Queer Meets Queer

She worked stage crew; they played basketball with the boys. Can I make it anymore obvious? When Janine laid eyes on Taylor at recess, she fell head over heels into her first ever, stomach-flipping girl crush. Taylor was totally oblivious so they became best friends, obviously. Then Taylor’s family moved away. They went to separate high schools and, after that, different colleges. That pretty much seemed like the end of it: another unrequited, unrealized, unconsummated middle school love story. But when Janine and Taylor both moved back to San Francisco after college, they decided to write themselves a new ending. Let’s go girls! Executive Producer: Weston Anderson Writer: Weston Anderson Audio Engineer and Editor: Seth Goshorn Hosts: Nikki “Nik” Burian, Justin Wayne Peters, and Weston Anderson Storytellers: Taylor Scoma and Janine Byrne Music: Whispering through - Asura  Air Hockey Saloon - Chris Zabriskie

On offer for Sunday Brunch today: Nikki (Nik) talks about what first attracted them to their girlfriend, Weston remembers what HIV stigma felt like when they were first diagnosed, and husbands Ray and Thom ask each other intimate relationship questions. Executive Producer: Weston Anderson Writer: Weston Anderson Audio Engineer and Editor: Seth Goshorn Hosts: Nikki “Nik” Burian, Weston Anderson Storytellers: Thom and Ray Music: Whispering through - Asura  Air Hockey Saloon - Chris Zabriskie

Anthony Hudson had no idea that white face paint, a pillow case, and a name—”Carla”—would lead to the manifestation of THE Carla Rossi, Portland’s premier drag clown. Carla Rossi became a hurricane force in Anthony’s life and a fiery furnace of creation. Anthony, on the other hand, became a chauffeur and a personal assistant to Carla’s rising star, which is just what happens when you are host to an immortal trickster spirit. Through more than a decade of multidisciplinary artistic works, Anthony and Carla negotiated split identity, stared privilege in the (white)face , and contemplated queerness. Executive Producer: Weston Anderson Writer: Weston Anderson Audio Engineer and Editor: Seth Goshorn Hosts: Weston Anderson Storytellers: Anthony Hudson / Carla Rossi Excerpts: Carla Rossi: Freedom Runs - Anthony Hudson Drag Clown Carla Rossi visits "Jeffrey Gibson: Like a Hammer" at Seattle Art Museum - Anthony Hudson Music: Whispering through - Asura  Something Elated - Broke For Free Halfbreed - popularized by Cher, preformed by Anthony Hudson as part of Looking for Tiger Lily Air Hockey Saloon - Chris Zabriskie

Thom falls in love. The only problem is he’s already married. It doesn’t work out and, after separating from his husband, Thom moves to Denver and then to Portland, chasing men on Scruff. Then Thom meets Ray. Sometimes relationships move fast. Things click into place and start rolling and there’s all this unanticipated momentum, driving you forward. One minute you are meeting for the first time, maybe for coffee, maybe to hookup, and before you know it your lives are intertwined in ways you wouldn’t have previously thought possible. That’s how things were for Ray and Thom.  This episode is marked explicit for some adult language and frank discussion of sexuality.

In this tasty serving of Sunday Brunch, Tori and Sammee (from “Bio Family can be Chosen Family”) talk about growing up mixed race in a predominantly white education system, the challenges they faced, and how their siblinghood helped them overcome barriers. They also discuss how George Floyd’s murder at the hand of Minnesota Police in May 2020 helped inspire the creation of their podcast, Sisters and Sonder. Finally, Sammee and Tori get teary-eyed playing our questions game.

The conclusion of Jim’s story. Listen to part 1 if you haven’t heard it yet! Jim comes out in Portland in the 1980s, meets the love of his life, is diagnosed with HIV, and his relationship with his father changes for ever.

Jim tells us the story of his relationship with his father and growing up gay in the 1960s. In part one of Jim’s story we peek into the childhood relationship of a father who wants his son to be “normal” and a boy who is anything but. In his adolescence, Jim found something of a chosen family with a cult in Portland, OR. However, Jim discovered he couldn’t run away form his internalized homophobia and struggled to live authentically until circumstances forced him to come out.

If you need a dose of charming conversation with worldwise women, you will want to grab a cup of coffee and a pastry and press the play button. In this serving of Sunday Brunch Stacey (63)  and Elizabeth (80) (from our episode "Adults Make Friends”) ask each other questions about sexuality, love, mistakes, and their dreams for the future. Stacey and Elizabeth Q&A: 02:42

Today, we've got a mini story about how Weston Met M, from our episode "Queer in the Classroom", some hemming and hawing about hair cuts, and Justin, Nikki, Seth, and Weston talk about racism and misogyny in the queer communities. How Weston Met M mini Story: 00:44 M and Edward Haircut Conversation: 02:39 Conversation About Racism and Misogyny: 05:06

We are starting out with a slightly more somber Sunday Brunch than usual, we hear two HIV stories. But don't worry, both stories have happy endings. First, Malcom Gregory Scott tells remembers how he was diagnosed with HIV while serving in the Navy. Second, Weston talks about receiving an HIV diagnosis in China and how HIV stigma changed their life. 

The phrase “Chosen Family” has popped up a few times on this podcast already. For those of you who aren’t too familiar with this idea, don’t worry, it’s not complicated. Chosen family is the family that you choose. For queer people, chosen family is rooted in the experience of frequently needing to build long-term support networks that aren’t based in biological closeness. This sense of familial closeness in the LGBTQ communities arises from a shared experience of finding an understanding and acceptance in relative strangers that was lacking in our biological families. But sometimes…bio family can be chosen family too. Content Warning: This episode contains some mild adult language.

Making friends as an adult is notoriously difficult. Work and commitments to romantic partners and family tend to push making new friends down our list of priorities. On top of that, meeting new people is hard. Making a lasting connection is even harder. New relationships, including friendships, take work. You have to log hours together. You have to make getting to know that person a priority. And you have to have something in common that draws you together. Today, we have two stories of friends finding each other in adulthood.

School is a time of searching, of growth. It's a time when a lot of people, young people in particular, are figuring out who they are. Every young person feels alone sometimes, but for queers this feeling is underscored by the undeniable fact that you exist as a minority, often an invisible minority. And yet, and this truly amazing, even closeted queers, even queers who might not yet know that they are queer, have a tendency to find each other. We've got two stories for you today about queers meeting queers in the classroom. These are stories of queers finding each other against all odds and growing up together. Intro: 00:00 LB and Keila’s Story: 02:26 Inclusivity/Exclusivity Discussion: 20:13 M and Edward’s Story: 31:30 Announcements: 46:33

Malcom Gregory Scott met Dr. Doug Ward in 1994 as an HIV patient with Kaposi Sarcoma, a type of cancer that causes the telltale skin lesions associated with an untreated HIV infection. Their story is a story of perseverance, luck, and friendship, but it is also an oral history of a queer community at the deadliest moment of the United States' HIV epidemic. Together, Malcom and Doug share how the HIV epidemic brought them together as doctor and patient, and how they became lifelong friends. Content Note: This episode is rated as explicit for the occasional use of mature language and some brief, but frank, discussion of sexuality. Brief History of HIV: 00:07 Malcom & Doug’s Story: 05:09 Announcements: 43:20

In this episode, we meet our hosts (Weston, Nikki, Justin, and Seth) and talk about queerness before diving into three relationship stories. This time, Weston & Seth, Nikki, and Justin each thell their own relationship stories. For all you discourse nerds, or if you want to learn more about queerness, our round table discussion starts at 00:04:08. For those of you who want to jump to the juicy relationship bits, start listening at 00:15:44. We hear about Justin discovering a new friend and a new community, Nikki’s journey to self-acceptance, and the story of how Weston and Seth navigated transforming a hookup into a platonic friendship. Content Note: This episode is rated as explicit for the occasional use of mature language and some brief, but frank discussions of sexuality.Relationship story: 00:00:05 Host intros: 00:02:51 Round table discussion: 00:04:08 Justin & Steven Story: 00:15:44 Nikki Story: 00:28:38 Weston & Seth Story: 00:41:55 Announcements: 01:08:46

This is Queer Meets Queer: LGBTQ+ relationship Stories. This trailer introduces episodes 1-3 of Queer Meets Queer. Our first episode will drop Thursday October 8th. New episodes air every other week on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of each month. A full transcript of this episode is available on our website: http://www.Queermeetsqueer.com. Episode Length: 2 minutes 15 seconds. Credits: Weston Anderson (Executive Producer, Host), Seth Goshorn (Co-host, Audio Engineer, Editor), Nikki Burian (Co-host), Justin Wayne Peters (Cohost). Music: Whispering Through by Asura (https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Asura/Bonus_Beat_Blast_2011/09_asura-whispering_through)