July 14, 2017

Chris Jennings, The Coffee King

This month’s Spotlight is focused on Chris Jennings: drag king, photographer, podcaster and host of the new weekly Facebook Live show, Coffee with Chris. They are truly an all around entrepreneur. We discussed what has gotten them to this point, what keeps them going, and their previous and current ventures, including a drag king-focused photo book called Kingxtaposition.
We had such a great time with this conversation, so I hope you enjoy it.

Resources:
Fierce!: http://www.fiercequeerburlesquefest.com
Coffee with Chris: https://www.facebook.com/coffeewithchrisshow
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chrisjaythemc
Instagram: chrisjayphoto

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March 16, 2017

Angela Dumlao & Call Me They

On this episode, I am honored to have the brilliant Angela Dumlao as my Spotlight guest! We discussed their wildly popular trans and non-binary versions of the #ShePersisted memes, as well as the rest of their projects including Call Me They, Post Traumatic Super Delightful, and @MenswearSelfCare.
We had a great discussion about gender, individualized healing, fashion, and self-care. I had such a wonderful time talking to Angela and I hope they will grace the show again soon. You can find more information on them and all their projects via the links below.

Resources:
Website: angelacdumlao.com
Twitter: @angelacdumlao
Call Me …

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February 15, 2017

Kendra Brill

On this episode of The Strong Stance Spotlight, I speak to Kendra Brill about her life, her time in prison, her struggle with addiction, her transition, her faith and her new book, ‘The Kendra Brill Story: From Out Of The Ashes A Phoenix Emerges’.

You can purchase the book here:
http://www.lulu.com/shop/tess-decarlo/the-kendra-brill-story/paperback/product-23054769.html

You can connect with Kendra on Facebook here:
https://www.facebook.com/KendraCatherineBrill

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July 5, 2016

Benny’s June

The month of June was particularly eventful for a lot of the queer community: Philadelphia Trans Health Conference, Pride, the Pulse shooting in Orlando and more…and clearly not all of it was positive. These events affected people in different ways and, in the case of Benny Rodriguez, they weren’t the only events that made June emotionally taxing. So we sat down for a chat about…Benny’s June.

We discussed the Latinx community, the anti-blackness found at many of the aforementionedevents, and the erasure that was so blatantly evident in the wake of tragedy.

Resources:
Philadelphia Trans Health Conference: https://www.mazzonicenter.org/trans-health
Pulse …

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May 31, 2016

Basil Soper & Transilient

My wife and I recently took a trip down to New Orleans for a week. Just before we left, I was introduced to this month’s guest via a mutual friend on Facebook, and in a bizarre turn of events, he happens to live in New Orleans. So long story short, I got to meet him and talk about this amazing adventure he’s about to embark on…and I had to have him on to share it with The Strong Stance listeners. My guest is Basil Soper and he is joining us to discuss his life and his newest project, Transilient.

Resources:…

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March 27, 2016

Christian Zsilavetz & Pride School Atlanta

If it’s felt lately like there has been a large number of anti-trans bills proposed across the country…it’s not your imagination. There has. NCTE is currently tracking some 49 proposed and inactive bills in 19 states in the 2016 legislative session. And a vast majority of those laws affect transgender and gender non-conforming students. These are the bathroom and locker room bills you’ve likely heard about: That a student must use the restroom that matches their sex assigned at birth, or in some cases, their genitals. And then there’s bullying: According to the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, only …

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March 26, 2015

Tracee McDaniel

Lately most of the news of trans people has been negative. Murders, violence, harmful and ignorant legislation… It is often hard to remember the great things that members of our community are doing in spite of all of this. So tonight we are going to focus on a member of our community that is not only surviving, but thriving and is helping other transgender and gender non-conforming people to do the same: the Founder and CEO of the Juxtaposed Center for Transformation in Atlanta, Tracee McDaniel.

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September 26, 2014

Life’s Transitions: Moving Beyond Gender Reassignment

As trans and genderqueer people we often become so focused on our social, mental and physical transitions that they grow to be larger than life. So much so that we forget that a transition is just another word for a shift. A shift in thinking, a shift in geography, a shift in expectations, a shift in marital status or family size. They all affect us as human beings and they are yet another layer to our complex lives as trans*, gender queer, and queer people. And when we forget, it makes it that much easier for people outside our community …

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April 24, 2014

Evan Higginbotham

This past weekend I was the keynote speaker at Lavender Graduation at The University of Alabama and I was reminded of how different DC and Alabama can be with regard to queer and trans* rights. We often discuss issues on The Strong Stance and statistics on how those issues affect trans* people. Tonight we are going to take a step back and look at how these issues have affected one person in particular.

Evan Higginbotham is a transgender gay male, from Tuscaloosa Alabama. He is a junior at the University of Alabama, studying psychology, with a minor in addictive disorders …

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