Queers and Co.

In this episode, Gem and H talk about what it really means to live your truth and stay authentic (a word they both feel is over-used) even when it’s tough. They dive into the importance of learning to trust yourself, stay grounded during conflict, and the power of making bold choices every day. There's an important reminder from H that marginalised folks can and do marginalise folks. Plus a whole bunch more!H Arlo-Harris (they/them) is a coach who helps people to recognise the power of owning their identity. H uses their own experiences as an Autistic, Trans masc non-binary, black person to share how stepping into your identity skyrockets your business and personal life.Here's where you can connect with H: Instagram: www.instagram.com/h.arloharris

Join Gem and Adam as they chat about the challenging times Trans and Autistic communities are currently facing. They discuss how fashion can be a powerful tool for activism, the benefits of working for ourselves as Autistics, and the importance of finding community. Plus lots more! Adam Holcroft-Tebbutt (he/him) is a Trans and Autistic activist, designer, and founder of Rainbow & Co – an independent LGBTQIA+ brand based in West Yorkshire. Through bold, politically charged designs, Adam uses his platform to amplify queer voices, challenge rainbow-washing, and create space for marginalised identities.Where can you find Adam?Rainbow & Co - https://rainbowandco.ukInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/rainbowandcouk/

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.Helpful links: Monotropism: https://monotropism.org/Some great books on sensory and emotional self-care for Autistics: The Neurodivergent Friendly Workbook of DBT Skills by Sonny Jane Wise Looking After Your Autistic Self: A Personalised Self-Care Approach to Managing Your Sensory and Emotional Well-Being by Niamh GarveySelf-Care for Autistic People: 100+ Ways to Recharge, De-Stress, and Unmask! by Megan Anna Neff

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.Helpful links: Autistic burnout: https://www.autisticadvocate.co.uk/autistic-burnoutAn excellent book on sensory well-being: Looking After Your Autistic Self: A Personalised Self-Care Approach to Managing Your Sensory and Emotional Well-being by Niamh GarveyNeurodiversity Paradigm: https://neuroqueer.com/neurodiversity-terms-and-definitions/Kieran Rose: https://theautisticadvocate.com/The Social Model of Disability: https://www.inclusionlondon.org.uk/about-us/disability-in-london/social-model/the-social-model-of-disability-and-the-cultural-model-of-deafness/Autistic Masking: https://theautisticadvocate.com/autistic-masking/Thriving Autistic - 6 week Discovery Programme for late-identified Autistics(written by Gem) and monthly socials: https://www.thrivingautistic.org/

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!Helpful links: PTSD and Autism: https://neurodivergentinsights.com/misdiagnosis-monday/ptsd-and-autismMoral scrupulosity: https://iocdf.org/faith-ocd/living-with-ocd-religious-traditions/moral-scrupulosity/Monotropism: https://monotropism.org/ Window of tolerance: https://autismunderstood.co.uk/health-and-wellbeing/window-of-tolerance/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!If you haven't already, be sure to join our Facebook community to connect with other like-minded queer folks and allies. Find out more about Gem Kennedy and Queers & Co. Podcast Artwork by Gemma D’Souza.Resources Moonlight Experienceshttps://www.moonlightexperiences.comFollow Aisha on Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/ukblackpride/https://www.ukblackpride.org.uk/https://www.instagram.com/londonqueerfashionshow/Full Transcript to follow

This week 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!If you haven't already, be sure to join our Facebook community to connect with other like-minded queer folks and allies. Find out more about Gem Kennedy and Queers & Co. Podcast Artwork by Gemma D’Souza.ResourcesSign the petition for a UBI pilot in BristolUBI Lab Network’s websiteThe Garden Bristol’s websiteFreedom to Learn’s websiteCheck out Brizzle Boyz and Scritch CabaretKith: The Riddle of the Childscape bookThe book I mentioned in the episode but couldn’t remember the name of is Crippled: Austerity and the Demonization of Disabled PeopleResisting Illegitimate Authority: A Thinking Person’s Guide to Being an Anti-Authoritarian bookAkilah S. Richards’ website, Fare of the Free Child podcast and Raising Free People: Unschooling as Liberation and Healing Work bookFull Transcript to follow

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!If you haven't already, be sure to join our Facebook community to connect with other like-minded queer folks and allies. Find out more about Gem Kennedy and Queers & Co. Podcast Artwork by Gemma D’SouzaResourcesRead Lydia’s poetry here or search #lydspoetry on FacebookFull Transcription to follow

This week, 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? If you haven't already, be sure to join our Facebook community to connect with other like-minded queer folks and allies. Find out more about Gem Kennedy and Queers & Co. Podcast Artwork by Gemma D’Souza. Resources Chuck SJ’s website Follow Chuck on Instagram Support Chuck on Patreon Chuck has a piece published in the upcoming Creating in Crisis anthology from Polari Press. Pre-order now! Chuck recommends Brighton Cello Check out Spectrum Gaming, a community for autistic gamers of all ages Full Transcription to follow

This week, 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!If you haven't already, be sure to join our Facebook community to connect with other like-minded queer folks and allies. Find out more about Gem Kennedy and Queers & Co. Podcast Artwork by Gemma D’SouzaResourcesFollow Cedar on InstagramSupport Cedar’s KickstarterVisit Cedar’s website and shopBecome a supporter of Cedar’s work on their PatreonFull Transcription to follow

This week, I’m joined by artist, photographer and documenter Holly Revell, 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!If you haven't already, be sure to join our Facebook community to connect with other like-minded queer folks and allies. Find out more about Gem Kennedy and Queers & Co. Podcast Artwork by Gemma D’SouzaResourcesFind out more about Holly’s work on her websiteHolly's new zine People Like Us (a work in progress), which features a series of 12 images and participants quotes from the wider project, is available to buy hereFollow Holly on Instagram, Facebook and TwitterTravis Alabanza’s new play, OverflowZanele Muholi’s exhibition at the Tate Modern, which runs until 31st May 2021Harry Clayton-Wright’s new zine, You Otter KnowTranscription to follow

This week, 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.If you haven't already, be sure to join our Facebook community to connect with other like-minded queer folks and allies. Find out more about Gem Kennedy and Queers & Co. Podcast Artwork by Gemma D’SouzaResourcesFind out more about Katy’s work on their website.Support Katy’s work on their PatreonFollow Katy on InstagramFull TranscriptionGem: Welcome to Queers & Co., the podcast on self-empowerment, body liberation and activism for queer folx and allies. I'm your host, Gem Kennedy. My pronouns are they/them and I'm a transformational practitioner and coach living in the UK.Gem:  Hey folx! Welcome to Episode 4. I hope you were able to get some relaxing time during integration week. I know that it was really helpful for me to practice some of what I talk to my clients about around working sustainably and actually give myself some space to not be furiously editing and producing all the time. So with that in mind, I'm very excited and energised to be back for Episode 4. And this one is a short and sweet episode. They're an incredible guest and they also happen to be an incredible client of mine. And I'm just really happy that they agreed to record an episode with me. We had quite a few technical difficulties unfortunately during the recording, which meant that we tried two different platforms and then by the time we'd had that all sorted, then time was up. So we have just over half an hour together. And I hope that you'll find it as interesting as I did. And just to introduce my guest... They are a queer writer and psychotherapist from the northeast of England. They can be found writing therapy tips, poetry, anti-oppression rants, short stories, and more on their website iamkatylees.com, and that will be in the show notes. They're currently writing a good mental health guide for trans and non-binary people, which is going to be published hopefully this year (I'm keeping my fingers crossed) by Jessica Kingsley publishers, and I'll share all of the relevant links so you can go and follow their work after the episode today. I've already asked them about recording another episode together so look out for that, hopefully around the same time as the book launches. And so without further ado, allow me to introduce my wonderful guest, Katy Lees. Gem: Hi Katy! Thanks so much for joining me. Katy:...