Marsha! The actual funniest person we know??

Hey friends,

Hope you’re all hanging in there.

This week on the show, we shared an episode of our friend Raquel Willis’s Afterlives podcast. The first season of Afterlives explored the life and legacy of Layleen Polanco, and this second season dives deep into the life of Marsha P. Johnson.

Photo: Cute black-and-white picture of Marsha smiling, courtesy of Randy Wicker

Now, I’m sure you’ve heard me say “Marshafication” on the podcast lately, and you’ll hear me (spoiler!) say it on tomorrow’s episode as well. The reason I specifically asked to share an episode of Afterlives is that I think Raquel and her team do a great job of not giving in to Marshafication. The podcast is full of rich details I’ve never encountered anywhere else, including lots of archival tape and photos of Marsha and her friends. (Granted, I only got about 30% of the way through Marsha before I loaned it to Ozzy, so maybe a lot of those details are in there! But either way, a treat to hear Marsha on tape.)

As I mentioned, tomorrow’s episode is directly related to these themes. Ozzy and I had the true joy of chatting with Morgan Bassichis, who you might know as an organizer, a writer, a comedian, or some secret fourth thing (somatics coach?). Morgan grapples directly with ~Marshafication~ in their new show Can I Be Frank? , which draws on the work of queer comedian Frank Maya. I don’t want to spoil too much of this episode, but I am truly obsessed and am so so so excited for you to hear it! Morgan is so smart and so so so funny — in an email, Dean Spade recently called them “the actual funniest person I know” :) :) You can judge for yourself tomorrow!

If you’re in New York, you can catch Can I Be Frank? at the SoHo Playhouse through September 13! It’s directed by Sam Pinkerton, who recently won a Tony for his direction of Oh! Mary, so you know it’s gonna slay. (Shout-out to Sam for directing all the best nonbinary shows, and I am including Josh Sharp ta-da in that btw.)

Speaking of slay(???), thank you to everyone who preordered a copy of Sex Change and the City — it has genuinely made a big difference in my ability to pay the printer. As a reminder, you can get 10% off your order in the Girl Dad Press store with the code “PERVERT”! (And while we’re talking about secret codes, remember that you have access to the Gender Ordeal transcripts with the password “detective”)

Okay, let’s do Links & Stuff:

• Deeply sad to learn that Israel murdered journalist Anas al-Sharif and three other Al Jazeera journalists. In addition to these targeted attacks, many thousands of people in Gaza are actively dying of starvation right now — HEAL Palestine is one of the few groups still feeding folks on the ground. (They’re also evacuating children to receive medical care abroad.)

• School district employees in Los Angeles are working together with parents to keep families safe from ICE as children return to school.

• Meanwhile, a Queens high schooler miraculously returned home after three weeks in ICE detention

• If you are a writer or publishing sicko like I am, you’ll enjoy Charlotte Shane’s dive into self-publishing vs Big 5 Publishing, featuring insights from several friends of Gender Reveal (incl. Mattie, Jaya, and Daniel Lavery).

• If you are not a publishing sicko but have read a book or two, enjoy this “which trans novel are you” quiz that I might have shared before but probably not?? If so, take it again!

• This “Rube Goldberg” “tea” “machine” video has me yelling every time

In Tuck’s Creature Corner, Charizard is not going to get a DUI.

That’s it for this week. Here’s your weekly Rhubarb and also Puffin, courtesy of my downstairs gay neighbor who cat-sat the other day.

Above: A blurry Ruby yawning while lying on the wood floor. Below: A non-blurry Puffin also lying on the wood floor, looking up at the camera with big eyes.

Xo,
Yr resident gender detective