Join Gem for the final episode of the series, "What Happens When... You Learn to Trust Yourself?".

After visiting a Scottish castle, Gem reflects on the looming presence of oppressive systems and the work to deconstruct the ways we've internalised them. They share their experience of re-learning to trust themselves and how deepening their understanding of things like patriarchy, colonialism, children's rights, body liberation and queerness have been and continue to be vital in that process.

Thank you so much for listening! I'd love it if you'd consider sharing and reviewing this podcast!

Find out more about me and my work at www.gemkennedy.com and @thegemkennedy in all the usual places.

Join Gem for this episode, "What Happens When... Anxiety?".

Whilst going through a particularly bad breakup, Gem realised they experienced incredibly high levels of anxiety most of the time. Gem reflects on what has helped them (mostly) cope better with anxiety, including the impact of sensory regulation and exercise and understanding monotropism. They also talk about the grief that can come along with realising anxiety as an Autistic person might just be here to stay and detecting those sneaky default worries that pop up when the coast is clear.

Thank you so much for listening! I'd love it if you'd consider sharing and reviewing this podcast!

Find out more about me and my work at www.gemkennedy.com and @thegemkennedy in all the usual places.

Join Gem for this episode, "What Happens When... You're Genderslime".

After a spiritual counselling session including a poem by Hafiz, Gem reflects on their exploration of gender so far and why the term genderslime feels like the most accurate way to describe how they feel. Gem talks about the intersection of gender and Autism, being perceived and the importance of being seen and affirmed in our identity.

Thank you so much for listening! I'd love it if you'd consider sharing and reviewing this podcast!

Find out more about me and my work at www.gemkennedy.com and @thegemkennedy in all the usual places.

Join Gem for this episode, "What Happens When... You Find Out You're Autistic?"

In this episode, Gem talks about learning about Autism whilst a family member was in severe Autistic burnout and having brainwaves about how neurodivergence shows up their family. Whilst walking along a disused railway in Scotland, Gem also shares their own process of considering formal- versus self-identification, the pressure to unmask and the liberation of living in alignment with our neurotype.

Thank you so much for listening! I'd love it if you'd consider sharing and reviewing this podcast!

Find out more about me and my work at www.gemkennedy.com and @thegemkennedy in all the usual places.

Join Gem for this episode, "What Happens When... You're in the Shit Dad Club?"

Gem talks about something that heavily contributed to their cPTSD flare-up earlier this year. Whilst walking along the banks of the River Tweed, Gem describes what it's like being the child of a terrible dad and therefore a member of the Shit Dad Club, the culture of silence and shame that can exist in families and growing up as an unidentified neurodivergent child who refuses school and experiences bullying.

Thank you so much for listening! I'd love it if you'd consider sharing and reviewing this podcast!

Find out more about me and my work at www.gemkennedy.com and @thegemkennedy in all the usual places.

Join Gem for this episode, "What Happens When... Trauma is Kicking Your Arse".

When they experienced an intense cPTSD flare-up earlier this year, Gem realised their usual supports were no longer enough.

In this episode, they reflect on what helped them navigate being stuck in a trauma response, their experience of moral scrupulosity, the importance of co-regulation and loving community, and the magic of nature for recovery and perspective - all recorded in a cosy bed and then whilst walking by the River Tweed!

Thank you so much for listening! I'd love it if you'd consider sharing and reviewing this podcast!

Find out more about me and my work at www.gemkennedy.com and @thegemkennedy in all the usual places.

Welcome to Series 3 of Queers and Co. It's been a while!

Listen as Gem sets the scene and heads off on their trip to Scotland.

Thank you so much for listening! I'd love it if you'd consider sharing and reviewing this podcast!

Find out more about me and my work at www.gemkennedy.com and @thegemkennedy in all the usual places.

My final guest this series is the wonderful Aisha Shaibu (she/her). The founder of 'Moonlight Experiences', Aisha is a proud queer activist who champions integration, diversity & equality. Aisha believes in using the economical power of LGBTQ+ tourism and nightlife to help amplify marginalized voices and transform communities. She is also a prominent event producer who works for organisations such as UK Black Pride & London Queer Fashion Show. Aisha has been featured in the Mayor Of London's hidden credit for her contribution to nightlife.

We chat about the many hats that Aisha wears, founding Moonlight Experiences and bringing queer folks together from around the world, opening a sober queer venue in East London, her passion for building community, holidays and exercise as self-care, her ability to organise seamlessly, tourism as a tool for social change, educating on queer culture and lots more!

I’m joined by experienced BDSM educator and kinky stand-up comedian John Pendal (he/ him). In 2003, John became the 25th (and only British) winner of the International Mr. Leather contest in Chicago. Since then he has travelled extensively leading workshops, giving speeches, as a master of ceremonies or doing stand-up comedy. He now works online with English-speaking clients anywhere in the world and loves helping people who identify as outsiders.

Join us as we chat about accidentally qualifying for and winning International Mr. Leather, being so late to the podium he was almost killed by fireworks, immersing himself in kink culture, the oppression experienced by the gay community in the 1990s, supporting others to undo a lifetime of being squashed, learning he was autistic and unpacking internalised ableism, punching up in comedy and so much more!

I’m joined by the glorious Artemis D. Bear!! Artemis (they/them) is a non-binary queer iconoclast, who always has too many projects on the go. They are the founder and director of The Garden, a self directed learning community for young people in Bristol, and work for the Phoenix Education Trust on the Freedom to Learn programme. They are also a drag king, stage manager and queer cabaret producer. Last year they founded UBI Lab Bristol, campaigning for a basic income trial, which they believe could lift everyone out of absolute poverty and liberate many more. They live in Bristol with their partner and children and finally feel like a real grown up now they have a piano and a dog.

Join us as we chat about a terrible Tinder date, the joy of producing drag shows, seeing our bodies through the eyes of a queer person, co-parenting and self-direction, why UBI is a complete no-brainer, how schooling fuels inequality and grades people according to privilege and lots more juicy stuff!

I’m joined by the unstoppable Heidi Mavir (she/they), a public speaker, qualified mental health first aider, autistic adult, performer and podcaster. Her advocacy work includes educating people on neurodiversity and speaking on mental health, to reduce stigma and enable people to "embrace their inner weirdo." Heidi’s motto is “no guilt, no shame, no self-inflicted emotional pain”.

Join us as we chat about how Heidi discovered her own neurodivergence, severe burnout and the road to recovery, the importance of self-care particularly for neurodivergent people, becoming a burlesque performer, her new podcast Autistic Actually, working sustainably and so much more!

This week I’m joined by Lydia Bernsmeier-Rullow (she/her). Lydia is a journalist at the BBC, a writer, a poet and a drag king.

Join us as we chat about her journey to understanding her neurodivergence, being a mixed race Black woman with ADHD, her drag king persona Dick Slick, how wearing a beard makes her want to rip her own face off, working towards body neutrality, normalising talking about mental health and building your own social media world when the wider world isn’t built for you and lots more!

My guest this week is Bear Hebert (they/them), an anti-capitalist business consultant, radical life coach, and social justice educator. In work and in life, Bear actively looks at the intersections of power and privilege and will ask you to do the same, lovingly pushing you and your business in the direction of more liberated moments. Their current offerings include anti-capitalist business consulting and Undoing Patriarchy, an online course for feminist men+.

Join us as we chat about what it means to run an anti-capitalist business, undoing patriarchy, navigating burnout, breaking up with the fire-breathing dragon that is the social media algorithm, accidentally coming out in the news, the pressure to perform being genderqueer correctly and so much more juicy stuff!

I’m joined by Chuck SJ (pronouns: Chuck or they/them), who is a multidisciplinary artist, often exploring trans and autistic matters through various forms. Chuck has completed five European tours, twelve UK tours, 15 albums and 2 EPs. Chuck is well known for their gripping stage performance, unique guitar skills and brutal honesty.

Join us as we chat about Chuck spending the past year in a cabin in the woods, the constant accommodations autistic folx make for neurotypicals and the burnout that often ensues, whether transness even exists when we are alone, our changing relationships with our bodies, life after lockdown and so much more! Plus Chuck shares their poem Am I Even Queer Anymore?

I’m joined by integrative psychotherapist, writer, speaker and activist, Erene Hadjiioannou (she/her). As well as running an LGBTQ+ affirmative private practice, Erene's work focuses on the topic of trauma as a result of sexual violence, as outlined in an upcoming textbook, Psychotherapy with Survivors of Sexual Violence: Inside and Outside the Room.

Join us as we chat about creating safe spaces for queer folks in therapy, psychotherapy as activism, the stereotypes surrounding domestic abuse and sexual violence, the discrimination survivors face in the judicial system, queering psychotherapy and lots more!

I’m joined by queer witch, illustrator and author, Cedar McCloud (they/them). Cedar started reading tarot in 2003, going on to found Numinous Spirit Press and create beautiful, radical decks with a social justice lens, such as The Numinous Tarot and The Threadbound Oracle. They believe storytelling is a beautiful tool for healing from trauma and enjoy archaic crafts, nature walks and fashion.

Join us as we chat about exploring ourselves through art, the importance of acknowledging our pain for healing, thinking about gender as a colour wheel, their work as a tool for activists to affect change, how tarot tells us what we already know deeply, getting engaged and so much more!

I’m joined by Lindsay McGlone (she/her) aka The Fierce Fat Feminist; an activist, public speaker, producer, stage manager, Instagram coach and teacher. Lindsay is a force to be reckoned with, running numerous successful campaigns highlighting fatphobia, most recently targeting Airbnb. She was also named Young Changemaker of the Year in the IWC Igniting Inspiration Awards 2020.

Joining me whilst recovering from surgery, hear us talk about how wearing slogan t-shirts changed Lindsay’s life, fatphobia in healthcare and the media, the incredible support she receives from her family, experiencing a skin condition called HS, becoming the subject of a fake news story in The Sun, balancing activism with influencing and so much more!

I’m joined by artist, photographer and documenter Holly Revell (she/her), who has a keen eye for preserving and collaborating with other queer artists, making images and portraits which explore performance and transforming identities. Holly’s work is archived at Bishopsgate Institute.

Join us as we chat about being a groupie in the 90’s, becoming a professional photographer working in the queer underground, her beautiful new zine from her People Like Us project, not fitting into the art world, hanging out with queer icons and a whole lot more!

I’m joined by Adele Jarrett-Kerr (she/her); a mother, writer, home educator and breastfeeding counsellor, originally from Trinidad and Tobago, now living in Cornwall. Adele also works with her family’s small, regenerative farm near Falmouth and hosts a podcast about human connection called Revillaging.

Join us as we talk about the importance of developing critical thinking, what our children teach us, experiencing colonial dismissal, deprogramming from the dominant culture, different ways of accessing knowledge and the problematic nature of academia, partnering with nature in farming and so much more!

I’m joined by Katy Lees (they/them), a queer writer and psychotherapist from the North East of England. They can be found writing therapy tips, poetry, anti-oppression rants, short stories, and more. They are currently writing a good mental health guide for trans and non-binary people, to be published soon by Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Join us as we talk about the oppression different sized fat folx experience, trans and non-binary mental health and self-care, Katy’s experience navigating and recovering from burnout, stepping away from the constant pressure to ‘level up’ in life, the challenges of dressing as a fat, trans, non-binary person and lots more.