TransPanTastic: Transgender parenting, work, marriage, transition, and life!

When Jess and George first met, George noted Jess' odd inability to notice or remember certain details unless they were pointed out. They could tell you the title of that one Star Trek episode with "that one thing that did the thing", but they couldn't remember where they put their glasses or when their next staff meeting was supposed to be. They would vacuum and scrub and dust but leave that once...

We're blessed today to speak with our favorite "cissy", Peterson Toscano. Through his one-person comedies and lively lectures, he has delighted audiences throughout North America, Europe, and Africa as he takes on social justice concerns. His plays and talks humorously explore the serious topics of LGBTQ issues, sexism, racism, privilege, gender, and climate change. You can learn more about his wo...

The holidays happened. As often, in blended families, they happened on the "wrong" day. As often, in *our* family, they came with the usual nonsense of crazy old people, crazy small people, and Jess and George trying not to catch the crazy. Then George took Child#2 and hopped on a plane to his sister's house, where things were amazingly heteronormative, and he didn't catch the crazy but he might h...

George's male privilege has, generally, made his life easier at work, but there are some ways in which the changes haven't made his job easier. Jess' new position has also had gendery oddness, and they have noticed many more effects of privilege, both from gender and from class. But as a teacher, Jess is happy to have created a culture in their classroom that offers students the freedom to be them...

After her eye surgery, George got five calls in three days from his mother, who really should've called 911 instead of him each time. Jess should know by now to expect George's elderly and increasingly senile relatives to act like toddlers. It shouldn't come as a surprise to them when his aunt has a temper tantrum, or when his mother refuses to use her walker because "I can do it myself!", but her...

Flamingoes? Meh. Depression and transition. They are things. They affect one another. George shares his experiences. Jess pokes him. We have a conversation about depression and gender dysphoria. Can you hear George's brainfog? And what is "Gender Lite"? Or is it "GenderLight!!!"? Could we hang Gender Lights on the awning when the Christmas Lights come down? We are here to share our entire intersec...

George's health has been a challenge for some months now, but things are looking up. Which is good, because his insurance is changing, and it'd be a real challenge to adapt to new providers while still trying to manage that crisis. We are here to share our entire intersectional experience with anyone who finds it beneficial, but we want to know what you connect with the most. You can let us know b...

No, not that Manning. We're verbing nouns, like "adulting" and "friending", and Ms. Manning is decidedly and intentionally not manning. George, on the other hand, totally is, and has reached that point of passing where everyone acknowledges that he is male, without consciously acknowledging anything at all. From children at a fair to colleagues at work, nobody bats an eye at treating him like "jus...

George has been responsible for ALL the people for some time now, elderly and juvenile alike, but Child#2 has really made extra cause for responsibility lately, and every Friday is have-a-fit day. Will he try to accuse us of abuse again? Will we be able to maintain our sanity while we help him grow out of this habit? Will he actually pull his processing out of his brainstem long enough to pull his...

In the second part of our conversation with our friend Z, he shares his experiences discovering more about his indigenous heritage, living in a inter-racial relationship, and coming to a broader understanding of faith. We discussed various topics related to racial justice, supporting oppressed minorities, colonialism and capitalism, and all sorts of other ways in which he, and we all, can be overc...

Our long-time friend Z is an FtM activist and long-time advocate for the trans community, the LGBTQIA+ faith community, and communities of color. He appears in the series America In Transition, currently in development. (You should go support this amazing project at americaintransition.org !) In our recent discussion, he recounts his path toward becoming an unlikely activist. Childhood trauma, mil...

Jess' new job is amazing, so long as they don't check their email. Entitled parents of entitled children are entitled, and it's driving Jess a little bonkers. George is back to working full time too, and some of the ladies have noticed that he's lost weight. But being sick for four months solid will do that to a person. We are here to share our entire intersectional experience with anyone who find...

George has a respiratory infection, the kids are getting ready for back-to-school, and Child#2 decided he'd try to get out of trouble by getting Jess in trouble. We are here to share our entire intersectional experience with anyone who finds it beneficial, but we want to know what you connect with the most. You can let us know by clicking to a one-question anonymous survey at  vote.pollcode.com/32...

Announcing a scheduling change... TransPanTastic will be moving to a biweekly release format, and our next full episode will be released next week. We are here to share our entire intersectional experience with anyone who finds it beneficial, but we want to know what you connect with the most. You can let us know by clicking to a one-question anonymous survey at  vote.pollcode.com/32371374 . If yo...

George had a dream. Social isolation and awkwardness were not the dream he wanted. But they got us thinking about various types of social isolation that he has encountered as an introvert, as a trans guy, as a geek, as a convention attendee, as a cis-passing guy, and as all of those things at once. We are here to share our entire intersectional experience with anyone who finds it beneficial, but w...

George's elderly aunt (who insists that she doesn't have memory problems) has been claiming for months that "they'll send me to the funny farm" for her behaviour. Eventually it became self-fulfilling prophecy. Add his neurotic sister, his elderly mother, and Child#2 into the mix, and George's recovery and attempts to return to work aren't going as smoothly as we'd hoped. But we should know better,...

We've annually chronicled Jess' struggles to find a job that will get them out of elementary and back into working with older students. This year was another trip on the merry-go-round, with popcorn and dominoes thrown in for good measure. Will they escape kindergarten this year? We are here to share our entire intersectional experience with anyone who finds it beneficial, but we want to know what...

George is still recovering from surgery, but the world doesn't quit relying on him while he's down. Child#2 is supposed to be visiting with his other mom, but we're noticing a pattern in the failure rate of those visits. When it comes time to rescue the kid, everyone else is experiencing their own increased failure to function, so it's on us to save the day again. We are here to share our entire i...

There are many aspects of our relationship that are heterogenous. We are a mixed-faith couple, mixed-orientation, and we also come from different generations. Being raised in distinctly different times caused us distinctly different experiences with regards to technology, culture, and gender. Dysphoria was more distinctly gendered for George, in a time when everything was much more gendered, while...

George's recovery is going as well as can be expected, when everyone still expects him to manage them. Child#2 is having an especially difficult time managing himself, and the other adults who have charge of him are getting a run for their money. From being suspended the last week of school, to breaking furniture, to pestering his other caregivers for his video game, he just can't give any of us a...

George's surgery went better than it could have. Both the pre-admit appointment and the hospital stay went well, and nobody had a visible reaction to his questions about the effect of his trans status on his upcoming surgery. Recovery is a challenge, but nowhere near as hard as it could have been. Nonetheless, dysphoria has a way of finding us, even when things are going well. We are here to share...

The intersection of lesbian parenting and multi-cultural family life, highlights Vinnie's experiences with gender and discrimination, and we discuss how George's transition has affected his parenting interactions. Returning to their experiences as a non-transitioning female-assigned person in a male-dominated field, Vinnie clarifies a few points and we all discuss our experiences of gender in the...

Our first ever guest, from Ep#95 and Ep#96 , has come back to visit! We mentioned, then, how their new car affected their frequency of traffic stops, but they have since observed the effect of various other drivers in their old truck. Following up on George and Jess' discussion of health care challenges, Vinnie contribues their doctor experiences to our discussion. Then we return to a frequent dis...

As George recovers from his last hospital stay and prepares for his upcoming surgery, he recalls his concerns about his gender and how others will be affected by it. He also expresses a sense of "nakedness" from the lack of bodily self-determination. Then he realizes, all those types of discomfort are part of dysphoria! Jess also recalls experiencing dysphoria that they didn't realize was dysphori...

When George's intestines try to kill him, when Child#3 is a stinky hoarder, when Child#2 has bizarrely unrealistic expectations of us, it's good to be able to use some coping humor. George's ability to cope with strong emotion has increased over his time on HRT, although he still finds his patience has a tendency to disappear abruptly. We are here to share our entire intersectional experience with...