A popular podcast that sets out to “figure out what the heck gender is” will be back in your feeds Oct. 31.
Gender Reveal returns for its 10th season on Monday, with a new slate of episodes featuring conversations with a slew of trans artists, writers, activists, thinkers and more. Produced by Ozzy Llinas Goodman and hosted by Tuck Woodstock, the show aims to explore the nuances of the trans experience.
“I feel like it’s extremely valuable to have this space once a week where people can hear trans people talking about something that isn’t necessarily how the government and society and New York Times editorial writers are trying to run their lives,” Woodstock says.
Episodes in past seasons have featured conversations with a variety of trans artists, activists and public figures like comedian River Butcher, Two-Spirit educator Kai Minosh Pyle and Xtra advice columnist Kai Cheng Thom. This upcoming season will include trans union organizers, authors and conversations around trans Indigeneity and land acknowledgements.
Woodstock says it’s important that the podcast offers something new and interesting to trans listeners who’ve been out as trans for a while and in trans communities for a while. But it can also be a resource for people figuring things out regarding their gender.
“I hope that this show is useful to people who are just coming out as trans, people who will end up coming out as trans within months of starting the show (which happens constantly) as well as people who are interested in learning more about the trans experience,” they say.
Each season regularly features Q&A episodes that dig deep into everything from pronouns to medical transition to shifting identities and labels. And for newcomers just diving in, Woodstock and Goodman have curated “starter packs” of episodes for listeners keen on certain subject areas, such as “trans politics” with Jules Gill-Peterson, Chase Strangio, Paige Kreisman and Mauree Turner or “TV and media representation” with Fran Tirado, Amy Schneider and former Xtra editor Tre’vell Anderson.
“There are a lot of stories being told about trans people these days. The media has figured out that trans people exist enough to write 1,000 articles that are just ‘do you know trans people exist?’ And if the framing goes beyond that, it’s usually ‘do you know trans people exist and are sad?’” Woodstock says.
“It’s good you know that trans people exist and are sad, but very rarely am I hearing any stories about why people like to be trans, why it could be good to be trans and what is the joy in being a trans person.”
A de facto community organization
In addition to the weekly podcast, Gender Reveal also hosts a non-profit merch shop featuring rotating designs by trans artists (one of which was Niko Stratis’ iconic “Trains Flag” mug featured in last year’s Xtra holiday gift guide) with all proceeds going back to artists and toward mutual aid and grants. There’s also a bustling Gender Reveal Slack where listeners come together to share resources.
“It’s really become a gathering hub for a lot of trans people to find community outside of just the show, which has been incredible, and also to find resources outside of just listening to the podcast,” Woodstock says.
The podcast is also in the midst of accepting applications for its annual fall grant program, which distributes microgrants of $500 to trans artists and activists of colour. Since 2018, more than 70 trans artists, activists and collectives have received grants through the program. Woodstock says a panel of trans people of colour select grant recipients each year, and they’re all funded by the Gender Reveal Patreon and community donations.
“We’re able to grant as many grants as we possibly can with a budget that allows us to pay however many number of judges we need, depending on what volume of applications we get,” he said.
Woodstock says that while $500 may not seem like a lot, it can be a huge difference-maker in whether a project happens or not, or if a trans person is able to pay their rent.
Past grants have gone to punk organizing collectives, R&B musicians and efforts to involve Indigenous folks in local Prides. However, the grants are not policed, and recipients do not have to justify what they use the money on—if someone receives a grant for an art project and chooses to use that money on rent, Woodstock says that is more than fine. What matters is getting money to trans people who need it.
“I mean this with my entire heart: if you’re a person who says $500 isn’t a lot of money, you should donate $500,” Woodstock says. “If that’s not a meaningful number for you, then why don’t you just hand it to someone for whom that would be a meaningful number.”
The new season of Gender Reveal drops Oct. 31. Applications for the 2022 fall microgrant program close at 11:59 p.m. ET on that day.
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