Gender Stories

Born in a small pentecostal coal-mining town in the Appalachian Mountains, October Ryan struggled to express her true self from a very early age. When her femininity was met with hate, anger, & abuse, she retreated into a series of approval-seeking fake personas. The pentecostal pastor-in-training, the meek academic bookworm, the rebellious grad school party boy, the small town psychology professor... none of her false identities gave October any sense of peace. When she moved to the diverse haven of LA, she finally came out as a proud transgender woman. While healing her traumas & beginning her transition, she wrote & published her first novel, The Beginning Of October, heavily inspired by the pain in her post & her hopes for the future, and has recently released a new murder mystery novel, The Book of Monahan. October has also co-written and released her debut album, Homecoming, co-written and produced by American Idol runner-up and chart-topping artist Blake Lewis. For more on October, check out octoberryan.com. Support the showTwitter: GenderStories Instagram: GenderStories Hosted by Alex Iantaffi Music by Maxwell von Raven Gender Stories logo by Lior Effinger-Weintraub

PJ Desrochers is a visual artist who explores their nonbinary humanness through art. PJ creates images, builds sculptural installations and immersive experiences of their gender and a life well-lived. Their media originates with photographic self portraits printed on transparency film. PJ then builds creations by layering the transparent images and connecting them quite often using fingerprinted scotch tape and fishing line to found objects. These Photographic Assemblages can often be found installed within the natural beauty of central Vermont where they photograph and film these beloved creations to become gallery accessible and presented for your viewing pleasure. Project website: https://www.11toseeandbeseen11.com/ Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/toseeandbeseen/to-see-and-be-seen-nonbinary-tarot PJ Derochers website: http://www.pjdesrochersart.com/ Support the showTwitter: GenderStories Instagram: GenderStories Hosted by Alex Iantaffi Music by Maxwell von Raven Gender Stories logo by Lior Effinger-Weintraub

K. Allison Hammer is assistant professor and coordinator of women, gender, and sexuality studies at Southern Illinois University. Masculinity in Transition traces the roots of “toxic masculinity,” showing that while toxic strains of masculinity are mainly associated with straight, white men, trans and queer masculinities often reiterate similar patterns of behavior. Arguing that these malignant forms of masculinity can be displaced, K. Allison Hammer’s bold rethinking lays bare the underlying fragility of normative masculinity. Link to more information about the book or to order: https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/masculinity-in-transition Support the showTwitter: GenderStories Instagram: GenderStories Hosted by Alex Iantaffi Music by Maxwell von Raven Gender Stories logo by Lior Effinger-Weintraub

S. H. COTUGNO (Sage) is a queer and mixed-race Victorian horror nerd born and raised in Los Angeles, California. They are a director, writer and storyboard artist in the animation industry and have previously worked on projects such as Gravity Falls, The Owl House and Star vs. the Forces of Evil. The Glass Scientists will be their first published graphic novel. You can see more of their work at SeeGoatRun.com or check out their linktree at: https://linktr.ee/arythusa Support the showTwitter: GenderStories Instagram: GenderStories Hosted by Alex Iantaffi Music by Maxwell von Raven Gender Stories logo by Lior Effinger-Weintraub

D’Lo is a queer/transgender Tamil-Sri Lankan-American actor/writer/comic. He has toured his solo shows internationally, his last show “To T, or not To T?” running last year at the Kirk Douglas Theater in LA. Acting credits include: LOOKING, TRANSPARENT, SENSE 8, and MR.ROBOT, CONNECTING, Quantum Leap and Billy Eichner movie BROS. He is a Senior Civic Media Fellow through USC's Annenberg Innovation Lab funded via the MacArthur Foundation. His work has been published and/or written about in academic journals, literary anthologies, and print/online journalism sources, such as LA Times, The Guardian, NBC, CNN and The Advocate. D'Lo (he/they) dlocokid.com imdb.me/dlocokid instagram.com/dlocokid Support the showTwitter: GenderStories Instagram: GenderStories Hosted by Alex Iantaffi Music by Maxwell von Raven Gender Stories logo by Lior Effinger-Weintraub

Pidgeon Pagonis is an activist on behalf of intersex and marginalized people. They have advanced youth advocacy with interACT, launched an intersex YouTube channel, written for Everyday Feminism, cofounded the Intersex Justice Project (IJP) and the #EndIntersexSurgery campaign, and introduced the intersex and nonbinary clothing line Too Cute to Be Binary. They’ve created two short documentaries, The Son I Never Had, which premiered at Outfest, and A Normal Girl, which screened at the American Pavilion at the Cannes Film Festival; appeared on the cover of National Geographic’s “Gender Revolution” special issue; and been honored as an LGBT Champion of Change by the Obama White House. They are currently documenting intersex people of color for Physical Record, a new photo series subsidized by Astraea’s Intersex Human Rights Fund. NOBODY NEEDS TO KNOW is their first book. For more information visit www.pid.ge. Support the showTwitter: GenderStories Instagram: GenderStories Hosted by Alex Iantaffi Music by Maxwell von Raven Gender Stories logo by Lior Effinger-Weintraub

GenderMeowster (they/them) is a white, trans masc, nonbinary, AuDHD, mobility aid using, disabled content creator on Twitch, YouTube, and social media platforms. They, along with their friends, curate and maintain the Meowster’s Clowder discord server, Trans101 content on social media, and host and produce the Genderful Talk Show! Their online community is an intersectional 2SLGBTQIA+, neurodivergent, disabled, BIPOC-forward, plural, and alterhuman friendly space and we welcome people with these identities and our allies. Gender Federation is a stream team and mutual aid fundraising entity created by GenderMeowster that hosts events to raise direct mutual aid for trans people seeking gender affirming surgeries. Please follow us on socials for both @GenderMeowster and @GenderFederation to learn more and keep up with our events and activities. Recurring events: Nov 20 every year - Trans Day of Remembrance (stream) March 31 every year - Trans Day of Visibility (stream) Mon-Thursday weekly - streams on https://twitch.tv/GenderMeowster Daily - discord community: https://discord.gg/meowster Links: GenderMeowster links: https://linktr.ee/GenderMeowster Gender Federation links: https://linktr.ee/genderfederation Become a Patron: https://www.patreon.com/GenderMeowster?fan_landing=true Support the showTwitter: GenderStories Instagram: GenderStories Hosted by Alex Iantaffi Music by Maxwell von Raven Gender Stories logo by Lior Effinger-Weintraub

Eli Conley is an indie folk singer-songwriter, teaching artist, and activist based on Miwok and Nisenan land (Sacramento, California). He makes music for queer and trans folks, justice seekers, and anyone who doesn’t fit easily in a box. Eli's voice is tender and heartfelt, with melodies and that can leave you teary-eyed yet hopeful. As a queer transgender man from the South, his songs tell stories that aren’t always reflected in roots music. Eli founded Queer Country West Coast, a regular series featuring LGBTQ+ blues, folk, and country artists in California. He has opened for Carsie Blanton, Heather Mae, and Grammy-winner Kimya Dawson, and been featured in the Huffington Post and the Advocate. Eli's third album Searching for What's True is coming in July 2023. Themes of uncertainty, ache, and loss come up again and again on this record. The songs are drawn from the concrete and immediate details of daily life: a stuffed animal clutched in a child's arms, a colorful sunset after a forest fire, a confederate statue toppling to the ground. Searching for What's True is Eli's first release since being diagnosed with a serious repetitive stress injury that forced him to stop playing music for many months. After wrist surgery and careful rehab, he came back to songwriting with a renewed sense of purpose. On the album's first single "Making Something New" he describes the work of an artist as "finding beauty in the wreckage / making meaning of the grief / when we tell our stories true we find release." His deep belief in the transformative power of creativity stems not only from his own experiences, but his many years leading singing and songwriting classes for queer and transgender people and allies. https://www.eliconley.com/ Support the showTwitter: GenderStories Instagram: GenderStories Hosted by Alex Iantaffi Music by Maxwell von Raven Gender Stories logo by Lior Effinger-Weintraub

Tilly Bridges is one part of the trans woman / cis woman writing team (with her wife Susan) and creators of comics, screenplays, teleplays and audio dramas. On June 27th, Bridges releases BEGIN TRANSMISSION – The Trans Allegories of the Matrix, tracking one person’s transition journey — from Thomas Anderson, to Neo, to Trinity. As a transgender woman, Bridges said she had always connected with the Matrix movies on a level so strongly that she didn’t understand. The first time she watched the movies after coming out publicly was revelatory. “I was motivated to rewatch and take notes,” says Bridges. “My entire world turned upside down as I discovered almost frame by frame how deep and layered the allegories were within the films.” Since sharing her essays, she’s been overwhelmed with messages from people her essays have helped. One person said it saved their life. Making award-winning audio drama via their production company Pendant Productions since 2004, Tilly and her wife have had six shows crack Apple Podcasts’ top 60 scripted sci-fi shows of all time.” Tilly and Susan are also head writers of the 2023 Nebula Awards and are presently writing for the new Monster High animated series and the Star Trek Adventures an Fallout role-playing games. She lives in Los Angeles. CONNECT WITH TILLY ONLINE Official Website: birdguest.com Twitter: @TillyBridges Instagram: @heckyeahtillybridges Support the showTwitter: GenderStories Instagram: GenderStories Hosted by Alex Iantaffi Music by Maxwell von Raven Gender Stories logo by Lior Effinger-Weintraub

Redfern Jon Barrett (they/them) is author to novels including Proud Pink Sky, a speculative story set in the world’s first LGBTQ+ state – which will be released by Bywater Books in March 2023. Redfern’s essays, reviews, and short stories have appeared in publications including The Sun Magazine, Guernica, Strange Horizons, Passages North, PinkNews, Booth, FFO, ParSec, Orca, and Nature Futures. They are nonbinary, have a Ph.D. in Literature, and currently live in Berlin. Read more at redjon.com. ** Proud Pink Sky is a novel set in the world's first gay state – described as “gripping” and a “remarkable alternate history” by Publisher’s Weekly. ** VIEW THE VIDEO TRAILER VIEW PUBLISHER'S PAGE Support the showTwitter: GenderStories Instagram: GenderStories Hosted by Alex Iantaffi Music by Maxwell von Raven Gender Stories logo by Lior Effinger-Weintraub

In this episode of Gender Stories, Alex talks to Coltan Schoenike, (they/them) a queer, nonbinary, trans and femme marriage and family therapist mentee, sex therapist, sex educator, doctoral student, researcher, and author. Together they discuss gender affirming care: what it is, what it isn't, and why it is vital. Find out more about Coltan at: https://www.coltanschoenike.com/ You can also follow them on Twitter and Instagram @ColtanSchoenike Support the showTwitter: GenderStories Instagram: GenderStories Hosted by Alex Iantaffi Music by Maxwell von Raven Gender Stories logo by Lior Effinger-Weintraub

Dee Fish is a Pennsylvania-based cartoonist, illustrator, and graphic designer. As a cartoonist, she is the creator of the online comic strip, “Dandy & Company“. An all-ages humor comic strip in the vein of “Looney Tunes” and “Peanuts” surrounding the misadventures of a dog and his boy that ran from 2001 to 2018. She is also the writer and artist of the creator-owned comic book, “The Wellkeeper", A young adult fantasy/adventure in the vein of mystical adventures that appeal to children of all ages as “Harry Potter” and “The Hobbit”. As an artist, she has worked on stories for “Tellos”, “The Perhapanauts” and “The Mice Templar” for Image comics, “Star Mage” and “White Chapel” for IDW Publishing, “Atomic Robo” for Red 5 Comics, and the co-creator, co-writer and illustrator for the series “Carpe Noctem” for Hashtag Comics. Recently, Dee became the artist of Sabrina Pandora’s long-running webcomic, “Giant Girl Adventures”, and in 2017, began her current webcomic, "Finding Dee. "Finding Dee" is the hilarious and heartwarming webcomic about the trials and tribulations of trying to make it as a cartoonist while coming out as transgender in your 40s. Dee Fish Cartoonist, Designer & Illustrator http://www.findingdeecomic.com http://www.artofdeefish.com Support the showTwitter: GenderStories Instagram: GenderStories Hosted by Alex Iantaffi Music by Maxwell von Raven Gender Stories logo by Lior Effinger-Weintraub

LILY ZHENG (they/them) is a no-nonsense Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion speaker, strategist, and consultant who specializes in creating diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplaces through hands-on systemic change. A dedicated change-maker and advocate named a Forbes D&I Trailblazer, 2021 DEI Influencer, and LinkedIn Top Voice on Racial Equity, Lily's work has been featured in the Harvard Business Review, New York Times, and NPR. Their most recent book, DEI Deconstructed, centers on accountable and effective practices to achieve DEI outcomes in organizations. https://lilyzheng.co/home/books Support the showTwitter: GenderStories Instagram: GenderStories Hosted by Alex Iantaffi Music by Maxwell von Raven Gender Stories logo by Lior Effinger-Weintraub

Jen Winston (she/they) is a writer, creative director, and bisexual based in Brooklyn. Their work bridges the intersection of sex, politics, and technology, and has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, CNN, and more. Jen is passionate about unlearning and creating work that helps others do the same. Her newsletter, The Bi Monthly, is dedicated to exploring bi issues and experiences--it comes out every month, much like Jen herself. Follow Jen on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok (please, she's begging you): @Jenerous. https://bookshop.org/p/books/greedy-notes-from-a-bisexual-who-wants-too-much-jen-winston/16221521?ean=9781982179175 Support the showTwitter: GenderStories Instagram: GenderStories Hosted by Alex Iantaffi Music by Maxwell von Raven Gender Stories logo by Lior Effinger-Weintraub

Nick Walker is a queer, transgender, flamingly autistic writer and educator, best known for her foundational work on the neurodiversity paradigm and Neuroqueer Theory. She is a professor of psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies, senior aikido instructor at the Aiki Arts Center in Berkeley, author of the book Neuroqueer Heresies, and co-creator of the urban fantasy webcomic Weird Luck. The Neuroqueer website: https://neuroqueer.com The Weird Luck webcomic: https://weirdluck.net My Twitter: https://twitter.com/WalkerSensei My Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/nickwalkersensei https://neuroqueer.com/neuroqueer-heresies/ Support the showTwitter: GenderStories Instagram: GenderStories Hosted by Alex Iantaffi Music by Maxwell von Raven Gender Stories logo by Lior Effinger-Weintraub

Chrissie Chevasutt facilitates the online community Transgender Church and is well-known as an advocate for transgender awareness in the Church. She and her wife Pam have lived, worked and witnessed in Oxford for more than thirty years. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Chrissie-Chevasutt-107698101263187 Heaven Come Down: The Story of a Transgender Disciple by Chrissie Chevasutt (Darton, Longman and Todd, £12.99) is available from all good retailers https://dartonlongmantodd.co.uk/titles/2324-9781913657208-heaven-come-down Support the showTwitter: GenderStories Instagram: GenderStories Hosted by Alex Iantaffi Music by Maxwell von Raven Gender Stories logo by Lior Effinger-Weintraub

Trans/Non-Binary artist Rascal Miles is part of a new wave and generation of artists emerging into the music scene who are well familiar with challenge and adversity but who are excelling because of it and not being defined by it. Rascal has been working towards the release of music that is personal and elevated and sets them on the path of the next stage in their music journey. That day is almost here as Rascal prepares to release new song 'Tailor Made', which deals with the experience of top surgery. Rascal Miles | Instagram, YouTube, Spotify, Facebook | Linktree Rascal Miles Support the showTwitter: GenderStories Instagram: GenderStories Hosted by Alex Iantaffi Music by Maxwell von Raven Gender Stories logo by Lior Effinger-Weintraub

Trystan is the solo author of How We Do Family, a book described as “a refreshing new take on family life for the LGBTQ community and beyond.” He is also a 2021 Lambda Literary Emerging LGBTQ Voices Fellow. Trystan co-wrote a children’s book with his partner, Biff. It’s called The Light Of You and was published by Flamingo Rampant Press. Trystan is also an essayist; his blog can be found here. How We Do Family: From Adoption to Trans Pregnancy, What We Learned about Love and LGBTQ Parenthood a book by Trystan Reese (bookshop.org) Trystan Reese Support the showTwitter: GenderStories Instagram: GenderStories Hosted by Alex Iantaffi Music by Maxwell von Raven Gender Stories logo by Lior Effinger-Weintraub

Alex Iantaffi interviews Precious Brady-Davis to discuss her book "I have always been me: a memoir" and the themes of family, life transitions, healing, faith, and belonging . Precious Brady-Davis is an award-winning diversity advocate, communications professional, and public speaker. She currently serves as the associate regional communications director at the Sierra Club. She served for three years as the assistant director of diversity recruitment initiatives at Columbia College Chicago, her alma mater, implementing the campus-wide diversity initiative and providing leadership and oversight of national diversity recruitment and inclusion policy initiatives. She also served as the youth outreach coordinator at Center on Halsted, the largest LGBTQ community center in the Midwest. During Precious’s tenure, she launched a $1.6 million CDC HIV prevention grant, which provided outreach, education, youth programming, and testing services to over three thousand young African American and Latinx gay, bi, and trans youth. Precious is married to Myles Brady and lives in Hyde Park on the South Side of Chicago, where they are raising their daughter, Zayn. In her free time, she enjoys online shoe shopping, travel, and fine dining with friends. For more information visit www.preciousbradydavis.com. Support the showTwitter: GenderStories Instagram: GenderStories Hosted by Alex Iantaffi Music by Maxwell von Raven Gender Stories logo by Lior Effinger-Weintraub

This episode was recorded live on April 21st, 2021 for London's fabulous, independent bookstore Pages of Hackney. Jamie Windust, model, presenter, contributing editor at Gay Times, TedxLondon speaker, and author of In Their Shoes discusses their book and writing process with Alex Iantaffi, author of Gender Trauma. You can follow Jamie on Instagram and Twitter. You can order In Their Shoes and Gender Trauma from Pages of Hackney, your nearest independent bookstore, or wherever you get your books. Support the showTwitter: GenderStories Instagram: GenderStories Hosted by Alex Iantaffi Music by Maxwell von Raven Gender Stories logo by Lior Effinger-Weintraub