at [email protected] with questions or anything you would like to share with us - we do ask that you keep all correspondence respectful. And be sure to check out www.transformpod.com our new website!

Last but not least, a huge thank you to Skylar Kergil for the use of his beautiful song "Tell Me A Story" as the intro and outtro music for our podcast. You can find more information about Skylar and you can support his work at http://www.skylarkergil.com

Today's episode is an interview with Brianna Westbrook about her run for Congress and the AZ Legislature in the 2018 primary election here in Arizona. Learn about her experience being out and trans while also being a progressive Democratic candidate in a red-state. You can follow Brianna @BWestbrookAZ8. You can also learn more about trans and LGBQ candidates in your state or nationwide at www.hrc.org, https://www.equalityfederation.org/members, www.equalityarizona.org, and https://victoryfund.org/our-candidates-2018/ for a list of more than 200 LGBTQ candidates.

Please follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pg/TransformPod and please subscribe or follow us on your favorite podcasting app. You can contact us at [email protected] with questions or anything you would like to share with us - we do ask that you keep all correspondence respectful. And be sure to check out www.transformpod.com our new website!

Last but not least, a huge thank you to Skylar Kergil for the use of his beautiful song "Tell Me A Story" as the intro and outtro music for our podcast. You can find more information about Skylar and you can support his work at http://www.skylarkergil.com

We'll be back in the fall with all new episodes and a lot more discussion about trans folks, beyond the transition.

We're back! Season Two of Transform has officially begun! Our first episode is a little recap of our time off and intro to the second season. Listen to hear what we've been up to while not recording, and to learn more about what you can expect for our second season. 

Please follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pg/TransformPod and please subscribe or follow us on your favorite podcasting app. You can contact us at [email protected] with questions or anything you would like to share with us - we do ask that you keep all correspondence respectful. And be sure to check out www.transformpod.com our new website!

Last but not least, a huge thank you to Skylar Kergil for the use of his beautiful song "Tell Me A Story" as the intro and outtro music for our podcast. You can find more information about Skylar and you can support his work at http://www.skylarkergil.com

We'll be back in the fall with all new episodes and a lot more discussion about trans folks, beyond the transition.

The first season of Transform: Beyond the Transition is a complete! This week's episode is a quick thank you, a little of our favorite things about the show, and some discussion of what's to come in season two.

Thank you to our incredible listeners for supporting the pod, for subscribing, for sending us your thoughts and feedback - it has been wonderful to get to know y'all a little bit and we hope to continue to do so in season two.

A big shout out to all of our guests - y'all are amazing human beings and we are honored to have shared time with you and have learned so much from your stories, experiences, and analysis. 

Please follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pg/TransformPod and please subscribe or follow us on your favorite podcasting app. You can contact us at [email protected] with questions or anything you would like to share with us - we do ask that you keep all correspondence respectful. And be sure to check out www.transformpod.com our new website!

Last but not least, a huge thank you to Skylar Kergil for the use of his beautiful song "Tell Me A Story" as the intro and outtro music for our podcast. You can find more information about Skylar and you can support his work at http://www.skylarkergil.com

We'll be back in the fall with all new episodes and a lot more discussion about trans folks, beyond the transition.

On this week's podcast, Sam and I talk about stealth and passing for trans folks. Both passing and stealth are terms that describe common experiences for many (but not all) trans folks. We discuss them today without judement, providing some definitnions, some historic context, and our personal experinces. We hope you find today's show interesting and helpful!

Articles on stealth and passing:

https://everydayfeminism.com/2015/04/myths-stealth-transexuals/

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/what-does-passing-mean-within-the-transgender-community_us_593b85e9e4b014ae8c69e099

https://slate.com/human-interest/2018/06/not-passing-or-blending-is-dangerous-for-many-trans-people.html

We hope you enjoy the episode. Please follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pg/TransformPod and please subscribe or follow us on your favorite podcasting app. You can contact us at [email protected] with questions or anything you would like to share with us - we do ask that you keep all correspondence respectful.

Last but not least, a huge thank you to Skylar Kergil for the use of his beautiful song "Tell Me A Story" as the intro and outtro music for our podcast. You can find more information about Skylar and you can support his work at http://www.skylarkergil.com

Sam presented a story this week at Vinyl Voices, hosted by the Coronado Cafe in Phoenix.  It was a great event and we are excited that we were able to record and share this story with you as a bonus episode.

Check out Coronado Cafe and their great events here.

To listen to the full song Sam chose for this story, go here.

Info about apps and websites that can help you take action as an ally are below.  Keep resisting everyone!

https://coolmomtech.com/2017/03/best-political-apps-countable-resistbot-5-calls/

https://mashable.com/2016/11/29/trump-organizing-apps-sites/#JF60RZcoqqq0

On this week's podcast, Sam and I talk about being trans and dating. We cover a lot of ground about dating being a trans person and as you'll see, it's not the easiest topic for either of us to talk about. Join us for a discussion of dating and what changes after coming out and transitioning; about dating apps; about how expectations around behavior changes after coning out and transitioning; about all those questions we get about dating; and of course about sex and intimacy. This episode relies heavily on the personal experience both Sam and I have had in dating or even with the idea of dating after coming out and transitioning. Dating and intimate relationships are complicated and neither of us are experts in this area, but we think there's still value in sharing with you our experinces. We hope you find it interesting and useful!

Here are a couple of article that might be of interest about dating and trans folks:

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/transgender-dating-app-transdr_us_5ade1d00e4b036e7aeb54ee9

https://mashable.com/2018/02/16/best-gay-dating-apps/#qRxSYg8zsaqD

https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-ridiculous-straight-panic-over-dating-a-transgender-person

https://graziadaily.co.uk/relationships/dating/unique-complications-dating-trans-guy/

https://medium.com/@QSE/when-you-say-i-would-never-date-a-trans-person-its-transphobic-here-s-why-aa6fdcf59aca

https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/neq9zx/whats-wrong-with-the-no-trans-dating-preference-debate

https://www.theodysseyonline.com/no-dont-have-to-tell-you-im-trans-before-dating-you

We hope you enjoy the episode. Please follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pg/TransformPod and please subscribe or follow us on your favorite podcasting app. You can contact us at [email protected] with questions or anything you would like to share with us - we do ask that you keep all correspondence respectful.

Last but not least, a huge thank you to Skylar Kergil for the use of his beautiful song "Tell Me A Story" as the intro and outtro music for our podcast. You can find more information about Skylar and you can support his work at http://www.skylarkergil.com

Today's episode is our contribution to last week's Day of Action - Justice for Roxana. Sam and I offer a brief timeline and explanation of why we think its vital to engage in the discussion about justice for Roxana Hernandez, a trans woman who died in ICE custody at the end of May, and why a fair and just immigration and assylum process is an important LGBTQ issue. After our introduction, we shift to interivews with trans women who attended the vigil. These interviews have english tranlations thanks to Viridiana Hernandz and Kate Saunders who graciously agreed to translate for our english speaking audience. After the interviews, Kate, gives a brief summary of the entire vigil. After this summary we offer you the full Spanish language recording of the vigil and protest tha took place last Wednesday outside of the Phoenix ICE building. We had tried to schedule a lawyer to speak with us about the immigration, assylum, and detention processes, but were unable to schedule this interivew before the air date. We will continue to seek out an interview with a lawyer and will share that when we get it.

Thank you for listening and we hope that this week's episode is a useful learning tool for you. 

Please follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pg/TransformPod and please subscribe or follow us on your favorite podcasting app. You can contact us at [email protected] with questions or anything you would like to share with us - we do ask that you keep all correspondence respectful.

Last but not least, a huge thank you to Skylar Kergil for the use of his beautiful song "Tell Me A Story" as the intro and outtro music for our podcast. You can find more information about Skylar and you can support his work at http://www.skylarkergil.com