Black lives matter. There are no rules in gender. As our guest this week Lauren Ludwig points out, you do not need to check how SOCIETY wants YOU to build something new! And in this case we are speaking about building "the androgynous superfuture we are all aiming for". Heather heard Lauren speak about gender identity on another great podcast, Coming Out with Lauren and Nicole (link below), and sought out to speak with Lauren as well. Before this conversation, when it came to gender, Heather would always feel uncomfortable being asked about identity. It is not something that exists in one singular box. Sometimes the answer is different depending on the day. And all of that is ok! Heather's own experience dealt with feeling like it had to be a choice between presenting feminine, or embracing the fluidity of the unknown, both options bringing their own challenges. This experience was amplified by Heather's head shaving, and inspired the spoken word piece "Leave", which is also linked below. There are no rules in gender. Taylor Mac uses the pronoun 'judy', as judy should. You may feel safer to share your pronouns in some spaces over others. And remember theydees and gentlethems, you never even HAVE to use a pronoun at all! You can always just refer to a person by name. Also in this episode: a great life-hack for clothes shopping! The last ten percent is a mystery. Thank you Lauren Ludwig!! And thank YOU for listening! The production is produced by Heather Ann Gottlieb, Cameron Tagge, Alex Salem, and Tristen Bankston. The theme song vocals are vocalized by Natalie Sharp. The artwork is worked by Kevin Laughlin. The distribution is distributed by WhoHaHa. We have MERCH! Go to teepublic.com and go craaaaaazy!! And our brand spankin’ new website dirtygirlpodcast.com is good to go, so go check it out! Heather's spoken word piece: https://www.instagram.com/tv/B240EQ-grvE/?igshid=bnj8j4d2w3y3 Lauren on Coming Out with Lauren and Nicole: https://comingoutpod.libsyn.com/episode-9-lauren-ludwig