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How beautiful would it be if, instead of being misgendered as a child, you were asked, “what are your pronouns?” According to our guest, Erika, years of heartache would have been averted. Assigned female at birth and from a young age often perceived as a male, Erika swirled inside her own gender dysmorphia from not being seen… or asked. In many ways things haven’t changed. Now in her 40’s, Erika points out, for her,  the queer identity is a pronounced feeling of otherness, but you are never really alone just because you are “othered.” In this episode we learn from Erika that her data-points alone (female, mother, partner, dancer, etc.) cannot tell her whole story. Also: Cohost Mickey is caught redhanded misgendering Erika (for years) and The Pepper Pepper, WTQ is coming for you! IG: @misterepdx

Alice is a drag artist and performer in Portland, OR. She is the Princess of The House of Ada, a clown of The Farce Family and an acrobat of the Queer femme acro duo Lady Phallus. She is also a sex worker. We have no idea how she found the time to speak with us, but we are certainly glad she did! With the ever changing vocabulary landscape, Alice is most comfortable identifying as Queer because it means everything – bisexual, pansexual, femme, butch and the entire spectrum!  When Alice connected with What the Q, Mickey just knew Liz would love her. Liz thought speaking with Alice would be too far out of her comfort zone. Listen to see who was right. Also Ricky Martin, Sam Smith, Jody Watley, Madonna and Carla Rossi… Thank you for listening! IG: @alicephallus@thehouseofada@thefarcefamily@ladyphallus

Our conversation with KT continues in this bonus minisode. KT’s partner identifies as non-binary and uses the they / them pronouns; at one point in the unaired portion of the conversation Liz asked KT about using gender-neutral pronouns with her partner. We didn’t want to keep KT’s insightful and beautiful response to ourselves!   Liz and Mickey then take the opportunity to discuss these pronouns within their own relationship. This isn’t the first time they have had this discussion with each other (but it is the first time they do so while recording), and each time they do they are honest and open. They stick through the uncomfortable moments while sprinkling in their humor. During this particular conversation Mickey asks Liz to do better, listen to find out why.

On this episode of What the Q we have a conversation with Joseph, a 40 something hairdresser who identifies as queer. He is also known as the drag performer Svetlana Trantastic. Joseph was raised in a rural and conservative part of the country where there was no visible queer community. From an early age he wanted to do what girls were doing, but was strictly prohibited from this by his parents and community, which was essential for their safety. Joseph moved to Portland in his twenties and is now a very close friend of Mickey’s. This was the very first conversation we recorded for What the Q and we thank Joseph for his willingness and openness to share what being queer means to him. Also during the conversation we find out that Joseph wasn’t the only one not allowed to play with Barbie growing up. More Svetlana Trantastic at these links: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYXY73qF9zUIKz9fM_7824g https://instagram.com/svetlanatrantastic?igshid=1mth3jmxfjbnc

On this episode of What the Q we ask our guest KT, “what does the queer identity mean to you?” Spoiler alert: she finds the term both empowering and liberating! KT and Mickey make fat art together. That’s something you may have never heard of before, but our guest is a pioneer in this space. KT solved the problem of “What do you do when you want to dance but there isn’t a space for you?” She answered it with Body Home Fat Dance and the performance group Weighted Bodies. Our very own Mickey is one of the performers! This episode takes on the topics of fatness, body positivity vs fat liberation, and how the topics of fatness & queerness overlap.  https://www.bodyhomefatdance.com/ IG: bodyhomefatdancepdx

On this episode of What the Q we meet Liz and Mickey, your hosts! Picture it Sicily 1994, ok, not Sicily, but it was 1994 when these two met. They lived in the same college dorm, then apartment, followed by a cross country move, a wedding, and someone’s first time in drag and the other wasn’t there! Fast forward 25 years when Mickey tells Liz that they are queer. Enter What the Q? A podcast exploring the queer identity. For the first season our guests will be people who simply identify as queer. We’ll ask them one question, “what does identifying as queer mean to you?” And no two answers or conversations are the same. Join us as we explore queer culture, together. Oh and btw, this episodes guest is… your co-host Mickey!