FemmeCast: The Queer Fat Femme Podcast Guide To Life - FemmeCast - Episodes

Episode 10: Courtship (93 minutes)

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0700

This episode is brought to you buy Fat Bottom Boudoir: Photography for the Rest of Us

"Queers are lucky people. The more creative dates we take each other on, the better we'll all collectively feel."--Damien Luxe

In this episode host Bevin Branlandingham discusses a queer guide to romance and courthsip.

Jesse from Brooklyn tells us how he plans dates and how he moved into being a fashion icon.

Zoe Femmetastica, Consiglierie and Social Justice Correspondent, discusses why dating is important for self-development.

Brian, our Big Gay Agenda Correspondent, discusses some top news of the moment, the repeal of Don't Ask/Don't Tell and the Supreme Court decision about the repeal of corporate spending limits for political campaigns.

Damien Luxe talks about her tips for courting out of towners.
"I believe in crush art for friends, exes, romantic interests... what you're sending them is a physical manifestation that they are being thought of."

2 Minute Manners from our new Crafty Correspondent, Jessie Dress (of Austin, TX)! "You can use your manners and show you care by Complimenting, being Attentive, showing Respect, and Engaging with your dating partner. Chivalry isn't dead, and its for Femmes too!"

Nobody Ever Died of Awkward: The Queer Fat Femme Guide to Battling Insecurity and Asking People Out! A must-read on Bevin's blog.

Cultural Correspondent Naima discusses what she looks for in dates.

Zoe returns to discuss her long distance courtship with her current beau.

Femme Shark Correspondent Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha discusses her best wooing stories with host Bevin and turns the table and asks Bevin about her best dates.

Bevin discusses courtship and the special elements of dating performers with performance artist Jukie Sunshine. "Come to the door. Don't honk from the street."

Bevin shouts out the Learning Good Consent Zine. It's a free download!

Eden gives us sex tips. "Don't fall in love with your own line."

We continue the Cripping Femme Series with a piece by Margaret Price!

News & Announcements:

Femme Family Zine #1: Coming Out as Femme. If you'd like a copy send $8 to paypal@femmefamily.com or $6 for an online version.

Femme Conference, August 20-22, 2010, Oakland, CA

The Femmes of Color Symposium, March 26-28, 20FEMME in New Orleans.

Cripping Femme Zine can be ordered by emailing efemmera at yahoo.com, or by mail:

Cripping Femme Zine
c/o Leslie Freeman
103 Winooski Ave #7
Burlington, VT
05401

What we're listening to:
(Anything you buy from Amazon using our links--even stuff not linked--contributes a tiny percent to offset production costs.)

Scream Club, "Life of a Heartbreaker"

Nedra Johnson, "Sprung"

Mal Blum, "My Name is Earthworm"

Stay tuned for our next episode, Femmes & Body Hair, coming soon!

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Episode 9: Thinking Big (93 minutes)

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

For the time being this episode of the podcast is in two not so gracefully edited chunks, just stream one after the other and you're good.

"Thinking big, as a queer, as a woman, as a femme, as a fat person, as a disabled person, as any kind of marginalized identity, is a radical act."--Bevin Branlandingham

Host Bevin Branlandingham asks queer entrepreneurs and artists about their big dreams and big plans!

Diamond Daggers Burlesque founder and artistic director, Amelia Mae Paradise, talks about their big European Tour this Spring. Check out the Bay Area, CA troupe here!

We unveil the Femme Book Club!
Read along with us! This month: Dorothy Allison's Two or Three Things I Know for Sure (get your blog posts ready around Sept 1, and ongoing) and then September's pick, Amber Hollibaugh's My Dangerous Desires: A Queer Girl Dreaming Her Way Home (Series Q) (blog posts ready around Sept 29, and ongoing)

Sophie's Favorites:
Book of poetry by Brenda Shaunessy called Interior with Sudden Joy: Poems

Dorothy Allison's Two or Three Things I Know for Sure

Terri's Favorites:
Felicia Luna Lemus' Like Son and Trace Elements of Random Tea Parties (Live Girls)

Bevin's Favorites:
Shar Rednour's The Femme's Guide to the Universe

Ulrika Dahl & Del LaGrace Volcano's Femmes of Power: Exploding Queer Femininities

Bryn Kelly tells the story of her first MichFest after years of attendance at Camp Trans.

"It's like lesbian Disneyland in there."

Alix Izen discusses The Inverted Eye, discreet fetish antiques. Buy your next decorative item, gift or vintage costume piece from The Inverted Eye and support sex-positive queer entrepreneurship!

Damien Luxe talks about her monomaniacal search for a van and the adventures seeking her dream took her.

News & Announcements:

Mangoes with Chili Tour, Fall 2009 Austin, Atlanta, places in between!

The Femme Porn Tour,, Late Summer 2009, East Coast

The Fat & Queer Conference, November, 2009, New York, NY

Butch Voices Conference, August 20-23, 2009, Oakland, CA

Zoe's break-up survival guide on Bevin's blog!

What we're listening to:

Music for Men, "Dimestore Diamond"

Mal Blum, "Ode to Kulele"

Axon Damien Luxe, "Femme Tech"

Stay tuned for our next episode, Thinking Big! Part 2 and then A FemmeCast Guide to Courtship, coming soon!

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Episode 8.5: Juicy Juicy, Plump Plump (37 minutes)

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

After a brief hiatus, FemmeCast returns with a minisode all about the sweet stuff (or the not so sweet stuff we turn into a good story)!!

Host Bevin Branlandingham is joined by Femme Shark Correspondent Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, hosting live from a road trip journey earlier this Spring.

Miasia tells her favorite story of street harassment, you can find her website and book her bellydancing at Miasia.org

Bevin relives a drunken adventure in search of an ice cream treat with FemmeCast Sexpert, Rachael, Femme Family NYC Madam of Hospitality Chris and The Gay Dr. Phil.

Bevin and Leah discuss "cotton candy pink sugar pussy brain" and how you can make it so finding love and good sex doesn't mean losing yourself, your friendships and values to a content and cow-like existence.

What we're listening to:

Gravy Train!!!, "All the Sweet Stuff"

Jill Sobule, "San Francisco"

Stay tuned for our next episode, Thinking Big! or A FemmeCast Guide to Courtship, coming soon!

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Episode 8: That's My Jam--62 Minutes

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0700

2009 is so full of possibility--we're all excited about new and amazing things we just had to share!!

Host Bevin Branlandingham talks about Saturn Return and getting through Unemployment and Housing Crisis 09 and trying to cling to the bright side.

Femme Shark Correspondent Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha and her BBFFF and co-founder of the Femme Sharks Zuleikha Mahmood debut their latest addition to the Queer Lexicography, JAM!

Buy the Femme Shark Zines! 1 & 2 now available. Paypal your donation to "thefemmesharks at gmail dot com"

Amir, the Giant Squid Sea Creature Ally joins FemmeCast to talk about the PanJamism movement and getting done as a transmasculine person. Amir is a dreamy looking poet from the East Bay and you can see him perform with Mangos with Chili.

Fatshion Correspondent Tara updates on her dresses only project, wearing red, white and blue, MAC cream color base and trying everything on.

Bevin gives a little pep talk about self-advocacy.

Glenn Marla found a 3 1/2 foot double chin in mid-town Manhattan.

Cultural Correspondent Naima loves porn! Porn she likes includes the Chemistry series, Cafe Flesh, Slide Bi Me, which I can't find to link online. Bevin likes Sugar High, Glitter City, for obvious reasons. (Glitter. Sugar.)

Zuleikha reads from the new Femme Shark Zine!

We debut the Cripping Femme Series with a piece by series curator, Leslie Freeman!

News & Announcements:

Femme ATX! Austin, TX

Femmes Front and Center, Photography by Kristin Kurzawa, Detroit, MI area

The Fat Girl Flea Market!, April 4, 2009, New York, NY
Bevin is pouring her funemployment into Community Organizing and the Fat Girl Flea Market

Femme Family NYC!

Gayety!, April 26, 2009, Brooklyn, NY

Kentucky Fried Woman has a new show series Kentucky Fried Woman Presents in Oakland, CA @ Velvet on the first Friday of the Month!)

Bevin's new blog!

What we're listening to:

Dance Yourself to Death, "We are all Made of Stone"

Athens Boys Choir, "EZ Heeb"

Duffy, "Syrup and Honey"

Stay tuned for our next episode, Thinking Big! or A FemmeCast Guide to Courtship, coming soon!

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Episode 7: Asking for Help (69 Minutes)

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Asking for help is a skill--how do we learn it?

Kentucky Fried Woman discusses her difficulties with asking for help, and how she has learned to delegate.
(P.S. Go see her new show series Kentucky Fried Woman Presents in Oakland, CA @ Velvet on the first Friday of the Month!)

Substantia Jones of the Adipositivity project identifies as a Steel Magnolia and has a hard time not judging people (and therefore herself) for asking for help.

Our newest Correspondent, Femme Shark Founder Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, talks about being a queer femme with a disability--needing to transform Femme Identity from tough and cool to "You can be a mess and still be a powerful Femme. We're not going to cut down one another when we're vulnerable."

We debut the Femmes of Color Roundtable Series, moderated by our Fatshion and Beauty Correspondent Tara. Participants include Christine De La Rosa, Miasia, Tania. "My experience of how my race, my fat and my femmeness intersect is that I think that people don't expect fat East Asians. I feel like a bodily contradiction, simultaneously desexualized and hypersexualized."

Self-help Correspondent Genne talks about how she was the partner of someone with a bad drug addiction, how she got out of it, and how it taught her the importance of learning to ask for help. "Asking for help takes its own strength and bravery."

Our Sexpert Rachael talks about disclosing STD status and casual sex.

Bevin interviews Jenny Lowery, aka Pidgeon Von Tramp, Queer Fat Femme Burlesque performer with the Von Foxies of Seattle, writer and founding board member of the Bent Writing Institute about her work and asking for help.

News & Announcements:

U People Premiers on Logo!, LOGO TV, February 7, 8 PM.

4th Annual Femme Mafia Masquerade!, January 31, 2009, Atlanta, GA
Bevin is Femmeceeing this show for the third time! Grab a group of friends and make it a femme destination event!

Femme Family NYC!

Gayety!, February 28, 2009, Brooklyn, NY

Re/Dress NYC! Go shopping for fat girl clothes! Mention FemmeCast Discount and you'll get 10% off your purchase through March 31. Brooklyn, NY.

Bevin's new blog!

What we're listening to:

Rae Spoon, "Come on Forest Fire, Burn the Disco Down"

Hanifah Walidah, "Happy"

Lily Allen, "Guess Who Batman"

Stay tuned for our next episode, That's My Jam!!!, coming soon!

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Episode 6.5: Homo for the Holidays (58 minutes)

Sun, 21 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Happy Holidays from FemmeCast!!

Maintaining a relationship with your family of origin can be a stressful and often difficult endeavor for anyone who is different, from sexuality to gender identity and size. FemmeCast contributors discuss their strategies for loving themselves and their families during the holidays and throughout the year.

Host Bevin Branlandingham is joined by Big Gay Agenda Correspondent Brian to cohost this special minisode. Brian discusses his successful methods for creating a loving relationship with a Fundamentalist Christian Southern family.

Sexpert Rachael sets firm boundaries with her family around what she will and won't talk about.

Special Guest Gay Dr. Phil (Rachael's partner) avoids going home for the holidays entirely.

Poet and fabulous creature Grover details her rules for visits home.

Fatshion and Beauty Correspondent Tara discusses what she and her family do to spend time together.

Social Justice Correspondent Zoe talks about methods of managing fat hatred and sexuality queasiness with her family.

Tranny Superstar Glenn Marla talks about loving his family of origin and what he does to put them at ease.

And families are not always hard! We read from Self Help Correspondent Genne's parents' Holiday Wish Lists:

Dad:

* CDs: titles that you think are interesting/music that you love to hear
* Photograph of you in a place that you love
* Pair of socks that will make me think of you every time I put them on
* Your favorite book
* Finally, and I quote “A little dash of extra love”

Mom:

* I want to start a collection of beautifully-illustrated hard cover picture books of favorite classics/fairytales: like Snow White. Maybe this could be a new tradition; one per year maximum.

* I also would like to start a collection of well-written picture books whose themes reflect a commitment to consciously avoiding gender-typing; (same caveat as above).

Lastly I want to start collecting picture books that are inclusive of LGBTQ folks; (ditto with caveats).

News & Announcements:
Mad Femme Pride Reveal 2009 New Year's Eve Party, December 31, 2008, Boston, MA
(you need to join their meet-up group to find out about the event but it is easy and free)
Mr. Philadelphia Drag King 2009! Bevin is hosting this show for the 6th time! January 24, 2009, William Way Community Center, Philadelphia, PA

4th Annual Femme Mafia Masquerade!, January 31, 2009, Atlanta, GA
Bevin is Femmeceeing this show for the third time! Grab a group of friends and make it a femme destination event!

Bevin's new blog!

What we're listening to:

Bevin's favorite album of the year, Amy Ray's Didn't it Feel Kinder.
Bevin's second favorite album of the year, Nervous But Excited's {Home}Spun. Fancy punctuation always does it for her.

Stay tuned for our next episode, How to Ask For Help, coming soon!

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Episode 6: The Lesbian Footwarming Syndrome (67 minutes)

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Queer Fat Femmes are critically engaged in every aspect of their identity--why not relationship status?

The concept of The Lesbian Footwarming Syndrome, as introduced by Kelli Dunham, is "You're a lesbian, I'm a lesbian, let's keep each others' feet warm." With no further considerations for happiness, sustainability or compatibility.

We have a roundtable discussion on the cultural capital of couplehood, settling and the crazy problems of straight women as oultined in this article, Marry Him!, The Atlantic, March 2008.

Roundtable participants:

Bevin Branlandingham (Host/Producer), Tara (Fatshion Correspondent), Zoe (Consiglierie/Social Justice Correspondent), Genne (Self Help Correspondent), Kelli Dunham (Butch Dyke Comedian In Residence), Tania (Queer Fat Femme), and Kristyn (Butch friend of FemmeCast).

Fatshion Correspondent Tara discusses winterizing dresses as she no longer wants to wear pants in the winter.

Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha returns to discuss eschewing scarcity while single, the way only a Femme Shark can. All after eating an amazing fried chicken dinner.

Naima Lowe, Cultural Correspondent, gives us her take on the movie The Secret.

Bevin interviews writer and activist Gina De Vries, world class bellydancer Miasia, and FemmeCast Technical Editor Anna breaks the veil of silence about different ways of approaching singlehood.

News & Announcements:
Stay tuned for upcoming features on FemmeCast!

A Femmetage called "Cripping Femme" on the experiences of dis/abled Femmes.

The Femmes of Color Roundtable Series (debuting in Episode 7).

What we're listening to:

Erin McKeown, "We are More"
Sleater-Kinney, "Good Things"
Madonna, "Express Yourself" (If you don't listen to me about the need to value yourself above a shitty relationship, maybe you'll listen to Madonna.)

Stay tuned for our next episode, How to Ask For Help, coming soon!

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Episode 5.5: Femme Conference Part 2 (28 minutes)

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

We're on a Queer Fat Femme road trip with host Bevin Branlandingham and consiglierie Zoe Femmetastica!

We wrap up the leftovers from Episode 5 like a foil swan!

*Zoe talks about coming out as Fat!

*Genne, our self-help correspondent, navel gazes like a pro about Femme community building post-femme conference.

*An identity round-up femmetage with the interviewees from Episode 5.

We touch base with Rachael, our sexpert, about how to get conference booty!

Zoe and Bevin check in from their road trip to IDKE (The International Drag KingCommunity Extravaganza) in Columbus, OH with all of their road trip tips!

We follow up our road trip chatter with a track from Miss Coldheart aka Thunder Thighz Music.

Stay tuned for our next episode, the Lesbian Footwarming Syndrome, coming soon!

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Episode 5: Femme Sharks (65 minutes)

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

The 2008 Femme Conference changed my life. In this episode we revisit the party and magic.

Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarzinha and Zuleikha Mahmoud, founders of the Femme Shark movement tell us what a Femme Shark is, the history of the movement and read their manifesto. It's amazing.

Check them out on the Mangos with Chili tour, October 10-23rd!!

Genne and Bevin define the term "cisgendered" (based on the keynote by Julia Serrano).

We have conference highlights from various attendees and a round table discussion with allies that were at the conference.

Queer Fat Femme hero Dorothy Allison talks to me about her Queer Fat Femme identity and coding Femme decades ago. Clickie clickie and buy some of her books.

News & Announcements:
Mangos with Chili tour, October 10-23, 2008, Southwestern USA.

The Femme Show, October 10-11, 2008, Cambridge, MA.

Register, update your address, find your polling place, Everywhere, USA.

What we're listening to:

Sgt. Sass
CWA
Bikini Kill

PART TWO of this episode will be out in about a week or so! We discuss our identities, Genne's thoughts for further Femme Dialogue, and Rachael's tips for getting conference booty.

Stay tuned for our next episode, The Lesbian Footwarming Syndrome, coming soon!

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Episode 4.5: A Minisode About the US Economic Crisis (29 Minutes)

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700

What the heck just happened to the US economy and what does that mean for Queer Fat Femmes?

We veered from our normal reporting to figure out, in lay person terms, what is going on and how it is affecting us. Brian, our Big Gay Agenda Correspondant is very good at breaking things down in a humorous and accessible way.

We follow up our economy talk with a track from Nicole Reynold's new cd, Unordinary Mine.

Stay tuned for our next episode, FEMME SHARKS, coming soon!

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