Trans People Belong in West Virginia
Country Queers
In 2023 state legislatures across the South and Midwest have introduced attacking trans adults, trans kids, and drag queens. This legislative session in West Virginia saw the introduction of more than 15 anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ bills. On Thursday March 9th, 2023 trans organizers held a rally at the Capitol Building in Charleston, WV in protest of House Bill 2007 which would enforce a total ban on gender affirming care for minors in the state. Over 100 people packed the upper level of the capitol building to protest outside the Senate Chambers where the bill was being discussed. In this...
info_outline
Dorothy Allison
Country Queers
Dorothy Allison is a 73 year old, white, feminist, working class story teller, who was raised in South Carolina and Florida and now makes her home in California. She is the author of many books including novels, short stories, a poetry collection, and a memoir. In this interview, recorded by Rae Garringer in August 2018, Dorothy talks about memories of growing up "a poor kid in love with language," learning to write, how she got from FL to CA, class, feminism, and the magic of writing. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * For this episode we're asking folks who are able to support Lauren...
info_outline
KD Randle
Country Queers
KD Randle (they/them) is a Black, southern, queer, genderfluid person currently living in Jackson, Mississippi. They’re a lifelong learner, visionary, creator, their mother’s youngest seed, a friend, partner, dog parent, and former farm apprentice at . This episode weaves together audio diaries recorded on KD’s commutes to and from the farm, and an interview with their mother: Reverend Sandras Anderson. They reflect on the legacy of Black farmers, returning home and falling back in love with rural MS, divine androgyny, spirituality, abundance, and more. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * For...
info_outline
Dana Kaplan
Country Queers
Dana Kaplan (he/him) is a white trans person and the Executive Director of Outright Vermont and he’s on a mission to make Vermont celebratory and affirming for all LGBTQ+ youth. When not working, Dana spends time making music, fermenting food, people watching, and hanging out with his spouse and their two kids. In this episode Zach Henningsen interviews Dana about living in Vermont as a NYC kid, music, finding a sense of home in ourselves, and the creativity of rural queer people. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Zach Henningsen (he/him) is a Junior in highschool with a passion for social justice...
info_outline
Miguel Mendías
Country Queers
Miguel Mendías is an interdisciplinary artist living in Marfa, Texas, occupied Jumano and Apache lands. He is Chicanx, Mexican-American, or Latinx (a term he dislikes). He is mestizo; of Czech, Basque, and Rarámuri (Tarahumara) descent. His father’s family has lived in Marfa, Texas for five generations. In this episode Kūʻiʻolani Cotchay (she/they) interviews Miguel about his work to restore the adobe home that's been in his family for generations, lessons his grandparents taught him, and his relationship to his father, his ancestry, and the land. * * * * * * * * * * * * *...
info_outline
Sharonna Golden
Country Queers
Sharonna Henderson is a mother, an activist and a burlesque performer. She is a fat, Black, queer, woman who believes in liberation through rest and art. Her life is full of love and beauty and it’s her mission to share it with as many souls as possible during this lifetime. In this episode Toviah DeGroot draws from Bhanu Kapil's "The Vertical Interrogation of Strangers" for a dream-like conversation about bodies, fatness, disability, race, ancestral memory, parenting, white violence, silence, and more.
info_outline
Sam Gleaves
Country Queers
Sam Gleaves is a white gay man who was born and raised in Virginia and now lives in Kentucky. Sam is an old-time musician, educator, singer/songwriter, and a banjo, guitar, and fiddle player. This episode features Rae's 2013 interview with Sam where he talks about musical traditions, family, and finding a sense of belonging within the word "Fabulachian." Then you'll hear a phone call between Sam and Rae from January 2022 reflecting on what it's like to listen back to this interview after nearly a decade.
info_outline
Adria Stembridge
Country Queers
Adria Stembridge (she/her) is a goth, neurodivergent, white, queer, trans woman who was born and raised in Georgia where she still lives. She has been in bands like: The Endless, The Girl Pool, Vomit Thrower, Tears for the Dying, and more. Adria loves watching anime, roller skating, changing piston rings on her dirtbike, and operating heavy equipment like hydraulic excavators. In this episode Tommy Anderson interviews Adria about growing up in Athens, coming out as trans in the 90s, and punk and goth musi
info_outline
Kūʻiʻolani Cotchay
Country Queers
Kūʻiʻolani (she/they) is a queer, mixed-Kānaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) living in their ancestral lands in Mākaha, Hawaiʻi. She is an educator, learning experience designer, musician/creative and plant person. In this episode Miguel Mendías interviews Kūʻiʻolani about Hawaiian history, lands, language, color theory, queerness, colonization, belonging, being of mixed Indigenous ancestry, and living in highly-gentrified, highly trafficked tourist destinations.
info_outline
Introducing Season 2 with HB & Rae
Country Queers
In this episode HB Lozito of Out in the Open and Rae Garringer of Country Queers welcome you behind-the-scenes of our collaboratively produced Season 2 adventure! Our fellow-travelers and co-producers this Season, who you'll meet along the way, include: KD Randle, Kūʻiʻolani Cotchay, Miguel Mendías, Tommy Anderson. Tovi DeGroot, and Zach Henningsen. Our sound designer is Hideo Higashibaba, and our brilliant editorial advisory dream team is Hermelinda Cortés, Lewis Raven Wallace, and Sharon P. Holland!
info_outlineThis episode features audio from a webinar hosted by the Women's and Gender-Non-Conforming Center at Berea College in October 2020 as a part of their virtual pride series. In it, Rae Garringer is joined by the Editorial Dream Team: Sharon P. Holland, Hermelinda Cortés, and Lewis Raven Wallace. We talk about how we came into story-telling and narrative-shifting work, who we are accountable to in this work, and how we think about and engage with the power dynamics at play in this work.
Season 2 will be dropping later in 2021, so in the meantime we'll be bringing you some bonus episodes throughout the winter and into the spring. If this episode is too in the weeds for you, about behind-the-scenes details of how our team thinks about this work, rest assured: more rural queer and trans stories are coming your way soon, including an episode about queer and trans SHEPHERDS!!! Stay warm and queer out there friends!
P.S. Learn more about this project at www.countryqueers.com. And, become a sustaining supporter of Country Queers on Patreon to help us pay more folks for the production of our 2nd Season!