Kicking The Kyriarchy

Gentlemen start your engines, and let the best wo- Let's stop right there. RuPaul's Drag Race is all kinds of fierce, however there's far more to the drag world than shantay-ing and sashay-ing. This month, it's Asifa Lahore, Britain's first out Muslim Drag Queen, and a recently out trans woman telling us her drag journey, and how this interacts with her faith and gender. Next is drag king and all round show stopper Adam All who shows us another side to drag that is rarely given the spotlight and attention it deserves. Our final guest is Venus Demilo, a disabled, non-binary trans Queen who further challenges the norm of what it means to do drag.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

DISCLAIMER Because this was a live episode the audio quality is quite poor but the content is certainly not. Please bare with

Next in the kyriarchy saga is clothing, but we're not talking dressing for your shape. Have you ever thought about the bindis that your friends bought for that musical festival last year, and the significance of their cultural meaning? Or who made that shirt you bought last week that only cost £3 and wasn't on sale? And what about the hijab? Liberating or oppressing? Terrorist or the terrorised? Meet our guests Sophie, Dominique and Ayesha.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This month we we talk trans to mark Trans Day of Visibility on the 31st March. According to the Trans Mental Health Review, 84% of trans people have contemplated ending their life, and that is just not okay. To help us better understand the issues trans people face everyday, and how we can be better allies to them, we invited Bex, Sabah and Romario. Bex is Head of Trans Inclusion at Stonewall and tells us about her story of self acceptance and how something as simple as speaking in an elevator is enough to encourage inappropriate whispers (@Bex_Stinson) Second we chat to Sabah, a trans Muslim who highlights the importance of being visible if you can, and helps us unpick the question of can you be trans and have faith at the same time? (@SabahChoudrey) Last but by no means least is Romario. Hailing from Jamaica, Romario explains what it’s like to be LGBTQ+ in one of the most transphobic countries, and what his family thought when he introduced himself as the man he is. (@mrblackbranson) You can get in conta

TW: Physical, emotional, sexual abuse and eating disorders. also our email address is kickingthekyriarchy@gmail.com, not .org! This month we focused on relationships, and more specifically, abusive ones. 2 women are killed every week in England and Wales by a current or former partner, and it's easy to ask 'why don't you just leave?'. Well, help is difficult to get, especially when you consider a fifth of refuges have closed since 2010. To help us understand abuse in relationships a little better, we invited Chaka, Lucie and Chlo on the podcast. Chaka is an unapologetically femme queer who sheds some light on to why abuse can happen disproportionately in queer relationships, and how societal constructs of race and gender played a part in hers. (@thedefiantfemme) Next up is Lucie who was brought up around domestic abuse. We learn of her battle of coming to terms with the fact that her step dad was an abuser, and how she helps people around her today who are going through something similar. Third is Chlo,

Conversion therapy? Suicide and race? Forcibly sectioned? Mental health. This month we’re joined by Chama, Carl and Nicolle who trusted us enough to tell us their journey with mental health. Our first guest is Chama, a black spoken word poet diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. Chama describes what it’s like to wrestle with multiple suicide attempts, the expectation of being a man today, and the pressures of strong African values. (@chama_kay) Second is attorney Carl joining us from NYC. Carl is a trans man, who as a queer young person was subjected to religious conversion therapy. He schools us on what it’s like to be ‘treated’ for a part of your identity as though it is a curable illness. (@oh_rarl) Our final guest is Nicolle, diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. She shares her story of what it’s like to be sectioned in the UK today and the hurdles one has to jump through to get the help needed. (@probablynotno) Remember you can get in contact with us and suggest a topic, be a gues

TW: rape, sexual assault, child sexual abuse Consent. It’s a given, right? You would just say no if you didn’t want to do something, ‘cause no means no, right? Wrong. Research from Edwards et al., (2014) found that a third of male university students didn’t know what rape was, and would even go so far as to rape a woman if they knew no one would find out. According to RAINN, 75% of rape and sexual assault against women goes unreported. Why? Because 35% of victims were “unclear that it was a crime or that harm was intended” (Department of Justice, 2011). So in a world where Brock Turner can get 6 months in prison for “20 minutes of action”, and Donald Trump, who has 24 individual sexual assault claims against him, is the President of the United States, we think it’s time we had a conversation about consent, and so do our guests. Up first is Nadia, an academic who has devoted her life to researching gendered violence. She takes us through the harrowing process of the Criminal Justice System and how inaccurate

Did you know that Winston Churchill promoted genocide? Or that Oxford university was part funded by Cecil Rhodes, a man who left his money to further the extension of the British rule and to perfect colonisation? Neither did we. That’s why this month we asked three guests one not-so-simple question: why is my curriculum white? Or in other words, why is my curriculum male, pale and stale? Mariya, a current sabbatical officer at Kings College London, tells us how this is an issue that affects more than just the fortunate few who make it to university, and that a British history is not necessarily a white history (@mariyahussain1). Next up is undergraduate officer at University of Sussex, Savannah. Savannah describes how destructive a non-diverse curriculum can be and how a colonial curriculum is not just limited to Britain (@UGEducationUSSU). And last but by certainly no means least is ex sabbatical officer of UCL, Leah, who was part of the founding movement asking the question “Why is my curriculum white?”.

It's shark week! This month we get the chance to have some pretty frank conversations with three out-of-this-world guests who each have their own unique experiences about what it's like when the decorators are in. SPOILER ALERT Taboos will be broken! First up is Laura - the phenomenal activist behind the "End the Tampon Tax" campaign. She tells us how this campaign is much more than just saving a few pennies, and what the best and worst thing is about having such a public facing campaign. Second is Lysander, a man who has periods. Listen for his take on the experience and what it's like when society doesn't accommodate for you. Last, but by all means certainly not least is Stephanie. Find out about her brilliant work with The Homeless Period London, and what it's like to have a period on the streets. Get in contact with us and suggest a topic, be a guest, suggest someone else, call us in, or give us feedback! Twitter: @kickkyriarchy Email: kickingthekyriarchy@gmail.com Facebook: Kicking The Kyriarchy

We sit down with three kickass guests who are all sticking it to the man and breaking down what it means to be a sex worker in the current political climate. Meet Isla, an anonymous sex worker who calls attention to the unjust normative beauty standards that sex workers can be objected to, and how the Nordic model isn’t reducing the demand for sex work, but simply increasing the human rights violations. Up next is Irish-born Laura. A dominatrix , mother and, political activist. Hear how she continues to be a kickass mother to her children despite the skepticism, and is constantly lobbying the Irish government for decriminalisation of sex work. Finally, Siobhan, the co-director of Sex Workers Opera. Find out how opera and sex work really do go hand in hand, and what they’re doing to create a space for sex workers all over the world. Get in contact with us and suggest a topic, be a guest, suggest someone else, call us in, or give us feedback! Twitter: @KickKyriarchy Email: kickingthekyriarchy@gmail.com F

What is it like being non-binary in a society that forces you to choose between being either a man or a woman? Join Puj, Sean, CJ and Ashley who talk queering up the classroom, what the government is doing (or isn't doing) to recognise non-binary identities and what a medical transition is like.Listen to Puj at 03:10, Sean at 12:29, CJ at 35:24 and Ashley at 59:55 Do we say something that could have been phrased better, or say something that is totally inaccurate? Call us out! Or maybe you're thinking 'huh, I'd be pretty good at talking about that!' Be a guest! Or even want to suggest a topic for us to cover, or contribute in any which way or form. Let us know! You can do all three of those on our website: www.kickingthekyriarchy.org. Gmail: kickingthekyriarchy@gmail.com Twitter: @KickKyriarchy Facebook: Kicking the Kyriarchy  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Is beauty oppressive, or freeing? What does it mean to be a fat activist? Is that linked to class? Does colourism affect black hair? What do we mean by "nude"?Join three kick ass guests, Rae, Ashna and Barbara as they explore what beauty means to them. Did we say something that was totally in appropriate, or could have been phrased better? Is there a topic that you think really deserves some airtime? Maybe you, or someone else would make a kickass guest? Get in contact on: www.kickingthekyriarchy.org kickingthekyriarchy@gmail.com @KickKyriarchy www.facebook.com/kickingthekyriarchy  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

How do you recognise your own, and navigate other people's? Can you be both privileged and oppressed simultaneously? Our three guests Madi, Sarah and Ben give us their thoughts. Please note: since the making of this podcast, it has been pointed out to us that it is preferred to use the word "non disabled" instead of "able" when describing people without disabilities. Thank you for letting us know, and we will do so from now on. Do we say something that could have been phrased better, or say something that is totally inaccurate? Call us out! Or maybe you're thinking 'huh, I'd be pretty good at talking about that!' Be a guest! Or even want to suggest a topic for us to cover, or contribute in any which way or form. Let us know! You can do all three of those on our website: www.kickingthekyriarchy.org. You can also get in contact with us via Gmail: kickingthekyriarchy@gmail.com Twitter: @KickKyriarchy Facebook: Kicking the Kyriarchy  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.