Trans Questioning Podcast

Two months on HRT and second puberty is in full swing. THIS WEEK: I discuss the various changes I've noticed after two months on feminizing hormones; suddenly Sarah is starting to exist; a series of digressions on topics various and sundry. ALSO: Very few people have sent me emails, so I've decided to give the spammers their due. It's time to discuss the tragedy of the late Dr. George Pascal, whos...

Tips and tricks from a 19 year old film nerd. THIS WEEK: The wonderful Emily Lynch stops by to talk about her experiences coming out as transgender to her parents, presenting full time, and the various strategies of making oneself accustomed to their new identity. There are many jokes and japes along the way (bonus points if you get my sick Dark Souls reference), including tales of sperm donation...

When they demand that you disappear into the shadows again, the only choice is illumination. THIS WEEK: The GOP doesn't want LGBT people to adopt children, and of course this will disproprtionately effect the T; what happens when a fascist dictator blames a minority group for society's ills, cons the people into persecuting them, persecutes them successfully, and the ills of society remain unaddre...

I'm elsewhere! Wow! THIS WEEK : A shorter episode digging into the conflicted feelings of an early transition trans person having to go boymode in another country for a month, looking for changes from HRT, and maybe feeling a little more calm? Hmmm. Do you have questions, stories, or other gender-related gripes you want to share? Email me at TransQuestioningPodcast@gmail.com INTRO/OUTRO MUSIC is t...

Am I emotions because drugs, or am I emotions because sad? THIS WEEK: My first ten days on hormone replacement therapy. What has changed? Has anything changed? How do I feel? Am I more irritable? Has my beard melted off yet? We also talk about #DropTheT, a twitter campaign by some in the LGBT community to drop the T, because unlike the lesbians, gays, and bis, the transgenders are [insert tired of...

The day of the appointment looms, and stress begins to take hold. THIS WEEK: A shorter episode due to surprises . Getting ready for my trip to a women's center to get bloodwork done for HRT, but is it what I want? Is it a waste of time? We also talk briefly about E3 and... not a heck of a lot else. Do you have questions, stories, or other gender-related gripes you want to share? Email me at TransQ...

Sometimes the healthiest identity is a constructed identity. THIS WEEK: The stress of friends moving across the country, the stress of losing friends altogether; plans for starting hormone replacement therapy, and considering internationl travel in the early stages of HRT; discussing Carta Monir's selfies; the power of selfies to reclaim personal agency; the means by which society robs everyone of...

What happens when you really believe nothing you do is worth the space it occupies? THIS WEEK: A flurry of life updates, including film awards, clothing swaps, and joyful conversations; how being transgender and/or being an artist comes with the constant baggage of imposter syndrome, wondering if you really are what you are, if you're just wasting everybody's time; learning that it isn't arrogant...

What's going on in the world today? Probably nothing good! THIS WEEK: Updates about my life, including having a pleasant 4/20 (no relation); federal court overturns transgender military ban, which is a... good thing?; Boston's anti-discrimination laws protecting trans folks are on the ballot again, because the GOP really wants mandatory crotch inspections at every bathroom door; if you're going to...

Fun fact: sometimes coming out as transgender can be a good thing! THIS WEEK: I had my third laser appointment and it wasn't (as) miserable! Searching for grad school, giving mock lectures, finding a passion, working on a youtube show and a podcast while also trying to find hormones and do lasers and be able to pay bills all at once; having something to live for; learning to feel alright about one...

When transitioning, it helps to look at the bigger picture. THIS WEEK: Impatiently waiting for laser hair removal to yield a fruitfully barren face; facial hair as a barrier to seeing myself as my preferred gender; wishing for a transgender data nexus; pros and cons of going the less-than-legal route for hormone replacement therapy; am I imagining progress? Hairgrowth cycles and why LHR takes so l...

Looking back on those first days of accepting my transness. THIS WEEK: Reading Twitter threads from July, August, and September of 2017 about realizing I was transgender, doubting whether I was transgender, and then accepting that yeah, I was transgender. The influence of ContraPoints, Zinnia Jones, and assorted trans spotlights; "I'm definitely not trans" means you're probably trans; the importan...

For the wayward soul who just wants to get blasted in the face by high-powered lasers. THIS WEEK: How to talk to professionals; why to get laser treatments; what laser hair removal is and how it works; how LHR compares to electrolysis in terms of time, pain, and cost; what a laser appointment looks like; LHR's longterm effectiveness; how to avoid outdated information; diversifying your porfolio of...

When you're waiting to start, all you can think is what happens next. THIS WEEK: Questions about temporality, the bad sounds of piano, the body hair situation, how tweezers are the gateway drug to epilation, a quick first-hand account of what epilating feels like, a rant about noisy chairs, imagined placebo feminization, WHAT IS A PRETTY HAND???, the strawman of autogynephilia, the question of voc...

How do you find a new name for a new you? THIS WEEK: My habit of connecting names to characters; the unintuitive intuition it takes to find a new name; the incomprehensibility of the universe; the terror of going out in girl mode for the very first time publicly; "transition" as an actual phase; nervous hair plucking tics; talking frankly about SEX REASSIGNMENT SURGERY (which I incorrectly refer t...

Transgender healthcare advice is best served from uneducated cisgender practitioners. THIS WEEK: 2018 plans (again); spending time with family; more doubts about being trans; what would have helped me come out sooner?; a dream of normalcy that is probably too good to be true; crossdressing advice from a friend; a twitter thread from @transscribe where trans people discuss the many, many, many ways...

Shut up, Zara! Let someone else talk for once. THIS WEEK: Carta Monir discusses the themes of her comics, the intersection of video games and real life, the way the internet exposes young people to new ideas, the way cis comfort is centered in trans coming out narratives, how comics are the best medium for depicting trans people, recommendations for where to buy cheap clothes, talking dead moms, i...

A thought experiment regarding representation. THIS WEEK: If you make a movie about a trans woman being assaulted by a cis man, you're saying all trans women will be assaulted. If you make a movie about a trans woman being accepted by a cis man, you're saying all trans women will be unconditionally accepted. In short: the compounding interest of mass storytelling in a world full of minorities desp...

Sometimes having a hard life makes life easier. THIS WEEK: A couple comic recommendations, male privilege as a trans woman, bad family, identifying with anime cat girls and furry characters, the shame of stuff for girls, internalized misogyny, violence against women in media, and my plans for the new year. INTRO/OUTRO MUSIC is the Mii Channel Theme JAZZ COVER by insaneintherainmusic. COVER ART is...

Did you think we forgot? THIS WEEK: Talking about podcast hosting, fearing friends talking behind your back, taking and giving good writing advice, how cis people talk about trans people, how fascists talk about everyone, how Thor:Ragnarok made me realize that I'm a lesbian, and all of this while shaving. INTRO/OUTRO MUSIC is the Mii Channel Theme JAZZ COVER by insaneintherainmusic. COVER ART is b...

A grand old time with grand old emotions. WARNING : This one is EXACTLY what it says on the tin. Talking about figuring out you're trans just a liiitle too late, losing friends, losing family, struggling to find yourself, and ultimately how cathartic it can be to just let yourself feel emotions. INTRO/OUTRO MUSIC is the Mii Channel Theme JAZZ COVER by insaneintherainmusic. COVER ART is by the wond...

In the mood for patriarchy. THIS WEEK: Turns out I have bipolar, the wonderful effects of drugs, society's puritanical dislike of drugs, how we treat alcoholics, comorbidity in disorders, what's it like to feel normal? A long rant about how terrible "trap" is as a way to refer to trans people, and another long rant reacting to a series of hilariously transphobic tweets. INTRO/OUTRO MUSIC is the Mi...

"Weird is my thing." THIS WEEK: Do you have to "earn" your pronouns? The changing context of Facebook, a simple test to see if you're trans, an excerpt from Julia Serrano's "Whipping Girl," is passing as your preferred gender the end of the road? Obsessing over gender norms, expecting objectification, giving up the autonomy of a male body, the political danger of coming out as trans and the obliga...

Hierarchies as far as the eye can see! THIS WEEK: Discussing an email sent to Laura Kate Dale, ranting about the absurdity of gender norms, late night depression and doubts, desperately wanting a nerd shirt, changing attitudes, remembering a mock debate about don't ask don't tell, and learning to live with your own problems. This episode was recorded October 7th, 2017. WARNING: This episode contai...

THIS WEEK: What lead me to realize I was transgender, how I feel about being trans, the magical thinking of gender questioning, the infuriating subjectivity of gender, how depression lies, why the best and worst advice is "trust your gut," and what to feel after a Twitter argument. What does it mean to be transgender? Coming out is hard, and there's a lot of pressure to immediately start transitio...