Queer 101

Hey y’all, it’s Peppermint. 💕 I had to jump in here today  to break down a devastating Supreme Court decision that affects transgender girls and women across the United States. The Supreme Court has sided with West Virginia and Idaho, allowing states to ban transgender girls and women from playing on girls’ school sports teams—from middle school through college. In West Virginia v. BPJ and Little...

Hey y’all, it’s Peppermint. 💕 As we approach the 57th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising  I wanted to ground us in something real: Pride is not just a party. It's a protest. It’s protection. It’s survival. On this episode of Queer 101 , I’m breaking down why legal documents — passports, birth certificates, IDs — are not just paperwork. They are power. Right now, we’re witnessing coordinat...

Hey y’all — it’s Peppermint, and welcome back to Queer 101, the podcast where we talk queer history, queer culture, queer books, and the stories we definitely didn’t learn in school. Hugh is on his book tour (go grab My Bad for your summer reading list!), so this week it’s just me. And since it’s Pride Month, I wanted to revisit some of our most powerful conversations about activism, trans rights,...

Summer School - classes are now in session, y’all. Before we get into it — yes, we’re going biweekly for the summer (because Pride season is Pride‑ing), but don’t panic. We’ll be back to weekly episodes before ya know it. In the meantime, I’m booked, busy, and SO honored to be serving as Grand Marshal New York Pride March, and season three of Survival of the Thickest wil be back. Hot queer summer...

Hey y’all. It’s me, Peppermint. This week on Queer 101 , Hugh and I are doing what I call a real ‘Pep Talk’— because let’s be honest, the attacks on LGBTQIA+ people (especially trans folks) are escalating, organized, and intentional. We’re not imagining it. From the DOJ arguing that queer legal protections are somehow “anti‑Christian,” to the 197‑page blueprint to roll back Biden‑era LGBTQ+ polici...

Okayyyy y’all Pride season is officially ON — and we are starting with a Queer 101 deep dive into the ICONIC ’90s downtown New York City queer nightlife scene that literally shaped mainstream culture. Yes. I said literally. Hugh the Historian and I get into how queer artists, trans pioneers, club kids, and AIDS activists built the culture everyone copies today. We’re talking: ✨ Wigstock  ✨ Ballr...

This week on Queer 101, Hugh the Historian and I are back — and whew. It’s been a heavy one. We’re breaking down a wave of anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ legislation, including Louisiana’s so‑called “Restoring Biological Truth Act” (HB 578) and what it actually means when lawmakers try to legally define sex as “observed at birth” and erase the word gender from state statutes. Because let’s be clear:  W...

Hugh and I are back with a spring check-in packed with LGBTQ+ news, queer Broadway buzz, and hopeful updates on trans rights. This week on Queer 101 , we break down global political shifts, including Viktor Orbán’s loss in Hungary, and react to unexpected queer headlines like Grindr sponsoring part of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.  Then we dive into a major queer-forward Broadway season...

This week on Queer 101 , Hugh and I are reacting in real time to headlines that say everything about the moment we’re in. Caitlyn Jenner went on Fox News to complain about being impacted by Trump-era passport policies affecting transgender people. Dave Chappelle suggested that right-wing anti-trans rhetoric may have “gone too far.” But here’s the question: Who helped normalize that rhetoric in the...

Okay y’all — this is Part Two of our activism conversation, and we’re zooming out. Because what’s happening right now isn’t random. It’s coordinated. It’s strategic. And it’s about control. On this episode of Queer 101, we start with the headlines — like new Olympic policies impacting trans athletes and the return of invasive sex testing in women’s sports — but we don’t stay there. We use that mom...

This week on Queer 101, Hugh and I are marking International Trans Day of Visibility — not just as a celebration, but as a call to action. We start with some wins, because joy and recognition matter. Our Queer History Book Club is thriving. Caro De Robertis was just named a National Book Awards judge (as she should), and Tourmaline’s biography of Marsha P. Johnson is now a Lambda Literary Award fi...

We fought for LGBTQ visibility. So why does it feel more dangerous now? In this episode of Queer 101 , I sit down with historian Hugh Ryan to talk about the current state of LGBTQ rights in the United States — from anti-trans legislation and drag bans to the political strategy behind “protect the children” rhetoric. We unpack how attacks on trans healthcare, queer education, and media representati...

This episode of Queer 101 is personal. Hugh and I start by talking about survival — because right now, that’s not dramatic. It’s real. Self‑promotion, community support, showing up for each other… these aren’t cute extras. They’re how we stay alive in a moment when anti‑trans policies are escalating in very coordinated ways. We break down what’s actually happening — from efforts to end gender‑affi...

Hey y’all it’s me, Peppermint- This week Hugh and  step away from their usual queer art and literature focus to process an escalating political moment hitting queer people—especially trans communities.  We discuss Shia LaBeouf invoking a “gay panic/Twinkie defense” after violence at Mardi Gras, connecting it to long-standing excuses for harm against queer and trans people.  Then the conversation t...

This week on Queer 101 , we’re digging into something that keeps coming up: how does queer underground culture — the worlds we build for survival and joy — end up in the mainstream? Hugh and I start with the Pride flag drama at Stonewall, because it’s a perfect example of the tension we’re living in. Queer culture is visible, marketable, everywhere. Queer rights? Still debated. Still contested. St...

Hey y’all, it’s me, Peppermint! This week on Queer 101 , Hugh and I are recording from the middle of a literal New York snowstorm — and let’s just say… the weather isn’t the only thing spiraling. We’re giving our own LGBTQ+ State of the Union, breaking down what’s actually happening right now: attacks on gender-affirming care, threats to marriage equality, institutions folding under pressure, and...

This week on Queer 101, Hugh (my resident historian-in-chief) and I are back in our Sister Outsider era — and baby, we are not keeping it cute. We pick up where we left off with Audre Lorde and the idea of the erotic as power — not shame, not scandal, not something to clutch pearls over — but something potentially liberating. And from there? Oh, we go there. Using the reactions to Heated Rivalry (...

On this episode of Queer 101 , Hugh Ryan and I are not tiptoeing around queer history — we’re diving straight in. We’re talking about why queer literature still matters, why Audre Lorde remains required reading, and why the erotic is way more than what people are comfortable admitting. Lorde taught us that the erotic is power. Period. Not something shameful. Not something to be watered down. And d...

Hey y’all, it’s  Peppermint — and on this episode of Queer 101, Hugh and I are doing what queer people have always done best: connecting history to the mess we’re living in right now. We start with Audre Lorde’s Sister Outsider — newly reissued, still devastatingly relevant, and frankly doing laps around half the conversations happening today. Audre wasn’t here for respectability politics, and nei...

Hey y’all—it’s me, Peppermint 💅🏽 and welcome back to Queer 101 . In this episode, I’m joined by my partner in queer crime, Hugh the Historian, and honey… we are digging deep . Like “Hollywood secrets buried under a studio lot” deep. We dive into the shadowy, fascinating, and sometimes infuriating hidden histories of queer culture—especially in old Hollywood, where being LGBTQ+ was very much a do...

Hey y’all, it’s me Peppermint 💋 and welcome back to Queer 101 ! This episode is one of those “once you see it, you can’t unsee it” conversations—because we’re talking all about queer coding in pop culture. And yes… it’s been happening forever. This week Hugh Ryan, and I break down how queerness has been sneaking into movies, books, and TV for decades—especially back when being openly queer was a...

Hey y’all, it’s me, Peppermint, and on this episode of Queer 101 , Hugh and I are ringing in the New Year the only way we know how: chatty, curious, and a little bit queerly chaotic. We kick things off swapping New Year’s stories — who rested, who partied, who intended to journal but absolutely did not — and then get into the real question: Do queer people even do resolutions the same way? (Spoile...

New year, fresh vibes, same big conversations — but with hope, glitter, and a little more wiggle room. Hugh and I chat about power, belonging, and what happens when queer folks stop waiting for a seat at the table and just build a better party. Yes, we talk history. Yes, we talk growth. But mostly we’re talking about finding your people, making room for each other, and stepping into the new year k...

Hey y’all,  grab your cocoa and your cutest fuzzy socks because this episode of Queer 101 is basically a queer holiday special—with me, Peppermint, serving yuletide realness and Hugh the Historian sprinkling in the facts like he’s the Mariah Carey of academia. We’re talking all things queer holidays: the traditions we made up, the ones we borrowed, and the ones we refuse to participate in (sorry,...

This week, Hugh and I dive right into ou chat about one of my absolute favorite topics: how queer folks and other marginalized communities turn exclusion into empowerment. You know me — if society tries to shut a door, I’m already sashaying through a window. We kick things off by talking about what happens when marginalized people — especially queer and trans folks — get pushed out of mainstream s...