October 22, 2017

The Tide of Change in Tuscaloosa

It’s been 18 years since I stepped on campus as a freshman at the University of Alabama as a teenage queer kid. A lot has changed since that day. On this episode of The Strong Stance, I explore the strides the campus and the town of Tuscaloosa have made, while celebrating the 15th anniversary of UA Safe Zone, which I co-founded in 2002, Homecoming, and speaking at Druid City Pride that’s still in its early years of existence.

Resources:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thestrongstance
UA Safe Zone: http://safezone.ua.edu
Druid City Pride: https://www.druidcitypride.org
Pride Speakers: Gina Mallisham & Sgt. Justin Kelly
Equality Alabama: https://www.equalityal.org…

September 15, 2017

Both Sides Now

Experience changes your life. It changes how you see things, how you perceive the world and your future expectations. With experience, you may look at life, in the words of Joni Mitchell, from Both Sides Now. On this episode, I’m bringing you stories from three trans folks about seeing different sides of their own personal life events.

Story Tellers:
JB Fuoco [“Seeing Both Sides (and the Middle Too)”]
Julian [“It’s Hard to Understand, I Know”]
Kris McElroy [“Fears and Joys”]

JB Fuoco [“Seeing Both Sides (and the Middle Too)”] is a Latinx, queer, transgender business analyst and native Southerner. He …

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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May 15, 2017

The State of Queer Public Health

With the recent House passing of the American Health Care Act (AHCA), the state of queer public health is even more unsure and in danger. Part of what AHCA does, and what has caused the loudest outrage, is make it more difficult for folks with pre-existing conditions to get and keep adequate and affordable health insurance, and by extension, health*care*. A few items that have been listed as pre-existing conditions by the Kaiser Family Foundation include AIDS, HIV, “sexual deviation or disorder”, and transexualism. Obviously these particular ones disproportionately affect the queer and trans communities, in addition to all the …

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 …

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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December 2, 2016

Angry, Broken, Processing, and Trying to Heal

A lot has happened in the country, in the trans community, and in my own personal life in the last 5 weeks. The bulk of it has left me very angry and broken. Join me on this episode of The Strong Stance, as I discuss the events of the past month, including the Transgender Day of Remembrance, the election and its aftermath, my recent move and the toll that it’s all taken.

If you would like to donate to the work of the Trans Women of Color Collective, go to www.twocc.us and click ‘Donate’ in the upper right corner.

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September 7, 2016

Adjusting to Southern Intersections

Moving to any new environment always means adjustment: Taking a new job, starting a new family, moving to a new city. With each of these shifts often comes a new culture and a new social circle. And while building that circle can be at least somewhat difficult for most people, it’s particularly more onerous if you belong to a community that is not widely accepted or even understood. Combine that with any other minority status and the intersectionality of those identities can compound those adjustments. And what if that new culture is one that tends to be significantly more conservative? …

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 …

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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