Jan 192017
 
Photo by Ryan P. Fluger

Photo by Ryan P. Fluger

Jen Richards will join me LIVE in studio on Sex Out Loud this Friday 1/20 at 5 pm Pacific/8 pm Eastern. We’ll talk about the groundbreaking webseries she co-wrote, produced, and stars in, Her Story, and the Emmy nomination it earned. Plus, she’ll dish on her new multi-episode role on the Nashville and what it’s like to be the first transwoman to appear on a CMT network show! We’ll discuss trans media representations and why they matter. Call in to talk with us at 866-472-5788.

Several ways to listen to the show:

–Stream it live (or listen on demand later) on the VoiceAmerica website
–Download the VoiceAmerica Variety Channel app and stream it live on mobile devices
–Download the podcast on iTunes

Jen Richards is a writer and actress, as well as a consultant and advocate who works with national organizations and media projects. She is the co-writer/star/producer of the Emmy nominated series Her Story; co-producer of the upcoming docu-series More Than T and writer of its accompanying Trans 102 series; a 2016 Outfest Screenwriting Fellow for her feature script Any Given Week; and will be appearing in several upcoming projects, including CMT’s Nashville and CBS’s Doubt. Jen was a series regular on E!’s I Am Cait, featured in Logo’s Beautiful As I Want To Be and AOL’s True Trans with Laura Jane Grace, and has appeared in several videos for BuzzFeed, OWN, and After Ellen. She has published essays on multiple platforms, and wrote the 2015 Sep/Oct cover story “What Trans Movement?” for The Advocate.

Prior to her transition, Jen Richards had a successful career in nonprofit and arts management, received her BA in Philosophy from Shimer College, studied at Oxford University and in Kyoto, Japan, participated in Outward Bound, was active in theater, and published articles, lectured, and led workshops on a variety of topics across the country.

Jul 152015
 

highres-julia11

Excluded_printThis Friday, July 17th at 8 pm ET / 5 pm PT on Sex Out Loud, listen to my interview with a true Renaissance woman: writer, performer, activist, musician, and biologist Julia Serano. In 2007 Serano released Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and Scapegoating of Femininity, a collection of personal essays that reveal how misogyny frames popular assumptions about femininity, and shapes many of the myths and misconceptions people have about trans women. Her second book, Excluded: Making Feminist and Queer Movements More Inclusive, was released in 2013. We talk about both books, how her work as a biological scientist has informed her writing, and what we can do to make queer feminist spaces more inclusive.

Tune in Friday, July 17th at 5 pm PT / 8 pm ET. Join the discussion on Facebook or Twitter. Tune in to Sex Out Loud every Friday, you can listen along on your computer, tablet, or phone, find all the ways at SexOutLoudRadio.com.

highres-juliamic03Julia Serano is an Oakland, California-based writer, performer, and activist. She is best known for her 2007 book Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity — The Advocate placed it on their list of “Best Non-Fiction Transgender Books,” and readers of Ms. Magazine ranked it #16 on their list of the “100 Best Non-Fiction Books of All Time.” Her second book, Excluded: Making Feminist and Queer Movements More Inclusive, also garnered rave reviews and was a Publishing Triangle finalist for the 2013 Judy Grahn Award for Lesbian Nonfiction. Julia’s other writings have appeared in over a dozen anthologies, and in magazines and news outlets such as The Guardian, The Daily Beast, AlterNet.org, The Advocate, Out, Bitch, and Ms. Magazine. Her writings have also been used as teaching materials in gender and queer studies courses across North America.

Jun 152015
 

AMOROUS REVOLT

AR new logo
Amorous Revolt
is a brand new Queer Camping event happening from July 31-August 2, 2015. This event is designed by queer people for queer people to build and foster intentional communities for support, education and play. Amorous Revolt features skillshares and workshops including kink, crafts, health, life skills and spirituality, as well as networking events, dance parties, and performances.

In an effort to make the event as accessible as possible, we have an organized rideshare system, ASL interpreters, 24/7 medical staff, and an emotional support space. We also have community organized cabin, play and workshop spaces for People of Color, Transgender/Gender Nonconforming People, Sober folks, and Neurodiverse folks.

Please join us at the first ever Amorous Revolt July 31-August 2, 2015 at Ramblewood in Darlington, Maryland. For more information visit our site or join us on Fetlife, Facebook, and Twitter.

ALSO in JULY….

hearts
In Dallas, Texas on July 24 2015, PolyDallas2015 is hosting the Affirming Polyamorous and Non-Monogamous Relationship Symposium. It is being held at the office of Vantage Point Counseling Services. This is the first symposium, with a primary focus on polyamorous relationship and family structure, to be held in the Dallas/Fort Worth [DFW] area. Co-Presenters Ruby B Johnson and Shawn Chrisman hope to contribute to the knowledge base of mental health practitioners and other community providers. For those attendees who are not in the DFW area, this symposium is offered as a live webinar stream.

Polyamorous and Non-Monogamous relationships have become more visible over the last decade. The way individuals, in their 20s to early 30s (Millennials), are relating, connecting, attracting, and permitting themselves to have non-traditional relationships is creating a more sex positive and dynamic relationship structure. However, Generation X proves to have a different experience and expectation of relationships and their structure.

Hence the exposure, experience, and knowledge base of these different relationships is mysterious to many mental health and substance abuse providers within the community. Demystifying and educating providers is key to providing a conducive non-shaming therapeutic environment. Providing knowledge is a practice of cultural competence; infusing cultural humility into practice creates authenticity and positive regard within the clinician.

To support these principles of the helping relationship, the content richly addresses definitions of polyamory and non-monogamy, coupled with a graph which offers a visual aid for attendees. Heteronormative and monogamous privilege is exposed as well as how those forms of privilege create challenges to provider’s beliefs, values, and norms of relationships. To assist with unpacking privilege, myths and misconceptions of these relationships are debunked. Next, the focus shifts to the therapist and other helping professionals.

With each one of the tenets of cultural humility, solutions, techniques, and suggestions for change are offered that include (not limited to) unconscious bias, racial bias, counter transference, professional boundaries, dual relationships, microaggressions,, social, political, economic bias, sex positivity versus sex addiction, and intellectual privilege (Dunning-Kruger Effect).

Certain theories have been shown to assist with effective practice such as systems, constructivism, Bowenian, feminist, and gender queer. Techniques such as the genogram, gender/relationship inclusive assessments, narrative versus structured assessment, collaborative (with client) treatment planning and interventions, including considerations for cultural, social, community, and services barriers. Additionally, one must be aware of community resources and support.

Please follow us on Twitter @polydallas2015.

Presenters:

Ruby B Johnson (LMSW, LCDC, SAP, CSAT Candidate) received her Bachelors of Social Work in 2003 from Texas Women’s University and her Masters of Social Work in 2005 from the University of Texas at Arlington. Since 2003, Ruby’s roles have included clinical practitioner, community and professional development educator, and graduate and under graduate adjunct professor. In private practice, her areas of expertise are substance use disorders, sex addiction, intimacy and love addiction, multi-cultural families and couples, SOGIE, polyamorous/non monogamous partnerships/families, and Kink/BDSM. Ruby Johnson provides therapeutic support, care, and intervention with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, gender variant/non-binary, queer, and same gender loving communities. Currently, Ruby is in private practice at Vantage Point Counseling Services and Inamorata LLC.

She has presented at several national, state, and local conferences including Society of Social Work Research Conference, Council of Social Work Education Conference, DFW Behavioral Health Symposium, and, most recently, her proposals were accepted at The State Texas Association of Addiction Professionals Conference and Black Families, Black Relationships, and Black Sexuality Conference in Philadelphia. Ruby is a member of various professional organizations including Texas Association of Addiction Professionals [TAAP], Association of Addiction Professionals [NAADAC], International Institute of Trauma and Addiction Professionals [IITAP], American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists [AASECT], Society for Advancement of Sexual Health [SASH] and most recently, Association of Black Sexologists and Clinicians [ABSC].

Shawn Chrisman (MS, LPC, PhD Candidate) is currently a practicing Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Texas.  He received his clinical training with a Master’s in Counseling from Southern Methodist University, and is currently working towards his doctorate degree in Human Sexuality from Widener University.

Shawn works with individuals and couples on sexuality-related issues, including addressing intimacy, sexual identity, gender dysphoria, sexual dysfunctions and other concerns.  Shawn also identifies as a kink-aware therapist and works with couples enjoying diverse relationship structures, such as open or polyamorous relationships.  Shawn is an active member of American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT) and The Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality (SSSS).  He has also presented workshops for professionals and community members at local universities and organizations. Shawn has been published in Qualitative Health Research.

Jun 172014
 

diane and jacob

This Friday on Sex Out Loud at 8 pm ET / 5 pm PT, Diane and Jacob Anderson-Minshall discuss their recently released book, Queerly Beloved: A Love Story Across Genders, a memoir of how their relationship survived Jacob’s gender transition. Their story has been the subject of numerous articles (including in The New York Times) and radio shows (like NPR’s Story Corp). They’ll discuss their personal journey along with ideas around queer identity, long-term relationships, and society concepts of gender. This show is live and we’ll be answering listener questions.

This week’s show is LIVE. Find out all the ways to listen here so you can call in with questions and comments at 1-866-472-5788, join the discussion on Facebook or Twitter, or e-mail me via tristan(at)puckerup.com and I’ll read them live on the air.

Diane and Jacob Anderson-Minshall are co-conspirators in life and love. They co-author the Blind Eye mystery series (Blind Curves, Blind Leap, and the Lambda Literary Award finalist Blind Faith). Their memoir, Queerly Beloved, is about how their relationship survived Jacob’s gender transition. Their story has been the subject of numerous articles (including in The New York Times) and radio shows (like NPR’s Story Corp).

Diane is an award winning journalist and editor. She is the editor at large of The Advocate magazine, and editor in chief of HIV Plus magazine. She penned the erotic-thriller, Punishment With Kisses, and her writing has appeared in dozens of publications and anthologies. She also previously served as editor in chief of Curve magazine. Honored by LA Pride in 2013, this year Diane received a Western Publishing Association Maggie Award for leadership.

Jacob has written for numerous LGBT and feminist publications. For four years, he penned the nationally-syndicated weekly column, TransNation. He later produced and co-hosted the radio show, Gender Blender. His writings have appeared on Advocate.com and been included in anthologies like Men Speak Out: Views on Gender, Sex, and Power, Trans People in Love, and Portland Queer. Jacob recently served on the board of Lambda Literary Foundation.

Sex Out Loud airs every Friday at 5 pm PT / 8 pm ET on the VoiceAmerica Variety channel. You can listen on your computer, phone, or tablet, find all the ways here!

TristanBanner_PuckerUpVOA_728X90

Feb 182014
 
Photo by Aaron Treadwell

Photo by Aaron Treadwell

This week on Sex Out Loud I’m so excited to spend an hour with writer, activist, and New York Times-bestselling author, Janet Mock. Since stepping out into the public eye in 2011, Mock has founded #GirlsLikeUs, a media visibility campaign for trans women, and spoken about issues of identity, safety, health, and community all over the country, including appearances on Melissa Harris-Perry, HBO’s The Out List, and MSNBC Live with Thomas Roberts. Her memoir Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More was released in early February and is currently on the New York Times bestseller list. We’ll be talking about her journey to becoming a public activist, the power of writing and storytelling, plus taking live questions from you!

This week’s show is LIVE, which means we’ll be giving away a Sportsheets prize to a lucky fan. Find out all the ways to listen here so you can call in with questions and comments at 1-866-472-5788, join the discussion on Facebook or Twitter, or e-mail me via tristan(at)puckerup.com and I’ll read them live on the air – you could be chosen to win!

Janet Mock is a writer who founded the #Girlslikeus project, a media visibility campaign for trans women. Her memoir “Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More” was published in February 2014. Since sharing her story in 2011 through Marie Claire magazine, Janet has been featured in the HBO documentary The Out List and appears regularly on MSNBC’s Melissa Harris-Perry show. She currently serves on the board of directors for the Arcus Foundation and has been recognized by the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, the Center for American Progress, the Women’s Media Center and GOOD magazine for her work. A native of Honolulu, Janet lives and writes in New York City with her boyfriend Aaron and their cockapoo Cleo. Follow her on Twitter at @janetmock.

Sex Out Loud airs every Friday at 5 pm PT / 8 pm ET on the VoiceAmerica Variety channel. You can listen on your computer, phone, or tablet, find all the ways here!

TristanBanner_PuckerUpVOA_728X90

Apr 252013
 

Ask Tristan logo
How can gender identity affect a sexual experience or a sexual relationship (even mentally)? How can we avoid gender identity becoming a point of contestation? We are both doms.
If you are trans* or your gender identity is complex, non-normative, fluid, genderqueer, or your body doesn’t entirely reflect your gender expression, it can absolutely affect your sexual experiences and relationships. As you begin to figure out your gender identity (knowing of course that it’s still not fixed and can change), share as much of that information as you can with your partner. This includes your relationship to your body, your preferred words for your body parts, how you want to be touched, and your sexual boundaries. Communicate with your partner about words that feel authentic and sexy in relation to your body and certain sex acts—words like dick, cock, cunt, pussy, as well as “fucking” or “making love”—can be loaded for people, no matter what their gender identity is, so ask your partner what words they use in regards to their own body and then respect those choices. It’s also helpful to stick to gender-neutral adjectives instead of nouns (hard, tight, wet, open, etc.). Your gender identity should not be a “point of contestation” between the two of you. The more comfortable you are with your gender identity, and the more you can talk about it with your partner, the more likely they are to understand it. Gender identity with regard to sexuality and sexual dynamics can vary for everyone, not just trans* and genderqueer people. For example, a straight man may want to be dominated and treated like a bad girl by his female partner, a lesbian may like to imagine she’s a straight man who’s seducing another man for the first time. We often get turned on by gender and sexual dynamics that don’t match our everyday gender on the street. Even when people aren’t explicitly roleplaying, there’s a certain energy dynamic that goes into the act itself that connects to our gender identity. Make a list of what gender identities you connect to in the bedroom (and which ones you don’t), share it with your partner, then have them do the same thing and find where you overlap and connect.
Recommended: Take Me There: Trans and Genderqueer Erotica, PoMoSexuals: Challenging Assumptions About Gender and Sexuality and Gender Outlaws: The Next Generation

Aug 082012
 

James Darling has starting a new transsexual porn site called FTMFucker.com under the TROUBLEfilms network – Watch the trailer and read more about it below!

Oakland, CA – FTMFucker.Com launched recently, featuring exclusive content directed by FTM porn star and up and coming director James Darling. Darling won Heartthrob of the Year at 2012’s Feminist Porn Awards in Toronto, and has appeared in dozens of adult releases this year alone.

FTMFUCKER.Com is one of the first porn sites of it’s kind – featuring gay porn, straight porn, and queer porn starring at least one trans man in every scene. FTM Fucker updates with fresh, exclusive new content once a week, including hardcore video shot in HD, and high resolution photo galleries you can download.

“Trans men being seen as erotic beings is relatively new phenomenon and I’m proud to be a part. This is only the beginning!” – James Darling said in his FPA 2012 Heartthrob acceptance speech. He adds, “Trans men have a special chance to define our own language and terms, how we are spoken about and marketed in porn, because it is a blossoming, exciting new niche in the adult industry. This launch marks an exciting new era – there has been a lack of porn featuring trans men for a long time, and now there’s FTM Fucker!”

FTMFucker is hosted by TROUBLEfilms, led by queer porn icon Courtney Trouble. TROUBLEfilms hosts the pay sites QueerPorn.TV, Indie Porn Revolution, the amateur submission-based Queer Porn Tube, a VOD store at CourtneyTrouble.Com/Store, plus distributed films by up and coming porn directors such as Tobi Hill-Meyer (Doing It Ourselves, Genderfellator) and Courtney Trouble (Live Sex Show, Fuckstyles) – with much more to come in the following year. Darling states, “Joining up with TROUBLEfilms was the obvious best fit, as they are known for their longstanding reputation for ethical production practices and a dedicated cult following that’s excited for this kind of porn.”

“Bringing James Darling and FTMFucker.Com into the TROUBLEfilms family solidifys TROUBLEfilms as the go-to spot for ethically made, interesting, high quality indie porn,” says Courtney Trouble. “With IndiePornRevolution.Com being one of the first porn sites to feature trans men ten years ago, branching out into a site that specifically highlights FTM performers is the logical next step.

FTM Porn may be the first genre of its kind to be defined by and for the performers highlighted. Giving trans men the opportunity to film their own sex lives, define their sexualities, and work in the adult industry on their own terms sets a standard for other genres to follow suit. James Darling is an incredible porn director and will take this industry by storm – TROUBLEfilms is just lucky to be on board!”

James Darling is a FTM porn performer and sex educator based in the Bay Area. He won Sex Performer of the Year by Transguys.com in 2010 and Feminist Porn Awards Heartthrob of the Year 2012 for his work across multiple porn genres.

Jul 162012
 

This Friday, July 20th, on Sex Out Loud, I’m happy to welcome educator, filmmaker, and pop culture icon Buck Angel. We’ll discuss changing representations of trans male sexuality, including the making of his docu-porn Sexing the Transman and its success on the film festival circuit. Buck will also discuss the upcoming sequel, Sexing the Transman 2, due later this month and his transition from being an adult film star to a speaker and educator. I will also get a chance to talk to Tobi Hill-Meyer, a filmmaker currently working on Doing It Again, an erotic documentary about trans women’s sexuality that weaves together explicit scenes and interviews with trans women and their partners.

Buck Angel

As a visionary filmmaker, activist, educator and lecturer, Buck Angel launched Buck Angel Entertainment as a vehicle to produce multi media projects that will motivate viewers to think outside the box. Buck Angel’s message of empowerment through self-acceptance and being sexually comfortable in your own skin has struck a passionate chord with folks all over the world. Since Buck coined “it’s not what’s between your legs that defines your gender!”, the phrase has become an anthem for people everywhere who have been inspired by this message of self acceptance. Buck has been featured in nearly every imaginable international media outlet: television, radio, web, and print. Buck Angel made history when he received the prestigious award from Adult Video News (AVN) for Transsexual Performer of the Year in 2007 for his groundbreaking work in the adult entertainment industry. Buck has received international recognition and continues to be a huge box office hit in numerous markets.

Tobi Hill-Meyer

In 2010 Tobi Hill-Meyer made her film making debut, winning an Award for Emerging Filmmaker of the year and being named #3 in Velvet Park Media’s list of the 25 Most Significant Queer Women of 2010. She is a multiracial trans woman with a long history of working with feminist and LGBTQ organizations on a local, state, and federal level, having served on several boards and offering support as a strategic consultant. Since receiving her degree in Sociology and Women and Gender Studies, Tobi has turned her focus to media analysis and productions. She is a founding member and major contributor to the media collective, Handbasket Productions. Handbasket Productions is a radical, oppression aware media collective focusing on queer culture, trans experience and sex positivity. Spanning non-fiction, fiction, and fantasy genres, we use books zines, film, music and other art to cover a variety of topics including sex work, polyamory, racism and queerspawn experience.

Jul 012012
 

Performer and activist Ignacio Rivera joins me this Friday, July 6th at 5 pm PT / 8 pm ET for a nuanced discussion about some highly charged subjects. Ignacio, who prefers the pronoun they, will talk about their gender identity and how it impacts their sexuality. We will discuss polyamory in people of color communities, race politics and racially-charged fantasies in the kink world, and how to create a truly inclusive, multi-racial community event. Then Ignacio will look at the challenges of their starring role in the feature film Mommy is Coming and reveal what it was like to work with acclaimed indie director Cheryl Dunye. This episode was recorded live during the OpenSF Conference in San Francisco and includes an audio excerpt of Ignacio’s co-keynote presentation with Yosenio Lewis.

Ignacio Rivera aka Papí Coxxx identifies as a Queer, Trans, Two-Spirit, polyamorous, kinky, Black-Boricua. Ignacio, who prefers the gender-neutral pronoun “they,” is a lecturer, activist, filmmaker, sex educator, sex worker, and performance artist, sharing spoken word, one-person shows, and storytelling internationally. Their work has appeared in ColorLines, Ebony, Yellow Medicine Review, The Ultimate Guide to Kink and in their chapbooks, Las Alas, co-authored by Maceo Cabrera Estévez; Ingridients; and Thoughts, Rants and What Some Might Call Poetry. Ignacio is the recipient of a Marsha A. Gómez Cultural Heritage Award from LLEGÓ: The National Latina/o Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Organization. Ignacio is one of the founding board members of Queers for Economic Justice; they are also the founder of Poly Patao Productions. Ignacio has been facilitating workshops, doing lectures and creating events for kinky, kinky-curious Queer/Trans POCs and their white queer and trans allies for over a decade.

Jun 122012
 


My next guest on Sex Out Loud is author, performer, playwright, and gender theorist Kate Bornstein. Join us on Friday, June 15 at 5:00 pm Pacific time/8:00 pm Eastern time on the VoiceAmerica Talk Radio Network when we’ll talk about her new memoir, her years as a high-ranking Scientologist working directly for L. Ron Hubbard, her transition, BDSM and kink, her time as a collared slave, the documentary being made about her, her own mental health and the struggles LGBT folks with mental health issues face. Plus, she’ll read one of the most provoactive sections from A Queer and Pleasant Danger.

Kate Bornstein is an author, playwright and performance artist whose latest book is her memoir, A Queer and Pleasant Danger. Other published works include the books Gender Outlaws: The Next Generation, Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women, and the Rest of Us, My Gender Workbook, Hello, Cruel World: 101 Alternatives To Suicide For Teens, Freaks, and Other Outlaws and the cyber-romance-action novel, Nearly Roadkill with co-author Caitlin Sullivan. Kate’s plays and performance pieces include Strangers in Paradox, Hidden: A Gender, The Opposite Sex Is Neither, Virtually Yours, and y2kate: gender virus 2000.

Kate’s books are taught in over 120 colleges and universities around the world; and she has performed her work live on college campuses, and in theaters and performance spaces across the USA, as well as in Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Austria. Kate is currently touring colleges, youth conferences and high schools, speaking, leading workshops, and performing. Follow her on Twitter @KateBornstein.