INTRO:
Hello and welcome back to season three of Beau my God, I’m your host Beau Bradley, my pronouns are he and they. It’s March 2022 and we are back with episode number 30 of BMG. Third Season, third month, thirtieth episode..it is feeling like a lot of threes around here, here’s your number if you were looking for it!
So as you all may know, we have been on a break since the end of the year, planning, prepping and ramping up for the best season ever. Heading into this year I want you all to continue to keep an open mind, continue to be willing to learn and question what you already do or don’t know about gender, sexuality, identity, the queer community..really all of it.
We have an exciting season ahead with lots of incredible guests lined up. I’m not going to spoil any of them ahead of time, but I will let you know this season has a focus right here, in the Seattle area and we will continue to bring you fabulous, queer, diverse guests including organizations, individuals, and maybe even a few surprises.
Some more updates for this season: every episode will be uploaded on youtube with or without video content. We are going to make this as accessible as possible, so if there is somewhere you want to watch or listen, and you can’t find us…let us know!
Alight, before we move on, let me take this moment to ask you to subscribe, follow us on social media, this podcast is all about education, community and visibility, so we need your help to continue to share this platform with your LGBTQIA+ friends, peers, family, and allies. And you know what..share it with people who don’t understand our community too. This podcast is where queer meets world and I am happy to be the catalyst to bridge some of these gaps. If there are gaps or topics or conversations you want to see and hear, let us know! Send us a DM, send me an email, text me if you have my number, whoo I’m pumped. New season y’all!!
Segment 1 - The Queer Alphabet “Lesbian”
Okay moving into our first segment, the first thing I am going to reintroduce to you all is the Queer Alphabet. The Queer Alphabet is a spin off of my Social Media education campaign from 2020, with the same title. This series aims to break down LGBTQIA+ terms and concepts in a way that all people can listen and understand. Some past examples include our discussions on Ethical Non-Monogamy with Christopher Smith, Windows and mirrors with Beth Farr, and Defining Biological Sex with Lizzie.
Today we are going to start at the beginning of our beloved acronym LGBTQIA+ and discuss the “L.” The L denoting Lesbian. Now I know some of you are like okay, check, I understand that… but I pose this question to you - when is the last time you sat down and considered the definition of the word lesbian.
For most people this elicits a mental image of two female lovers, whether that be in a way that is respectful, or unfortunately in a way that is way over sexualized thanks to our society. The first known use of the word lesbian, was in 1559, used to describe a sexual or romantic attraction between two women1. It was derived from the name of the Greek Island of Lesbos, which was where the late greek poet Sappho, who lived from 615-580 BCE, was born. Now her sexual orientation has been much debated about in history but her words have been often interpreted as “celebrating the eros between women”2 Anyways,
Today, the definition is expanded to include non-binary individuals and those who are gender non-confirming or feel as if the word is inclusive of their identity. Gallup reports that 11.7% of Queer US adults identify as Lesban which is only .3% more than those identifying as transgender! This equates to .7% of the overall US adult population.3 With the estimated population of the US to be about 333 million people4, that means approximately 2.3 million US adults are lesbian. And if you are new to BMG, you will learn that I love to remind everyone of the gross under-reporting of LGBTQIA+ information and statistics due to a plethora of reasons including but not limited to… the stigma and in some places illegality of being openly queer, little to no medical research including appropriate demographics to track statistics and information related to the LGBTQIA+ community, and more. But the point is, if you are listening to this, and you live in a small town, or a big city, really anywhere that you feel like you are alone…you are NOT alone, there are so many other people like you, who believe you, understand you, support you, and respect you. I promise. If anyone needs help finding your queer community, finding a safe space, get in contact with me, email me at beau@beaumygod.com or DM me on social media @beaubrads, even on the podcast’s page, we look at those messages! @beaumygodpod YOU ARE NOT ALONE! For those wanting to learn more that don’t want to reach out to me or the podcast specifically, i will first direct you the National Center for Lesbian Rights, I think that is a great first step. www.nclrights.org
Something I would really like to highlight related to this is that identities can change, so can your gender, sexuality, etc. One relatable example for everyone I think, is food. TW for those who need it, skip ahead a beat, okay… so I bet you there is a food you didn’t like as a child that you have a different opinion on now. Say onions. As a kid I thought onions were smelly, made you cry, not fun..just not a fun food..but now, as an adult…onions are my favorite thing. I put them in/on/with everything. They’re a staple. Does that mean there are going to be onions that I don’t like - potentially, definitely some dishes that include onions that I may not favor. But my opinion and feelings can change, the same goes with your identity. Be it your favorite color, the clothes you wear, your hairstyle. Some people are so happy having one hairstyle every day..others can’t wait to try new things. People are intersectional and complex and they are always more than one thing. So end rant on that for today haha
Segment 2 - TDOV
So moving into current events, we are going to talk about what week it is! This portion of the podcast is dedicated to discussing anti-trans and LGBTQIA+ legislation, current topics in the news, and other pop culture or lifestyle events affecting the Queer community. Prior guests include filmmaker and the Director of GLAAD nominated Trans in Trumpland, Tony Zosherafatain, Will Riley from queer band The Gays, and a couple of Queer University students representing Ally House Jr., a LGBTQIA+ effort at The Pennsylvania State University.
March 31st of every year is designated as International Transgender Day of Visibility,6 which aims to raise awareness about the presence of transgender and gender diverse indivisuals, celebrating their lives and the contributions of trans people throughout history, in addition to raising attention to the hardships our community faces like increased murder rates, poverty, discrimination and overall violence. Transgender Day of Visibility, also known as TDOV, was created 12 years ago now, in 2010 by translate advocate and the head of Transgender Michigan, Rachel Crandall. At that point the only day widely recognizing Trans people was Transgender Day of Remeembrance, focusing on the death and violence in the community, and Rachel wanted to select a day to celebrate the Trans and GNC community in a way that empowers folks t olive authentically, but recognizing that not every trans person or queer person in genderal for that matter, can be or is able to be or wants to be visible.7
Going back to our statistics from Gallup, 11.3% of queer adults identify as trasngender, which is about 0.6% of the total US adult population, coming in at around 2 million people.. So again, YOU ARE NOT ALONE. Reach out to me or us if you are in need of community, reach out to the National LGBTQ+ Suicide Hoteline if you are in crisis that number is 1-800-273-8255! If it’s a life safety emergency, Call 911! 8
This year, for those of you in the Seattle area, join me tonight, March 30, 2022 at Rose Temple on Capitol Hill in Seattle to celebrate the launch of BMG Season 3! We’ll be there from 7-10 pm with folks from CHEER Seattle, DJ Pretty Please, and our dear friend and treasured past guest, local queer musician Jeannie Rak will be performing a live set! There will be food or drink for purchase and gift backs for the first 50 folks! Snatch them up! Huge shout out to Austin and Ben from Rose Temple, if you can’t make it out tonight, go check them out when you’re in the area, they have a great space, a lot of cool events, and a monthly drag brunch that is divine. Also big shout out to Aireal from CHEER Seattle, love you so much, thank you for all of your expertise, advice, coordination, and insight, leading into tonight’s event and really helping me get hype for this season.
AFFIRMATION:
This brings us to today’s affirmation, as promised we will be ending every show with an affirmation from here on out. We often as queer folks, and humans in general, do not give ourselves the chance to feel our full potential, feel empowered and feel like we are quite enough. Well YOU ARE, and I am here to remind you! Today’s affirmation comes from Blavity,
So repeat after me, “My life matters. My life has value. I serve significant purpose to both myself and those around me.. I will continue to find joy in everything life has to offer”
Okay, one more time..My life matters. My life has value. I serve significant purpose to both myself and those around me.. I will continue to find joy in everything life has to offer”8
CLOSING:
Well folks, that’s all for today. Thank you for tuning into Season 3, Episode 1, of beau my god, our thirtieth episode overall! We look forward to seeing those of you tonight that can make it! Bring your friends, bring your vax cards, let’s party! Don’t forget to rate subscribe and follow along for more of your favorite Queer and Trans content we’re on most social platforms @beaumygodpod. Check us out at www.beaumygod.com where you can find out more info AND purchase some BMG swag like stickers, hats, shirts. There are some cool things on there if I do say so myself.
Request:
I will leave you with this last thought. In honor of trans day of visibility, share this podcast with one or two of your friends, even if you think this may not be in their wheelhouse. Let’s share the knowledge, share the visibility, and make life easier for each lil baby queer or baby trans that comes after us.
Thanks, love you all, and catch you next time!