Episodi
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My final guest this series is the wonderful Aisha Shaibu (she/her). The founder of 'Moonlight Experiences', Aisha is a proud queer activist who champions integration, diversity & equality. Aisha believes in using the economical power of LGBTQ+ tourism and nightlife to help amplify marginalized voices and transform communities. She is also a prominent event producer who works for organisations such as UK Black Pride & London Queer Fashion Show. Aisha has been featured in the Mayor Of London's hidden credit for her contribution to nightlife.
We chat about the many hats that Aisha wears, founding Moonlight Experiences and bringing queer folks together from around the world, opening a sober queer venue in East London, her passion for building community, holidays and exercise as self-care, her ability to organise seamlessly, tourism as a tool for social change, educating on queer culture and lots more!
If you haven't already, be sure to join our Facebook community to connect with other like-minded queer folks and allies.
Find out more about Gem Kennedy and Queers & Co.
Podcast Artwork by Gemma D’Souza.
Resources
Moonlight Experiences
https://www.moonlightexperiences.com
Follow Aisha on Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/ukblackpride/
https://www.ukblackpride.org.uk/
https://www.instagram.com/londonqueerfashionshow/
Full Transcript to follow
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This week I’m joined by experienced BDSM educator and kinky stand-up comedian John Pendal (he/ him). In 2003, John became the 25th (and only British) winner of the International Mr. Leather contest in Chicago. Since then he has travelled extensively leading workshops, giving speeches, as a master of ceremonies or doing stand-up comedy. He now works online with English-speaking clients anywhere in the world and loves helping people who identify as outsiders.
Join us as we chat about accidentally qualifying for and winning International Mr. Leather, being so late to the podium he was almost killed by fireworks, immersing himself in kink culture, the oppression experienced by the gay community in the 1990s, supporting others to undo a lifetime of being squashed, learning he was autistic and unpacking internalised ableism, punching up in comedy and so much more!
If you haven't already, be sure to join our Facebook community to connect with other like-minded queer folks and allies.
Find out more about Gem Kennedy and Queers & Co.
Podcast Artwork by Gemma D’Souza.
Resources
Find out more about John’s coaching practice
John’s Leather website
Find out more about John’s work with Thriving Autistic
Full Transcript to follow
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Episodi mancanti?
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This week I’m joined by the glorious Artemis D. Bear!! Artemis (they/them) is a non-binary queer iconoclast, who always has too many projects on the go. They are the founder and director of The Garden, a self directed learning community for young people in Bristol, and work for the Phoenix Education Trust on the Freedom to Learn programme. They are also a drag king, stage manager and queer cabaret producer. Last year they founded UBI Lab Bristol, campaigning for a basic income trial, which they believe could lift everyone out of absolute poverty and liberate many more. They live in Bristol with their partner and children and finally feel like a real grown up now they have a piano and a dog.
Join us as we chat about a terrible Tinder date, the joy of producing drag shows, seeing our bodies through the eyes of a queer person, co-parenting and self-direction, why UBI is a complete no-brainer, how schooling fuels inequality and grades people according to privilege and lots more juicy stuff!
If you haven't already, be sure to join our Facebook community to connect with other like-minded queer folks and allies.
Find out more about Gem Kennedy and Queers & Co.
Podcast Artwork by Gemma D’Souza.
Resources
Sign the petition for a UBI pilot in Bristol
UBI Lab Network’s website
The Garden Bristol’s website
Freedom to Learn’s website
Check out Brizzle Boyz and Scritch Cabaret
Kith: The Riddle of the Childscape book
The book I mentioned in the episode but couldn’t remember the name of is Crippled: Austerity and the Demonization of Disabled People
Resisting Illegitimate Authority: A Thinking Person’s Guide to Being an Anti-Authoritarian book
Akilah S. Richards’ website, Fare of the Free Child podcast and Raising Free People: Unschooling as Liberation and Healing Work book
Full Transcript to follow
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This week I’m joined by the unstoppable Heidi Mavir (she/they), a public speaker, qualified mental health first aider, autistic adult, performer and podcaster. Her advocacy work includes educating people on neurodiversity and speaking on mental health, to reduce stigma and enable people to "embrace their inner weirdo." Heidi’s motto is “no guilt, no shame, no self-inflicted emotional pain”.
Join us as we chat about how Heidi discovered her own neurodivergence, severe burnout and the road to recovery, the importance of self-care particularly for neurodivergent people, becoming a burlesque performer, her new podcast Autistic Actually, working sustainably and so much more!
If you haven't already, be sure to join our Facebook community to connect with other like-minded queer folks and allies.
Find out more about Gem Kennedy and Queers & Co.
Podcast Artwork by Gemma D’Souza.
Resources
Check out Heidi’s podcast, Autistic Actually. Launching in May 2021
Follow Heidi on Facebook and Instagram
Head to the seND Facebook group for free SEND and EHCP advice
Heidi recommends Period Power by Maisie Hill
Full Transcript to follow
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This week I’m joined by Lydia Bernsmeier-Rullow (she/her). Lydia is a journalist at the BBC, a writer, a poet and a drag king.
Join us as we chat about her journey to understanding her neurodivergence, being a mixed race Black woman with ADHD, her drag king persona Dick Slick, how wearing a beard makes her want to rip her own face off, working towards body neutrality, normalising talking about mental health and building your own social media world when the wider world isn’t built for you and lots more!
If you haven't already, be sure to join our Facebook community to connect with other like-minded queer folks and allies.
Find out more about Gem Kennedy and Queers & Co.
Podcast Artwork by Gemma D’Souza
Resources
Read Lydia’s poetry here or search #lydspoetry on Facebook
Full Transcription to follow
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My guest this week is Bear Hebert (they/them), an anti-capitalist business consultant, radical life coach, and social justice educator. In work and in life, Bear actively looks at the intersections of power and privilege and will ask you to do the same, lovingly pushing you and your business in the direction of more liberated moments. Their current offerings include anti-capitalist business consulting and Undoing Patriarchy, an online course for feminist men+.
Join us as we chat about what it means to run an anti-capitalist business, undoing patriarchy, navigating burnout, breaking up with the fire-breathing dragon that is the social media algorithm, accidentally coming out in the news, the pressure to perform being genderqueer correctly and so much more juicy stuff!
If you haven't already, be sure to join our Facebook community to connect with other like-minded queer folks and allies.
Find out more about Gem Kennedy and Queers & Co.
Podcast Artwork by Gemma D’Souza.
Resources
Check out Bear’s website
Follow Bear on Instagram
Find out more about Bear’s Undoing Patriarchy course
More info on Social Disdancing
Bear’s highly recommended video series: Freely - An Anti-Capitalist Guide to Pricing Your Work
Hadassah Damien’s website
Full Transcription to follow
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This week, I’m joined by Chuck SJ (pronouns: Chuck or they/them), who is a multidisciplinary artist, often exploring trans and autistic matters through various forms. Chuck has completed five European tours, twelve UK tours, 15 albums and 2 EPs. Chuck is well known for their gripping stage performance, unique guitar skills and brutal honesty.
Join us as we chat about Chuck spending the past year in a cabin in the woods, the constant accommodations autistic folx make for neurotypicals and the burnout that often ensues, whether transness even exists when we are alone, our changing relationships with our bodies, life after lockdown and so much more! Plus Chuck shares their poem Am I Even Queer Anymore?
If you haven't already, be sure to join our Facebook community to connect with other like-minded queer folks and allies.
Find out more about Gem Kennedy and Queers & Co.
Podcast Artwork by Gemma D’Souza.
Resources
Chuck SJ’s website
Follow Chuck on Instagram
Support Chuck on Patreon
Chuck has a piece published in the upcoming Creating in Crisis anthology from Polari Press. Pre-order now!
Chuck recommends Brighton Cello
Check out Spectrum Gaming, a community for autistic gamers of all ages
Full Transcription to follow
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This week, I’m joined by integrative psychotherapist, writer, speaker and activist, Erene Hadjiioannou. As well as running an LGBTQ+ affirmative private practice, Erene's work focuses on the topic of trauma as a result of sexual violence, as outlined in an upcoming textbook, Psychotherapy with Survivors of Sexual Violence: Inside and Outside the Room.
Join us as we chat about creating safe spaces for queer folks in therapy, psychotherapy as activism, the stereotypes surrounding domestic abuse and sexual violence, the discrimination survivors face in the judicial system, queering psychotherapy and lots more!
If you haven't already, be sure to join our Facebook community to connect with other like-minded queer folks and allies.
Find out more about Gem Kennedy and Queers & Co.
Podcast Artwork by Gemma D’Souza
Resources
Follow Erene on Instagram @therapyleeds
Visit Erene’s website
Check out the resources we discussed during the episode: Radical Therapist Network and Inclusive Therapists
Full Transcription to follow
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This week, I’m joined by queer witch, illustrator and author, Cedar McCloud (they/them). Cedar started reading tarot in 2003, going on to found Numinous Spirit Press and create beautiful, radical decks with a social justice lens, such as The Numinous Tarot and The Threadbound Oracle. They believe storytelling is a beautiful tool for healing from trauma and enjoy archaic crafts, nature walks and fashion.
Join us as we chat about exploring ourselves through art, the importance of acknowledging our pain for healing, thinking about gender as a colour wheel, their work as a tool for activists to affect change, how tarot tells us what we already know deeply, getting engaged and so much more!
If you haven't already, be sure to join our Facebook community to connect with other like-minded queer folks and allies.
Find out more about Gem Kennedy and Queers & Co.
Podcast Artwork by Gemma D’Souza
Resources
Follow Cedar on Instagram
Support Cedar’s Kickstarter
Visit Cedar’s website and shop
Become a supporter of Cedar’s work on their Patreon
Full Transcription to follow
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This week, I’m joined by Lindsay McGlone aka The Fierce Fat Feminist; an activist, public speaker, producer, stage manager, Instagram coach and teacher. Lindsay is a force to be reckoned with, running numerous successful campaigns highlighting fatphobia, most recently targeting Airbnb. She was also named Young Changemaker of the Year in the IWC Igniting Inspiration Awards 2020.
Joining me whilst recovering from surgery, hear us talk about how wearing slogan t-shirts changed Lindsay’s life, fatphobia in healthcare and the media, the incredible support she receives from her family, experiencing a skin condition called HS, becoming the subject of a fake news story in The Sun, balancing activism with influencing and so much more!
If you haven't already, be sure to join our Facebook community to connect with other like-minded queer folks and allies.
Find out more about Gem Kennedy and Queers & Co.
Podcast Artwork by Gemma D’Souza
Resources
Follow Lindsay on Instagram
Grab a ticket to Lindsay’s Big Fat Burlesque Online Show on Saturday 13th March 2021 at 8.30pm UK time
Find about more about Lindsay on her website
Full Transcription to follow
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This week, I’m joined by artist, photographer and documenter Holly Revell, who has a keen eye for preserving and collaborating with other queer artists, making images and portraits which explore performance and transforming identities. Holly’s work is archived at Bishopsgate Institute.
Join us as we chat about being a groupie in the 90’s, becoming a professional photographer working in the queer underground, her beautiful new zine from her People Like Us project, not fitting into the art world, hanging out with queer icons and a whole lot more!
If you haven't already, be sure to join our Facebook community to connect with other like-minded queer folks and allies.
Find out more about Gem Kennedy and Queers & Co.
Podcast Artwork by Gemma D’Souza
Resources
Find out more about Holly’s work on her website
Holly's new zine People Like Us (a work in progress), which features a series of 12 images and participants quotes from the wider project, is available to buy here
Follow Holly on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter
Travis Alabanza’s new play, Overflow
Zanele Muholi’s exhibition at the Tate Modern, which runs until 31st May 2021
Harry Clayton-Wright’s new zine, You Otter Know
Transcription to follow
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This week, I’m joined by Adele Jarrett-Kerr; a mother, writer, home educator and breastfeeding counsellor, originally from Trinidad and Tobago, now living in Cornwall. Adele also works with her family’s small, regenerative farm near Falmouth and hosts a podcast about human connection called Revillaging.
Join us as we talk about the importance of developing critical thinking, what our children teach us, experiencing colonial dismissal, deprogramming from the dominant culture, different ways of accessing knowledge and the problematic nature of academia, partnering with nature in farming and so much more!
If you haven't already, be sure to join our Facebook community to connect with other like-minded queer folks and allies.
Find out more about Gem Kennedy and Queers & Co.
Podcast Artwork by Gemma D’Souza
Resources
Find out more about Adele’s work on her website
Listen to the Revillaging podcast
Check out Soul Farm
Follow Adele on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter
Listen to Adele’s podcast for the Freedom to Learn Forum, Address the Harm: Self-Directed Learning for Decolonisation
Full Transcription
Gem: Welcome to Queers & Co., the podcast on self-empowerment, body liberation and activism for queer folx. I'm your host, Gem Kennedy. I'm a transformational coach, as well as creator of the Queers & Co. community.
Gem: Hey folx, welcome to another episode of Queers & Co. I don't know about you, but lockdown fatigue has really set in in the last week or so. It gave me a lot of hope, actually imagining people listening to this in like six months or a year, and hopefully lockdown being a thing of the past, or at least things being easier. So yeah, if you're listening in the future, well done you. For everyone who's listening now, in February 2021, I hope you're all keeping safe and managing to look after yourself. I wonder if there's anything that you could do today that would help your day feel a little bit easier, maybe help you feel a little bit more supported. I'm really conscious of that at the moment, because as I said, locked down in our household is really becoming tiresome. The children just want to see their friends, and we just want to be outside seeing all the people we love. So it's feeling really frustrating.
Gem: Luckily, I have a really great guest for you today. And it's someone that I spoke to back in December and oh it was so good. When I listened back just now when I was editing and transcribing the episode, I just had so many thoughts, there are so many things that we touch on. And I'm really hoping that she's going to come back and talk to us about some other...
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This week, I’m joined by Katy Lees (they/them), a queer writer and psychotherapist from the North East of England. They can be found writing therapy tips, poetry, anti-oppression rants, short stories, and more. They are currently writing a good mental health guide for trans and non-binary people, to be published soon by Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Join us as we talk about the oppression different sized fat folx experience, trans and non-binary mental health and self-care, Katy’s experience navigating and recovering from burnout, stepping away from the constant pressure to ‘level up’ in life, the challenges of dressing as a fat, trans, non-binary person and lots more.
If you haven't already, be sure to join our Facebook community to connect with other like-minded queer folks and allies.
Find out more about Gem Kennedy and Queers & Co.
Podcast Artwork by Gemma D’Souza
Resources
Find out more about Katy’s work on their website.
Support Katy’s work on their Patreon
Follow Katy on Instagram
Full Transcription
Gem: Welcome to Queers & Co., the podcast on self-empowerment, body liberation and activism for queer folx and allies. I'm your host, Gem Kennedy. My pronouns are they/them and I'm a transformational practitioner and coach living in the UK.
Gem: Hey folx! Welcome to Episode 4. I hope you were able to get some relaxing time during integration week. I know that it was really helpful for me to practice some of what I talk to my clients about around working sustainably and actually give myself some space to not be furiously editing and producing all the time. So with that in mind, I'm very excited and energised to be back for Episode 4. And this one is a short and sweet episode. They're an incredible guest and they also happen to be an incredible client of mine. And I'm just really happy that they agreed to record an episode with me. We had quite a few technical difficulties unfortunately during the recording, which meant that we tried two different platforms and then by the time we'd had that all sorted, then time was up. So we have just over half an hour together. And I hope that you'll find it as interesting as I did. And just to introduce my guest... They are a queer writer and psychotherapist from the northeast of England. They can be found writing therapy tips, poetry, anti-oppression rants, short stories, and more on their website iamkatylees.com, and that will be in the show notes. They're currently writing a good mental health guide for trans and non-binary people, which is going to be published hopefully this year (I'm keeping my fingers crossed) by Jessica Kingsley publishers, and I'll share all of the relevant links so you can go and follow their work after the episode today. I've already asked them about recording another episode together so look out for that, hopefully around the same time as the book launches. And so without further ado, allow me to introduce my wonderful guest, Katy Lees.
Gem: Hi Katy! Thanks so much for joining me.
Katy:...
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I’m joined again by researcher and former professor Dr. Lindo Bacon (they/them). In this very special follow up recording, Lindo and I reflect on our experience of recording part one. We talk about the power of letting go of perfectionism, connecting with each other from a place of vulnerability and the gift of feeling into our bodies during conversation.
About Lindo: For nearly two decades Lindo has taught courses in social justice, health, weight and nutrition. They are also the author of Health at Every Size: The Surprising Truth About Your Weight, and co-authored Body Respect: What Conventional Health Books Get Wrong, Leave Out, or Just Plain Fail to Understand About Weight. Their newly released book, Radical Belonging: How to Survive and Thrive in an Unjust World (While Transforming it for the Better) , takes their inspiring message beyond size, to shaping a culture of empathy, equity, and true belonging.
If you haven't already, be sure to join our Facebook community to connect with other like-minded queer folks and allies.
Find out more about Gem Kennedy and Queers & Co.
Podcast Artwork by Gemma D’Souza
Resources
Find out more about Lindo’s work and books on their website
Lindo’s new book Radical Belonging: How to Survive and Thrive in an Unjust World (While Transforming It For the Better)
Follow Lindo on Instagram or Twitter or Facebook
adrienne maree brown’s new book, We Will Not Cancel Us
Full Transcription
Gem: Welcome to Queers & Co., the podcast and self-empowerment, body liberation and activism for queer folx and allies. I'm your host, Gem Kennedy, my pronouns are they/them and I'm a transformational practitioner and coach living in the UK.
Gem: Hi, everyone. Welcome to Part 2 of the episode with Dr. Linda Bacon. If you haven't listened to Part 1 yet, I'd highly recommend that you head there first and hear that. Otherwise, this may not make much sense. If you've already listened to Part 1, then I won't keep you any longer and I'll let you get straight to listening to Part 2.
Gem: Hi Lindo! Thanks so much for joining me again.
Lindo: Oh, it's great to see you again, Gem.
Gem: Yeah, and it's really nice to actually see you as well, rather than just to hear you because before we both said that was a bit disconnecting.
Lindo: Right, right. Definitely, I think it's gonna be... it's so much easier to feel present when you can actually see somebody.
Gem: Yeah, absolutely. And what we were talking about in between when we recorded the first episode, which was towards the end of December - I think was the 22nd of December actually - and this is kind of like a reflection part, I guess, where we had this experience...
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I’m joined by researcher and former professor Dr. Lindo Bacon (they/them) for a special two part episode. For nearly two decades they have taught courses in social justice, health, weight and nutrition. They are also the author of Health at Every Size: The Surprising Truth About Your Weight, and co-authored Body Respect: What Conventional Health Books Get Wrong, Leave Out, or Just Plain Fail to Understand About Weight. Their newly released book, Radical Belonging: How to Survive and Thrive in an Unjust World (While Transforming it for the Better) , takes their inspiring message beyond size, to shaping a culture of empathy, equity, and true belonging.
We talk about radical belonging, how hearing Audre Lorde speak changed their life, identifying as trans and taking up space, how coping methods serve us and lots more. Be sure to listen to Part 2 after this!
If you haven't already, be sure to join our Facebook community to connect with other like-minded queer folks and allies.
Find out more about Gem Kennedy and Queers & Co.
Podcast Artwork by Gemma D’Souza
Resources
Find out more about Lindo’s work and books on their website
Lindo’s new book Radical Belonging: How to Survive and Thrive in an Unjust World (While Transforming It For the Better)
Follow Lindo on Instagram or Twitter or Facebook
adrienne maree brown’s new book, We Will Not Cancel Us
Full Transcription
Gem: Welcome to Queers & Co. - the podcast on self-empowerment, body liberation and activism for queer folx and allies. I'm your host, Gem: Kennedy. My pronouns are they/them and I'm a transformational practitioner and coach living in the UK.
Gem: Hey folx! Welcome to Episode 3. There are two parts to this week's episode. So we're doing things a little bit differently and it will all become clear why. First of all, let me introduce who my guest is. It's someone who I was incredibly excited to talk to and someone whose books I've really enjoyed over the years. They're a researcher and former professor and for nearly two decades have taught courses in social justice, health, weight and nutrition. If you're involved in fat activism or body liberation of any kind, then you will have heard of their books Health at Every Size and also Body Respect and their newly released book, Radical Belonging: How to Survive and Thrive in an Unjust World, While Transforming It for the Better takes their inspiring message beyond size to shaping a culture of empathy, equity and true belonging.
Gem: If you haven't already read Radical Belonging, I'd highly recommend that you do. It's a brilliant book and it brings together so many important ideas and lots of different research. So my guest is, if you haven't...
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In this episode, I’m joined by Spiritual Healer, Body Positivity Advocate, poet and artist, Jade Elouise (Bodiposipoet). Her activism, creative outlets and spiritual work all centre around advocating for social justice, equality and equity for marginalised bodies on a systemic level, while also promoting self-healing and self-acceptance on a personal one.
We chat about Jade’s work to reclaim the co-opted body positivity movement, how spirituality and activism can work so well together, speaking out about spiritual bypassing, queering psychology, the power of creativity for self-expression and lots more!
If you haven't already, be sure to join our Facebook community to connect with other like-minded queer folks and allies.
Find out more about Gem Kennedy and Queers & Co.
Podcast Artwork by Gemma D’Souza
Resources
You can find out more about Jade’s work by following these accounts on Instagram: @bodiposipoet, @reclaimingbopo and @asafespacetogrow
Head to Jade’s Etsy shop to buy some beautiful art!
Full Transcription
Gem: Welcome to Queers & Co., the podcast on self-empowerment, body liberation and activism for queer folx and allies. I'm your host, Gem Kennedy, my pronouns are they/them and I'm a transformational practitioner and coach living in the UK.
Gem: Hi, everyone. Welcome to Episode 2. I hope you've all had a good week despite lockdown. I'm currently snuggled in my dressing gown, because it's absolutely freezing here and I don't want to go outside and get wood so I can light a fire so I thought I'd record the intro instead. And something keeping me nice and warm at the moment, this sounds like such a segue, are the feelings that I got from having this interview with my guest today. I'm sure that you're going to get a lot out of our conversation. I know I definitely did. And yeah, without further ado, I'll introduce her to you. So her name is Jade: Elouise, also known as bodiposipoet. She is a spiritual healer, body positivity advocate, poet and artist. Her activism, creative outlets and spiritual work all centre around advocating for social justice, equality and equity for marginalised bodies on a systemic level, while also promoting self-healing and self-acceptance on a personal one. I hope you enjoy the episode. And I'd love to hear your thoughts afterwards so do head over to the Facebook group to join in the conversation. So now over to the wonderful Jade Elouise.
Gem: Hi Jade. How are you?
Jade: Good thank you. How are you?
Gem: I'm good, thank you. Thanks so much for joining me, I'm really excited to talk to you.
Jade: Oh, thank you for having me.
Gem: Not at all. It would be great if you're happy to just introduce yourself for anyone who hasn't come across your work before.
Jade: Yeah,
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In this episode, I’m joined by Rubyyy Jones (they/them), an artist, performer and space maker who specialises in the body, the bawdyyy and deep feels. As an artist they work in live art, photography and film, creating a spectrum of experiences from silly to sublime. They are an icon in the world's of Drag, Burlesque and Cabaret and a Mxther and mentor to many in the industry.
Two years after our first interview together, we chat about rediscovering moving for joy in lockdown, neurodivergence and accessibility, moving back to their childhood neighbourhood in Canada, re-parenting ourselves and the queer community, Tony Clifton as a gateway to drag king-ing and lots more!
If you haven't already, be sure to join our Facebook community to connect with other like-minded queer folks and allies.
Find out more about Gem Kennedy and Queers & Co.
Podcast Artwork by Gemma D’Souza
Resources
Rubyyy and their partner Prinx Lydia created and run The YYY School which includes many different kinds of performance, craft and personal development workshops, both online and in the flesh. Together they share a passion for accessible, atypical and amazing art, The YYY School encompasses all of that.
You can find out more about Rubyyy’s work on the following Instagram accounts:
@rubyyyjones, @lifedrawingrubyyy, @theyyyschool, @prinxlydia
And consider becoming a patron on www.patreon.com/SaveRubyyyJones
Full Transcription
Gem: Welcome to Queers & Co. - the podcast on self-empowerment, body liberation and activism for queer folx and allies. I'm your host, Gem Kennedy. My pronouns are they/them and I'm a transformational practitioner and coach living in the UK.
Hi everyone! Welcome to Series 2 of Queers & Co. I'm so excited to be back and to be able to share all of my brilliant guests with you. I've got 13 guests for this coming series and I've recorded about half of the episodes so far. And honestly, I can't wait to put them all out. I hope you're going to get lots from them and find them interesting, insightful, and maybe share them with anyone that you think might be interested in hearing what my guests have to say as well.
The world is in a pretty different place now from when I recorded the first series in 2020. So I think the last couple of episodes, we'd just gone into lockdown in March 2020 and now here we are in January 2021. The UK has just entered another lockdown. I hope you're all keeping safe and well, no matter where in the world you are.
It felt really meaningful to me to have this guest as my first guest for the second series. I first spoke to them two years ago when I was just starting out with the Queers & Co. project and I interviewed them to find out about their relationship with their body. And since then we have crossed paths multiple times and I just think they...
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In this episode of Queers & Co., I’m joined by Lola Phoenix, a queer, non-binary disabled American living in the UK. Lola writes and produces a weekly advice column and podcast called Non-Monogamy Help as well as writing on social justice topics from gender to disability to poverty.
We chat about so much juicy stuff, including how labels and identifiers can help us to feel less alone, whether polyamory is a marginalised identity, the importance of taking the time to educate people without jumping down their throats, non-monogamy and creating a podcast and column on it, learning when to step away from an argument, death positivity and so much more!
If you haven't already, be sure to join our Facebook community to connect with other like-minded queer folks and allies.
Find out more about Gem Kennedy and Queers & Co.
Podcast Artwork by Gemma D’Souza
Resources
Find out more about Lola and their work here: Medium and About.Me
Non-Monogamy Help podcast and column
Follow on Lola on Twitter
Read Thirteen Mistakes People Make When Trying Polyamory
Sex Worker Advocacy and Resistance Movement (SWARM)
Email [email protected] to submit a question to Lola on non-monogamy
Full Transcription
Gem: Hi Lola! How are you?
Lola: I'm pretty good. How are you?
Gem: Yeah, I'm good. Thank you. I'm really excited to have you here. Thanks for doing it.
Lola: Yeah, thank you for having me on.
Gem: So, it will be really great to start with—I think I always start with this actually. I make it sound like it's a new invention. It'll be great to start with just finding out a bit more about you and your various intersections.
Lola: Cool! So yeah, my name is Lola. I am an American immigrant that relocated to the UK. And I'm going to be here for the foreseeable future (unless things change, and it gets a lot easier to immigrate somewhere else).
I identify as queer, autistic, and disabled in lots of other ways. I have a very rare and difficult disorder to deal with. I am also queer. And I grew up in a kind of—I would say it was mostly working class. But there were kind of weird things that made it a little bit middle class. I had middle class grandparents. But my parents were definitely working class/poor. So, there was a lot of mix-up with that.
I think that definitely kind of informs my experience. I'm also a bit on the ace spectrum. And that has had a lot of impact in terms of how I look at things. And yeah, I think that kind of covers most of my intersections.
I am white, so...
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In this episode of Queers & Co., I’m joined by Cynthia Rodriguez, a Mexican-British writer and performer who is constantly experimenting with the possibilities of spoken word. They are international, intersectional and interdisciplinary.
We chat about being an Anglophile, the reality of life in the UK compared to the image of Cool Britannia, racism in the queer punk scene and being a person of colour in the UK. We also talk about the importance of speaking the truth, how to look after yourself in times of burnout, queer storytelling and how Cynthia is bringing more of their roots into their work to counter stereotypes of Mexican culture.
If you haven't already, be sure to join our Facebook community to connect with other like-minded queer folks and allies.
To book your ‘by donation’ coaching session, visit here.
To donate to the London Bi Pandas COVID-19 fund, click here.
Find out more about Gem Kennedy and Queers & Co.
Podcast Artwork by Gemma D’Souza
Resources
Check out Cynthia’s website to find out about their upcoming performances and events. Their debut poetry collection, Meanwhile, is out on 7th September 2020, via Burning Eye Books.
Follow on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter
Heather Love, Feeling Backward: Loss and the Politics of Queer History
Some articles on #dignidadliteraria can be found here: LA Weekly, Tropics of Meta and Hip Latina
Cynthia recommends the incredible band, Big Joanie
Photo of Cynthia by David Wilson Clarke of DWC Imagery
Full Transcription
Gem: Hi Cynthia! How are you?
Cynthia: All right! Just at home, looking at the rain, working with my cats.
Gem: Oh nice!
Cynthia: Well, the cat is not working, but I am…
Gem: You’re working with your cat. It sounds like a nice Friday.
Cynthia: Yes, excellent!
Gem: It would be really great if you can just tell everyone a bit...
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In this episode of Queers & Co., I’m joined by Cameryn Moore, an award-winning playwright/performer with seven solo shows under her belt but perhaps best known as the founder of Smut Slam, a global network of community dirty-storytelling events.
We chat about becoming an activist in the mid-80s, the power of learning to dance later in life, sex positivity versus being sex aware, how people who have a problem with sex work really have a problem with capitalism, growing up Mormon and undoing our issues around sex. Plus, the joys of creating personalised smut on the street for passers by!
If you haven't already, be sure to join our Facebook community to connect with other like-minded queer folks and allies.
To book your ‘by donation’ coaching session, visit here.
Find out more about Gem Kennedy and Queers & Co.
Podcast Artwork by Gemma D’Souza
Resources
Check out Cameryn’s website to find out about upcoming performances and events.
Follow Cameryn on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter
Follow Smut Slam London on Facebook here and Smut Slam International here
Watch Juno Mac’s TED Talk - The Laws that Sex Workers Really Want here
Cameryn’s recommendation: Little Women (2019)
More info on performer and fat activist Heather McAllister can be found here and here
Full Transcription
Gem: Hi Cameryn, thank you so much for joining me.
Cameryn: Oh, it’s good to be here. Thank you!
Gem: So, it’ll be really great if you just tell us a bit more about you and how you identify.
Cameryn: I am a playwright and a performer and a facilitator of smut. That’s kind of my professional designation I guess. I identify as an activist in a lot of ways around sex and fat and sex work. And phew, I’m just a middle-aged lady that didn’t really get the memo on how to be middle-aged sometimes is how I’m feeling like, yeah.
Gem: And so, there’s lots to explore there. I’m just wondering how you first got into activism.
Cameryn: I first got into activism when I was 16 actually. This was back in the mid-80s, so 1986. Nuclear war was kind of the constant looming thing. I don’t know how it was for other places, but certainly in the US, there was this constant sort of—it just hung over everything right? I started a peace...
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