Queer Kid, Straight Mom

Yes, we watch Love Island, USA... and we have thoughts about Zach and Bryce, reality TV, homophobia, and what this all says about our society.

As Olivia Rodrigo says, you can still be sad as a girl (or anyone else) in love. While romances suggest that true love conquers all, mental illness doesn't play by the same rules. We think it's important to recognize that the most perfect relationship can't conquer depression and anxiety - and no one should feel guilty or burdensome about not overcoming these conditions.

TV shows featuring queer female leads seem to be the first to the chopping block when it comes to renewals. Why?

Boycotts - when are they worth it and how do they work?

Jason Collins, the first gay man to come out while playing in the NBA, recently died of brain cancer. We pay our respects, tell you a little about his accomplishments, and discuss the progress that still needs to be made in men's professional sports.

Bisexuality is the most represented group in the LGBTQ+ community, but also one of the most misunderstood. We’ll address some of those misunderstandings and explain why it’s important to validate bi people’s identities.

As queer stories like #heartstopper and #heatedrivalry find wide appeal, tension arises as straight fans follow the fandom into queer spaces. One of these is spaces is the world of #fanfiction, long a queer refuge from heteronormative storylines. Are queer fans justified in being territorial, and what guidelines should straight fans follow in being respectful guests in spaces that are not their own?

The U.S. has a long history of protest - what has worked, what hasn't, and what can we learn?

Heated Rivalry is a runaway hit, but that's not all good news for the queer community. Take a listen.

#queerpodcast #lgbtqpodcast #heatedrivalry #queermedia #parasocialrelationships

Yeah, everyone's talking about Heated Rivalry, so how can we not jump into the conversation? Hear our thoughts on why straight women love this show, queer autistic representation, and more.

#queerpodcast #heatedrivalry #fujoshi #them #rachelreid #jacobtierney #genderroles #autism

Stranger Things has wrapped, to mixed reviews. We have thoughts about it all: plot, pacing, Will's coming out, and what could have - should have? - been.

State legislatures all over the country have introduced bills to limit trans healthcare for youth in the past couple of years. Although many of these bills will never make it into law, we think it's important to see what's out there and to explore the misconceptions that lead to these policy proposals.

#lgbtqpodcast #lgbtqpodcaster #queerpodcast #queerpodcaster #parentallies #genderaffirmingcare #antitranslegislation #pubertyblockers #genderdysphoria

Our annual Christmas movie episode, in which we review and discuss gay Christmas movies of various quality... plus a new game where I name a non-gay Christmas movie and Siena invents a (mostly) plausible gay subtext. Enjoy!

The Supreme Court just upheld Trump's executive order on passport gender markers. Here's a quick summary of what that means for our trans friends.

That's right, Gaylorism - the social media theory (and its fallout) about Taylor Swift being secretly queer. We're having a little chat about what is and isn't queerbaiting (again), what responsibility celebrities do or don't have to use their voices politically, and the inherent weirdness of obsessing over a stranger's sexuality.

#queerkidstraightmompodcast #queerpodcast #queerpodcaster #lgbtqpodcast #parentallies #taylorswift #celesbiangossip #queerbaiting #vox #buzzfeed #theguardian #karliekloss #sabrinacarpenter #jenniferlawrence #montereybayaquarium #celebrityactivism

S4 E4: In honor of Halloween week, we are talking horror movies! This time, our focus is on “problematic” trans characters. We talk about the villains of 5 movies of varying quality, and discuss the harmful stereotypes they proliferate.

#lgbtqpodcast #queerpodcast #lgbtqpodcaster #queerkidstraightmompodcast #queerkidstraightmom #parentallies #horrormovies #longlegs #houseofwax #rockyhorrorpictureshow #silenceofthelambs #dressedtokill #osgoodperkins #them #samanthaallen #frantirado #jamesfactora #anthonyperkins #psycho #medialiteracy

We love spooky season, and we love talking about movies, but those aren't the only reasons we're talking about Hotel Transylvania. These movies are fun to watch, but they also have some really interesting social commentary. Let's talk about it!

Beyond the aesthetic fun and great music, K-Pop Demon Hunters has a powerful message for anyone struggling to accept the things about themselves that they have been told to hide. We are inspired by this movie and the message it gives to queer kids - "love who you are and find the power in your voice" - and to their families: "let them."

Throughout history, power-hungry leaders have blamed marginalized people for society's problems - often to distract from their own complicity in those very problems. Right now, that marginalized group is the transgender community. A statistically insignificant group of trans people have committed shootings, but Republicans are committed to painting them as a threat. We have some things to say about this...

Blood is thicker than water, as the saying goes, but sometimes the safest people for LGBTQ+ folks are not their family members. For many youth, rejection means being thrown out of their houses. For others, of all ages, the hostility is more subtle. In both cases, other members and allies of the queer community can provide more love, affirmation, and stability than biological family.

We hate to give Republican leadership credit, but they have knocked it out of the park with "loyalty via outrage." By exaggerating or even manufacturing threats, and packaging those threats with a conservative lifestyle brand, they ensure that their voters will show up - with heartbreaking consequences for the groups targeted by their outrage machine.

As the Trump administration and Supreme Court continue to set back LGBTQ+ rights and visibility, even some among the gay community are pointing their fingers at transgender people. If trans people would just stop demanding rights and acceptance and medical privacy, they say, there would be no backlash against gay people. We think this is misguided and, in the case of journalists and other high profile voices, downright irresponsible. Today Siena and Brian attack this topic in the context of a recent New York Times piece by Andrew Sullivan.

A common argument by anti-trans activists is that regret is common among people who have received gender affirming care and/or transitioned. We love facts and data here at Queer Kid, Straight Mom, so we are excited to share the recently released results of the U.S. Transgender Survey. This huge survey, conducted by various trans groups and approved by the UCLA Institutional Review Board, not only shows that few trans people detransition, and the main reason they do so is because the people around them make it so hard to be trans.

#queerkidstraightmom #queerpodcast #queerpodcaster #lgbtqpodcast...

Pride is colorful, sparkly, and fun. It was also born from a desperate struggle for acceptance, rights, and safety.

Right wing media has been abuzz with allegations that Nike is funding "trans experiments" on kids. This is a great example of media framing, a technique media outlets use to influence audience's beliefs and behavior about particular issues. Find out what the real story is, and how the allegation of the trans "agenda" is itself an agenda.

Now that right wing backlash and the Trump administration have made this country a much more hostile place for LGBTQ+ people and their supporters, some brands are stepping away from their Pride sponsorships and DEI commitments. We'll walk you through who's fleeing and who's staying.

Queerness in the Hunger Games series: it's subtle, and, early on, evoked in ways we don't think Suzanne Collins intended. We dig in to those early representations, plus what has changed in the two latest novels.

As the Democrats regroup and strategize for the future, they all - from party leaders to concerned community members - need to remember to include marginalized groups in the conversation. In this episode, we talk to Trudy Poux and Sam Smalls from the Future Perfect Project about the concerns of young queer people and how allies can best help them and bring their voices to every room.

A look at some of the anti-LGBTQ+ legislation that's out there: what has passed, what has been voted down, and what's still on the table.

A movie about Cardinals electing a new Pope and a movie musical about a transgender cartel boss... which would you guess represents gender diversity in a more dignified and authentic way? Here are our reviews of Conclave and Emilia Perez.

Let's talk about these anti-trans executive orders - what do they actually say, and what do they mean legally for trans people?

With the recent drama over Tik Tok, we decided it's time to talk about social media and how, while it can come with risks to our safety - and maybe our democracy - it remains a place of alliance and belonging for the queer community.

Holiday family gatherings can leave LGBTQ+ people reeling from interactions ranging from uncomfortable to fully traumatic. We talk to psychologist Dr. Michele McKinnie about how to recover from these interactions, and how to navigate these kinds of family dynamics in the future.

Siena says. "Gay people love 'Wicked.'" Sure, the film has singing, dancing, and an LGBTQ+ representative cast, but its resonance with and meaning to the queer community go much deeper.

A couple of episodes ago, we discussed how ridiculous it was for Republicans to pour so much money into anti-trans campaign ads when it was such an unpopular issue. Now some say Democrats should have distanced themselves from transgender issues because those ads WERE successful. Is this true? Did those ads make a difference?

Gender affirming care is widely mischaracterized, often as a scare tactic. We think it's important that people know what it really involves, especially concerning young people. Siena shares some of their journey with hormone treatment as we encourage our listeners to learn, understand, and discourage others from spreading misinformation.

Even if you say you don't care about politics, a lot of what you do affects and is influenced by the political system. And when you don't vote, or you refuse to endorse a candidate, because you're "not politcal," that is a political choice. Here's why.

The Republican party has gone all in on anti-trans advertising this campaign season. Why have they chosen this issue, and why do they think it will work this time around?

The previews intrigued us, but we also had to watch Agatha All Along because conservative media deemed it inappropriate (often an indicator of something fresh, diverse, and creative.) We found that while this show is not perfect, it's highly entertaining and the best work we've seen from Marvel in a long time - so here's our analysis!

Horror movies have long carried ties with the queer community, as early filmmakers used monsters to embody the isolation and fear that exist when living outside society's norms.