Tuck Woodstock

Niko Stratis! Anti-TERF Shark Shirt!! Tunnels!

Added 2020-03-04 16:29:30 +0000 UTC

Friends! It's the morning after Super Tuesday (a day in the United States where roughly 28-40% of our primary voting takes place; it doesn't make any sense to us either), so may I just say with extra emphasis: I hope you're all hanging in there.

It's spring here, so, there's that.

This week on the show, we speak with writer, activist and friend of the show Niko Stratis. Niko created the website transresourceyukon.com, and shares with us about coming out and accessing trans healthcare in a remote Canadian territory.

Niko also chats with us about speaking up against the Toronto Public Library's decision to allow Meghan Murphy to speak at the library (we explain who Meghan is in This Week in Gender), and shares advice for other folks who are considering similar activism. Other topics include changing your name and pronouns multiple times; blowing up gender; making a podcast about trans voices; improving media coverage of trans activism; and eating a pizza shaped like Garfield's head. We contain multitudes.

In conjunction with Niko's episode, we also released this shirt/tank top designed by Niko. The concept literally CAME TO MY FRIEND EDEN IN A DREAM, what a time to be alive.

This is one of my favorite merch items we've ever had, and it's available for a very limited time (two weeks! or until teespring bans us for hate speech because apparently TERF is a slur?!) for $19.69 in our merch store. I already ordered mine! Don't miss out! (Proceeds benefit Girls Rock Camp Toronto, where Niko and her partner are working to create an overtly queer and trans offshoot of rock camp.)

In less super fun news, I seem to have developed carpal tunnel and also possibly a second kind of tunnel (cubital, who's counting?), plus some kind of bonus hip situation, from the shitty ergonomics of my work-from-home setup. Thanks to the extremely generous support of all y'all, I recently bought a wireless keyboard and ~vertical mouse~, which will hopefully prevent this from getting worse in the long term. But in the short term, I'm being told to take it extremely easy, which sounds at odds with making an entire podcast and writing a 900-word article and everything else I'm on deadline for this week. So, uh, here's hoping???

Here's my extremely sophisticated set-up right now: keyboard, mouse, manila folder, 3 cookbooks, pot.

Here's the thing: 1) standing desks cost like one zillion dollars and 2) who has space for a whole-ass desk anyway? Feel free to send me a mousepad tho, lmao.

(OK, but wait, did you know I have a mailing address now? It's true! Hit me up if you, uh, want to mail me something???? IDK this is not actually a plea for a mousepad (UNLESS)).

(Apropos of nothing, here's a rare photo of Seven being a cuddly baby.)

Anyway, thank you for your patience. Thank you for your support. Thank you for listening to me ramble on every week, both on the podcast and here in your inbox. You're truly my hero and I appreciate you every day.

(By the way, to my new $10+ patrons: your rewards are going to be delayed because I need to write you all a loving personal thank you note and I... can't rly use my hands right now? I'm sorry and I love you!)

(Also unrelated, here's little Gus in a backpack, getting ready for a bike ride. Shout out to his mom who is also a Patreon donor!)

Anyway, next week on the show, we'll be speaking with filmmaker Farhat Rahman about Bangladeshi gender politics; creating space for trans people of color in the film world; and much more. Farhat is super smart and thoughtful and kind and I am excited for you to meet them! (They're also one of our fall 2019 grant winners.)

That's it for this week. Thanks for being the absolute best. Here's your weekly Rhubarb.