In this episode of Gender Stories, Alex talks to Coltan Schoenike, (they/them) a queer, nonbinary,  trans and femme marriage and family therapist mentee, sex therapist, sex educator, doctoral student, researcher, and author.  Together they discuss gender affirming care: what it is, what it isn't, and why it is vital. Find out more about Coltan at:https://www.coltanschoenike.com/You can also follow them on Twitter and Instagram @ColtanSchoenike

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Dee Fish is a Pennsylvania-based cartoonist, illustrator, and graphic designer. As a cartoonist, she is the creator of the online comic strip, “Dandy & Company“. An all-ages humor comic strip in the vein of “Looney Tunes” and “Peanuts” surrounding the misadventures of a dog and his boy that ran from 2001 to 2018. She is also the writer and artist of the creator-owned comic book, “The Wellkeeper", A young adult fantasy/adventure in the vein of mystical adventures that appeal to children of all ages as “Harry Potter” and “The Hobbit”.  As an artist, she has worked on stories for “Tellos”, “The Perhapanauts” and “The Mice Templar” for Image comics, “Star Mage” and “White Chapel” for IDW Publishing, “Atomic Robo” for Red 5 Comics, and the co-creator, co-writer and illustrator for the series “Carpe Noctem” for Hashtag Comics.  Recently, Dee became the artist of Sabrina Pandora’s long-running webcomic, “Giant Girl Adventures”, and in 2017, began her current webcomic, "Finding Dee. "Finding Dee" is the hilarious and heartwarming webcomic about the trials and tribulations of trying to make it as a cartoonist while coming out as transgender in your 40s. 

Dee Fish Cartoonist, Designer & Illustrator http://www.findingdeecomic.com http://www.artofdeefish.com 

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LILY ZHENG (they/them) is a no-nonsense Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion speaker, strategist, and consultant who specializes in creating diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplaces through hands-on systemic change. A dedicated change-maker and advocate named a Forbes D&I Trailblazer, 2021 DEI Influencer, and LinkedIn Top Voice on Racial Equity, Lily's work has been featured in the Harvard Business Review, New York Times, and NPR. Their most recent book, DEI Deconstructed, centers on accountable and effective practices to achieve DEI outcomes in organizations. https://lilyzheng.co/home/books

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Jen Winston (she/they) is a writer, creative director, and bisexual based in Brooklyn. Their work bridges the intersection of sex, politics, and technology, and has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, CNN, and more. Jen is passionate about unlearning and creating work that helps others do the same. Her newsletter, The Bi Monthly, is dedicated to exploring bi issues and experiences--it comes out every month, much like Jen herself. Follow Jen on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok (please, she's begging you): @Jenerous.https://bookshop.org/p/books/greedy-notes-from-a-bisexual-who-wants-too-much-jen-winston/16221521?ean=9781982179175

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Born in Bangor, Maine, Kate Costigan spent the first six years of her life creating memories with her family in the New England states. When her mother passed away, she moved to Florida, where the makeup of her “grown-ups” changed dramatically. Kate’s teachers became her heroes and inspired her to become an educator. The stories she shares are reflections of her personal experiences as well as those she has witnessed in her nineteen years as a teacher. Kate hopes to help children around the world see that differences can and should be celebrated and that kindness is a universal language. https://bookshop.org/p/books/my-grown-ups-kate-costigan/17304204?ean=9781612449920

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Nick Walker is a queer, transgender, flamingly autistic writer and educator, best known for her foundational work on the neurodiversity paradigm and Neuroqueer Theory. She is a professor of psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies, senior aikido instructor at the Aiki Arts Center in Berkeley, author of the book Neuroqueer Heresies, and co-creator of the urban fantasy webcomic Weird Luck.

 The Neuroqueer website: https://neuroqueer.com

The Weird Luck webcomic: https://weirdluck.net

My Twitter: https://twitter.com/WalkerSensei

My Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/nickwalkersensei

https://neuroqueer.com/neuroqueer-heresies/

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Chrissie Chevasutt facilitates the online community Transgender Church and is well-known as an advocate for transgender awareness in the Church. She and her wife Pam have lived, worked and witnessed in Oxford for more than thirty years.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Chrissie-Chevasutt-107698101263187 

Heaven Come Down: The Story of a Transgender Disciple by Chrissie Chevasutt (Darton, Longman and Todd, £12.99) is available from all good retailers https://dartonlongmantodd.co.uk/titles/2324-9781913657208-heaven-come-down

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Trans/Non-Binary artist Rascal Miles is part of a new wave and generation of artists emerging into the music scene who are well familiar with challenge and adversity but who are excelling because of it and not being defined by it. Rascal has been working towards the release of music that is personal and elevated and sets them on the path of the next stage in their music journey. That day is almost here as Rascal prepares to release new song 'Tailor Made', which deals with the experience of top surgery.Rascal Miles | Instagram, YouTube, Spotify, Facebook | LinktreeRascal Miles

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Trystan is the solo author of How We Do Family, a book described as “a refreshing new take on family life for the LGBTQ community and beyond.” He is also a 2021 Lambda Literary Emerging LGBTQ Voices Fellow. Trystan co-wrote a children’s book with his partner, Biff. It’s called The Light Of You and was published by Flamingo Rampant Press. Trystan is also an essayist; his blog can be found here.How We Do Family: From Adoption to Trans Pregnancy, What We Learned about Love and LGBTQ Parenthood a book by Trystan Reese (bookshop.org)Trystan Reese

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Alex Iantaffi interviews Precious Brady-Davis to discuss her book "I have always been me: a memoir" and the themes of family, life transitions, healing, faith, and belonging . Precious Brady-Davis is an award-winning diversity advocate, communications professional, and public speaker. She currently serves as the associate regional communications director at the Sierra Club. She served for three years as the assistant director of diversity recruitment initiatives at Columbia College Chicago, her alma mater, implementing the campus-wide diversity initiative and providing leadership and oversight of national diversity recruitment and inclusion policy initiatives. She also served as the youth outreach coordinator at Center on Halsted, the largest LGBTQ community center in the Midwest. During Precious’s tenure, she launched a $1.6 million CDC HIV prevention grant, which provided outreach, education, youth programming, and testing services to over three thousand young African American and Latinx gay, bi, and trans youth. Precious is married to Myles Brady and lives in Hyde Park on the South Side of Chicago, where they are raising their daughter, Zayn. In her free time, she enjoys online shoe shopping, travel, and fine dining with friends. For more information visit www.preciousbradydavis.com.

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