Rowan is a genderqueer shapeshifter and sex witch. We also talk about deconstructing boxes and binaries, the link between gender, sex and magic, reclaiming the body and revealing more of ourselves, roleplay vs shapeshifting, multiplicity and spanning the gender spectrum, transformation through intention, and celebrating the sacred in ourselves. This episode finishes with a special solstice meditation. [Transcript coming soon.]
In this second Reflections episode, Katy interviews Esther as she reflects on further conversations she’s had with gender-diverse folks, what she’s learned about gender, as well as her own journey and how she and the podcast have evolved almost a year since the podcast started. We also talk about expectations, finding the essence of each conversation, the subtleties of language, intuition and setting intentions, awareness and facets of identity, assigned titles, smart business decisions, the discomfort of learning, and discovering ourselves as we go. [Transcript coming soon.]
Genevieve says the easiest terms are non-binary and queer, and they definitely identify as trans as well. We also talk about being born into activism, performing womanhood, reframing feminism, women’s spaces vs LGBTQ spaces, how what’s ‘normal’ is rigid and idealised when it comes to sex and relationships, teaching consent from a young age, and why we should all consider therapy. [Transcript coming soon.]
Cassian identifies as non-binary and agender. They started the Gender Census in 2011 and talk about their main learnings and insights in the nine years of running it. We also talk about finding gender inside (or not), navigating public toilets, passion and experience versus education, the overlap between gender identity and sexual orientation, finding common ground where there appears to only be contradiction and conflict, and microactivism; how small actions can have a big impact. [Transcript coming soon.]
Angus (Annie) identifies as a transgender woman and butch lesbian. We also talk about the balance of masculinity and femininity, the evolution of the word ‘lesbian’, that labels can resonate whatever their original meaning, how gender identity influences self-expression, navigating being a teenager again, sexuality and attraction, and that moving from one side of the line of androgyny to the other side is only a small step. [Transcript coming soon.]
We are reversing roles, so Katy is interviewing Esther as she reflects on conversations she’s had with gender-diverse folks, what she’s learned about gender, as well as her own journey and how she evolved through it. We talk about what it means to Esther to be cisgender, what gender diversity (or a lack thereof) was like growing up, how the podcast is a way of expressing her identity, recovering perfectionism, Vulcan philosophy, and that in the end, we are all more alike than different. [Transcript coming soon.]
Sarah is intersex and identifies as non-binary. We talk about Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome, hormone replacement therapy, gonadectomy surgery, Queer Britain, being different and getting attention, being queer and bisexual, Differences in Sexual Development (DSD) and Intersex Genital Mutilation. [Transcript available.]