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Visibility, Humor and Trans Stories with Tony Zosherafatain #58
32 Plays5 days ago
Description:
Daniel W.K. Lee and Mattie Bynum sit down with filmmaker and documentarian Tony Zosherafatain to unpack the emotional impact of telling trans stories in today’s political climate. Tony reflects on how his own transition inspired his filmmaking journey and discusses the deep connections he formed with the people featured in Trans in Trumpland. The conversation explores visibility, progress, backlash, and the realities of navigating life as a trans person in red states across America. Alongside political commentary and personal reflection, the episode also celebrates queer humor, resilience, community, and the joy that continues to exist even during difficult times.
Guest Descriptors:
Insightful, Compassionate, Fearless
Episode Tags:
#LGBTQ+Rights #TransVisibility #DocumentaryFilmmaking #QueerStorytelling #PoliticalCommentary #communitybuilding #IdentityandRepresentation #MentalHealth #TransinTrumpland #QueerJoy
Tags Again:
#LGBTQ+Rights#TransVisibility #DocumentaryFilmmaking #QueerStorytelling #PoliticalCommentary #communitybuilding #IdentityandRepresentation #MentalHealth #TransinTrumpland #QueerJoy
Recommended
Transcript
Emotional Beginnings and Generational Progress
00:00:00
Speaker
That scene was so emotional. Like, I was in the room with Ash and we were showing each other our photos. It showed me how much progress has been made so that Ash's generation can come out younger and see themselves. At 15, 16, I didn't know what the hell trans was. I think that's part of the reason why they're attacking us so much is because of how much progress has been made. like a pendulum, right? I'm proud of these younger trans and queer kids coming out.
00:00:29
Speaker
Bless them. That's amazing.
Introduction to 'Power Beyond Pride' & Guest Tony
00:00:35
Speaker
Hello and welcome to Power Beyond Pride, a weekly queer change making podcast bringing you voices and ideas from across our fierce and fabulous spectrum to transform our world.
00:00:47
Speaker
I'm Daniel W.K. Lee, poet, author, and Billie Jean is not my lover. Ooh, yes, Billie Jean. And I am Maddie Vino, the one and only loudest in the building, the sweetest, the biggest heart, and also the most ferocious lion you will ever meet. That is who I am in a nutshell.
00:01:07
Speaker
Yay. And Billie Jean was not my lover, but I did beat it a couple times. So I just, I mean, we got go there. ah ah but We are your co-hosts on today's QueerCast journey and we are delighted to have Tony.
00:01:26
Speaker
ah Okay, hold on. Wait a minute. Tony is not Zosh or Offiton? Offiton. said it. Yes. Okay. That's good. You said it. Thank you, baby. See, I heard him. He has a beautiful voice. Tony is an award-winning director, producer, and writer known for his timely and innovative stories. His work focuses on the ways in which people navigate identity and intersectional issues. Welcome, Tony.
00:01:54
Speaker
Thank you so much. It's an honor to be on this podcast. and you said my name so well. It was like you're pro. yeah Like we practiced it the before we we started or something. We did not just have a 10-minute tutorial, okay? Yes.
00:02:13
Speaker
yes Yes. Thank you so much for joining us on the podcast, Tony. For our audience, just to name a few of of your titles. You've done short films Fratello, Venture Out, and short documentaries i Am Isaac, Call Me Kai, mean Finding Cedar, and your feature documentary Trans and Trumpland.
Tony's Journey into Filmmaking for Social Justice
00:02:38
Speaker
why don't we so I'll start off with this question. How has your lived experience shaped or imprinted itself on your work? Yeah, absolutely. I first got into filmmaking in 2012, and that was only a year before i started my transition. I'm a trans man, so... I my my identity directly impacts my work because it was transitioning that got me into filmmaking because I saw how little stories there were at that time and even now about trans people. So I was like, OK, well, I i studied some film. Why don't I get into this and tell these stories I need to be told? Because I'm I feel like at the time and right now, trans people are not in front of the camera or behind the camera as much as they need to be. And queer people, too. So that's that's how I got into it, was I just felt this deep need to tell our community stories.
00:03:33
Speaker
So
Experiences Filming 'Trans in Trumpland'
00:03:34
Speaker
immediately, right away, i just connected this need for social justice for trans and queer people with filmmaking. So... I mostly do documentaries, but I am getting into scripted a little bit more. I have some friends that are like, can you produce my scripted films? And I'm like, all right, I can do this. but but But yeah, yeah, I love telling authentic stories. You know what I mean? Yeah.
00:03:56
Speaker
No, I love it. And i think that's a beautiful thing that you allow space to share those authentic stories. So I got a question that's going be flipped opposite. So instead of how have you imprinted on your your documentaries and films, how has meeting the people you have worked with imprinted on your life?
00:04:13
Speaker
Like, how has it reflected to make you either be more introspective or to value things that has happened to you? Yeah, definitely. Like, trans in Trump land, filming that as a New Yorker going to red states and meeting these trans people that have to deal with very oppressive laws at the state level to absolutely transform my life and the way I approach filmmaking. I felt like I became a better listener. I became more empathic meeting them. And I realized like how much privilege I have living in a blue state as a trans person, because I i can still at the end of the day, fill my testosterone prescription. i can have some rights if I get discriminated against, but these poor people that I met, they don't have those rights. And we live in the same country and that's crazy. So they imprinted on me a lot. They made me more grateful. They made me more committed to telling these stories and they made me like more committed to fighting for trans rights and they're just lovely people because they're fighting every day in these awful states every day and they're so they're still like happy they still have joy too have you done much kind of follow-up with some of your stuff particularly with they respect to trans and trump plan given this kind of we've gone in this terrible well circle of violence with with our own with our own history i guess
00:05:34
Speaker
Yeah, feels like deja vu. Not even deja vu. feels like the second term now is like honestly worse than the first term, the second Trump term. So, yeah, I've been following up. I stay in touch with all of them. Specifically, i immediately followed up after Trump won with Ash, who's our North Carolina. He's a trans kid. At the time, the filming was only like 16. He's like closer to...
00:05:55
Speaker
18 or 19 now and he's in college. So i was like, how are you doing? You're getting attacked as a trans kid every day. And he's good. And so i i tear I check in with them. Ivana from the third episode, she's down in Mississippi. And I check in with them. I'm like, how are you guys doing? What do you need for me? And they're such like fighters that they're always like, oh, yeah, I'm good. They always hit they're like, yeah, don't worry about me.
00:06:18
Speaker
But i I have thought about a season two. I just I don't know emotionally if I'm ready for that, though. It's a lot.
Progress and Visibility of the Trans Community
00:06:25
Speaker
It's a lot to tell these stories to. I know it is a lot, but we definitely appreciate it as an audience. I just need you to understand that because i my next question was going to be, is there a number two coming? Because I'm telling you, watching it for the third time, i still saw things that I didn't see the first time.
00:06:45
Speaker
And I think a lot of people really who have watched I know for me, I was able to see a part of me in each case, in each person that you talk to, like vodka.
00:06:58
Speaker
First off, honey, I'm very flamboyant as well. I love my fur just like she does. I love it. And I grew up in a black hair styling salon. So I know all about the freeze curls and the pump it up. So I thoroughly enjoyed watching all of them.
00:07:12
Speaker
But I think you could definitely come out a second one. Yes. I think I got to do it. I think I got to go. it would be different states. It'd be still red states, but I think different ones. But I think you're right. Everybody always asks me, like, Tony, when are you doing season two?
00:07:27
Speaker
And I'm like, all right, maybe I got to buckle up and do it. But it's it's emotional, but it's it's joyous, too, though. It's nice to meet these people across the country. Yeah. And isn't that the really the definition of the work? you cut It's like it is arduous, but it does can give you an unexpected joy. Right.
00:07:48
Speaker
So exactly.
Cultural Background and Career Choices
00:07:50
Speaker
It's ah kind of rewarding in that way. I'm going to take a a quick step back with a quick this question. i know from growing up as a child of refugee parents that there is often a lot of pressure for their children to be high achievers.
00:08:07
Speaker
Would you mind sharing what your experience was with like and growing up? What was your journey? You have Iranian father and a Greek mother. Did you get kind of experience a kind of i don't know what's the way to say this like a a desire to ah overachieve perhaps to kind of like feel like you you're you're you're youre you have a place in this world or earn your place in this world?
00:08:33
Speaker
Oh yeah. I mean, i grew up with like Iranian parents there. My dad, if I got an A in a really hard class, he's like, why not A plus? If I got A plus, why not a double A plus? Which doesn't even exist. That's like the type of dad I had. my My mom, like Greek people are a little more chill. They're still like whatever, but... My parents always wanted me to have a better life than they did because they were both immigrants. So it was always ingrained in me and my brother. If you don't do have good grades, you know, you're just going to do physical labor like us. And we don't want you to do that. And they they wanted me ideally to become like a doctor a lawyer. That's very Iranian. But but I became a filmmaker. So I rebelled a little bit.
00:09:13
Speaker
ah Still a successful filmmaker. But yeah, I had that that pressure going up to be like a perfect straight A student athlete. So totally resonates with me. It takes me back to the Cosby show episode where Theo told Claire and Cliff that they had such a high bar set that for their kids is we can never amount to what you have done.
00:09:39
Speaker
And I i'm relate to what you were saying. My dad was the same way. I come home with an A and he's like, okay, your point is, or why couldn't you do better? And I'm like, I got a hundred. What do you to hundred and ten? hundred and twenty? And he was like, why not?
00:09:52
Speaker
Okay, so I i definitely get you on the parents. But I do want to go back just a little bit to Trumpland. Because there was a part of Trumpland that you did that really stuck out to me. And that was the conversations you had with Ash. And by the way, I'm from North Carolina as well.
00:10:07
Speaker
So I totally get all the red state. Good old man. So yes, I live in one myself. But there was a good moment where y'all was sitting there talking and you were you expressed to him that when you grew up before 2000 and before 2005, there was never a conversation centered around trans living, period.
00:10:32
Speaker
So, and then watching the documentary, it was the first thing that stepped out to me with Asher was like, I'll I wish I would have had the opportunity to do what you're doing now in school instead of waiting till later on in life. Because growing up in the 80s and 90s, first off, you didn't even speak about gay and lesbian, let alone even knew that there was even people that that were trans.
00:10:57
Speaker
So how did that moment sit with you and having that time to be able, because it was almost like you were able to go back to your younger self and have a conversation. with Ash. So how did that, I guess my question will be, how did that resonate with you? But also, how do you feel that that resonates with other people who watch your documentary?
00:11:18
Speaker
Yeah, that that scene was so emotional. Like I was in the room with Ash and we were showing each other our photos and he showed a photo of him as a guy. He's already on T. And then i at the same age that he is, that he started transitioning. I showed him my photo and I'm like a girl in it, right? So that was so emotional. And I cried in that scene and it was not made up. Like those tears were flowing. i needed a moment. I needed a Kleenex. And for me, it showed me how much progress has been made.
00:11:48
Speaker
like right now so that Ashes generation can come out younger and see themselves because I didn't have that growing up at 15, 16. I didn't know what the hell trans was. I don't think I knew what like any anything was at that age. I didn't hear trans until 19 in college. So I think that's part of the reason why they're attacking us so much is because of how much progress.
00:12:10
Speaker
has been made. It's like a pendulum, right? So that was a very emotional moment because I saw myself in Ash because I knew at his age too that I was a trans man, but I didn't have the access to treat to testosterone. I didn't have the words yet. So, but I'm proud of Ash that he came out.
00:12:27
Speaker
He did his thing. I'm proud of these younger trans and queer kids coming out. i Bless them. if That's amazing.
Political and Societal Dynamics of Trans Rights
00:12:35
Speaker
Most definitely, because even when you were talking to Ash about it, the first thing I remember, I was thinking in an up come my process thinking process while watching it was,
00:12:46
Speaker
I remember growing up, all I wanted to be was just a woman because I knew I was a woman. I didn't know what trans was until I think someone called me a trans woman when I was 25. And that was the first time I had ever heard trans or be referred to as a trans woman. And I was like, no, baby, I'm a woman.
00:13:03
Speaker
And they're like, no, but you're trans, right? And I was like, okay. I mean, I'm not in transition at this moment. I'm here and I'm sitting and I'm a woman. So I definitely understand that.
00:13:15
Speaker
Absolutely. Well, we will return talking a little bit about Trump land, at least the United States, after we take this short break. Please stay tuned with this episode of Power Beyond Pride, where we're in conversation with Tony Zosia-Rapitan.
00:13:38
Speaker
Welcome back. This is Power Beyond Pride, a queer change making podcast. And I am Daniel W.K. Lee here with my co-host, Maddie Bynum, talking to Tony Zosherapitou.
00:13:51
Speaker
ah my Yes. and i'm like I keep on waiting for a little confirmation. I don't know why. but so my first So my first question back is in this kind of... We were speaking earlier about this kind of turn of the wheel coming back to another Trump administration.
00:14:10
Speaker
Like, it's actually... a ah turn of the wheel that's quite larger in that it doesn't seem that we're actually going anywhere. We're spinning our wheels in terms of have we made much progress and particularly even now, but You know, in your kind of limited long, your limited view of limited by your life view of where you've been and where we are now, how far have we progressed? I think there's been like more visibility since the 90s. I will say that. I think that's happened. I think there's... A little more access to hormones, for example, and gender affirming surgery. But i think you're so right, ah Daniel, with what you said about the pendulum. It keeps swinging.
00:14:56
Speaker
I feel like politicians swing it on purpose and create like new scapegoats and now trans people are scapegoats. So it's like it doesn't feel like we've actually gone too far since like Stonewall, for example.
00:15:09
Speaker
I do
Systemic Challenges and Representation Limitations
00:15:10
Speaker
think some things have changed, but other things have stayed the same, to be honest. Like what things? I think like access to hormones. I think like a lot of the research like about transition has changed. I think there are more trans characters and queer characters on screen.
00:15:28
Speaker
But the things that haven't changed is like broader understanding of trans people. Like just having compassion towards trans people, especially in religious communities. I feel like that hasn't really changed a lot.
00:15:40
Speaker
It's interesting that you said that because I was going to i ask you, do you think that we are more visible or do you think we're more of a novelty? Because sometimes I feel like people treat us like a novelty sometimes, more so than giving us the credit that we deserve of just being here in the same space with you.
00:15:56
Speaker
I agree, Maddie. I think right now it's a lot more novelty, but I feel like when we had that trans tipping point in 2014 with Laverne Cox, it was more like visibility that saw us as people. But why the hell do we how did we go from 2014 to now with all the scapegoating? I don't understand. i don't know.
00:16:16
Speaker
I feel like in a pandemic shifted everything. yeah But I don't know. Yeah, I think i think i think we we just need to be seen as as humans. That's it.
00:16:27
Speaker
That's a bare minimum. of But we're not there yet. did the Did the pandemic actually change your creative calculus a little bit? I think it did because we're all like stuck inside and I feel like we all needed outlets, whatever that was. A lot of people did the crochet or whatever. This baking. Don't frown on crocheting. Don't frown on crocheting because I crochet, cross stitch and knit. Yes, don't do it that. No, crochet is a fine, it's a fine art.
00:16:57
Speaker
But I feel like I turned into, yeah, like I committed more to my filmmaking. I think it's 2020 and onwards. Definitely. It was a lot of editing was a lot. There was a lot of editing for Transit Trump Land 2020. So yeah I guess I had a pro. The pandemic had its pros and cons.
00:17:16
Speaker
Oh, I definitely had a grow up during the pandemic. I'm not going lie to you. I think going inside for a few weeks and more a beautiful thing. Because when I came back out, people were like, oh, you're good. say I was like, I needed a break. Yeah, it's pretty so good. Y'all getting on my nerves.
00:17:32
Speaker
So I can agree to that. But let me ask this question. I do want to get political again one more time because I love politics. But so New York City is considered a safe sanctuary city for not just trans, but LGBTQ members and also immigrants.
00:17:48
Speaker
Do you think that we will see more safe sanctuary cities pop up in the United States in the next coming years only because we are living under a tyrant that thinks that he can abolish anything and everything?
00:18:00
Speaker
I think so. i think like i I'm trying to be an optimist. I'm a Sagittarius. I'm like, I think that because the pendulum has swung so far right, it's going to come back left if we if it is just going to be a pendulum kind of thing. But I think we will see more pop up.
00:18:17
Speaker
Across the country, I know Northeast has a ton of them, but maybe I'd like to see like more states in the South, like Austin become one, if it hasn't already. I'm sure Atlanta already is. But yeah, i think I think we'll see more because when you have this much like dictatorship, there's more resistance too.
00:18:34
Speaker
It's always like a counterbalance, I feel like. I think that though in the South there there is something and I'm i'm not this a speculative I guess that I mean we have and in Louisiana a a pretty awful governor and it's not like our shit face governor Ron DeSantis 2.0 and that's something to be called 2.0 of him but would try to hate this kind of like tyrannical ah like application of their agenda and I can see how
00:19:06
Speaker
even like in a state like Louisiana that where even though New Orleans manu like produces or like really funds the state and because of our tax base in so many ways that the state would like would enact like punitive actions somehow towards you know a city like New Orleans that'd be like oh we're going to be it we want to be a sanctuary city or something like that I do think that there there could be and kind of resistance in the South or parts greater South, deep South or whatever there where there could there could be like another level of of suppression, not not just by the president, but obviously by the governors.
00:19:52
Speaker
o Yeah, that Ron DeSantis effect, like across the South. Yeah. um I was like, that you got to remember Georgia's still a red state. And if if Texas, if Houston hasn't become a safe sanctuary city by now with all the LGBTQ plus members that live in Houston and Dallas, Fort Worth.
00:20:12
Speaker
I don't foresee it happening. And only reason I say that is because i look at it like this and and i'm I'm going to relate it back to, and I might get some flack for this, but I do not care because I stand on everything I say.
00:20:23
Speaker
I'm going to relate this back to a racial situation. No matter how loud Black people are or how loud LGBTQ numbers are cisgender will always be louder because their money and their voices carry over ours.
00:20:39
Speaker
And I think that that's what's going to always stop us from being able to cohabitate peacefully. Right. Because you got to think about it, the the the victim, the hit dog will holler every time. So that they playing victim so hard and so loud that no matter how much progression we have, whether it's Stonewall, even whenever we got gay rights to be able to marry and equally be married, like yet again,
00:21:05
Speaker
You gave us a bone, but you didn't let us get any closer to the table. Because even though, and I say this a lot, but even though we had the equality to get married, who benefited from that? Cis, white, gay men did. And lesbians, not the entire LGBTQ plus community did not benefit from that. So even though we went far, we still haven't gotten nowhere. That's my opinion. No, I agree with you. I think that if we want to think about it in terms of like system,
00:21:33
Speaker
you know, that's undeniable because what did marriage equality do, right? It just enlarged this kind of this this package of privileges or rights, if you want to insist on that.
00:21:45
Speaker
And just I said, OK, you're now allowed to have these things. And what has the kind of what has gay rights or any kind of rights have been for the most part being or saying saying that we deserve these rights we deserve these rights
The Role of Individuality and Need for Systemic Change
00:22:00
Speaker
and so we're we're just trying to enlarge these circles rather than what radicals and queer people or queers in terms of like capital q politics which has been saying no the whole structure is prop the problem the problem is the idea of
00:22:16
Speaker
of portioning rights for specific types of people. Everyone should have these rights, inheritance rights and all these things. Why should they be the providence or special for married people?
00:22:30
Speaker
That's I think that's why we continue to just be so incremental, because our aspirations aren't to dismantle the systems. It's only to kind of like ingratiate ourselves to those things so we can enjoy them.
00:22:47
Speaker
So I'm with you there. at least kind of like, yeah, that i our our our vision of politics has been on the short side because we were fighting for specific rights that we feel entitled to rather than always attacking a system that is just is part of these bifurcations or divisions and stuff like that you know yeah It's like after, I feel like the LGBTQ movement became something where like we wanted to get ingrained into this like cis heteronormative culture and lifestyle when we don't really at the end of the day need that. There's nothing wrong with not wanting that or being different than that. And I agree, like we have to, I feel like topple the system to create better lives for everybody. Like I think, yeah, I agree with you both there.
00:23:42
Speaker
that's like when you try and become something that you're not, it backfires. And I feel like we need to embrace more like queer transness than anything. I think the beautiful thing about individuality is the fact that we are all individuals. um I can never remember the lady's name, but she's the the doctor that always talked about how we're all from Black people, the little short lady that has been around for years.
00:24:05
Speaker
But I remember she made a statement one time and she was like, instead of being a melting pot, why can't we just be a salad and let everybody be individual in who they are? I think that's the beauty of America.
00:24:15
Speaker
I can be five foot nine, thick, curvaceous, gorgeous and sexy and strut down the street and you can be five foot two and a size two and do the same thing. And we're both should be happy to be able to do and be our own selves. I think the the moment that we're trying to all be one thing is the issue that stops us from getting past where we are and furthering the future. Because like I say, individual athletes make us special.
00:24:46
Speaker
yeah Yeah, and and it actually kind of circle back to what you were saying and earlier, which is that this kind of the bigger the platform, right? Like the the we can take up more space and our voices are amplified more or or whatever. And that test that has a way of distorting the playing field. And that is always a consideration in which how we can...
00:25:10
Speaker
we how we are rendered, how we are perceived, how we get to be represented and stuff like that. And even though there's always this there's always our own pushes to do that, there's still ah limitations to those things because the existing power structures kind of like will can have effect on for example, how much distribution Tony's films can have or the like how, quote unquote, pal palatable it might be if the subjects are trans or trans people of color or poor or and that kind of thing. So, yeah, I mean, I think there's always going to be a limits of limits of representation and stuff like that, not just in terms of the marketplace, but also as an ends, so to speak, towards like liberation, but kind of keep on thinking about, oh, representation is the is the
00:26:03
Speaker
Is the or or even diversity, right, is is the is the answer. It's no, it's not the answer. it's just a tool to have more to justice. If the work isn't moving towards justice, then we're we're still remaining short sighted to it all. I guess we have to take a break once again.
00:26:20
Speaker
You know, the same must be going by so fast. The conversation is so good. I
Humor and Resilience in the LGBTQ+ Community
00:26:25
Speaker
mean, they do They do. They do. We're taking a short break here, but we'll be back and to ask more insightful and prying questions to our guest, Tony Zosura.
00:26:47
Speaker
Welcome back to Power Beyond Pride, where we are talking with the amazing Tony. I am not going to butcher his last name, so do not listen for me to say it. But I will say that he is gorgeous, beautiful, sexy, and he is very smart and intelligent. So it's a great conversation. And I'm also accompanied by my amazing co-host that I cannot leave out, Mr. Daniel W.K. Lee, who is the most wittiest person in the room always. And I love it.
00:27:15
Speaker
So since we are back, I do have one question for you, Mr. Tony, is what is one feeling or lesson that you have inside of you? And when you are creating the films that you want to leave on people who watch your films and your documentaries, what's your lasting impression?
00:27:34
Speaker
My lasting impression is that. trans and queer people, we are so fucking badass because I'll tell you why. We find joy and humor in the most worst situations on earth. And our humor and our sarcasm is unmatched. I gotta be honest with you. There's nothing like LGBTQ humor. We're just hilarious. So my lasting impression is no matter what you're going through, no matter how hard it is, if you live in a red state, you can find joy, you can find community, and you can outlive your bigots.
00:28:07
Speaker
Yeah. I that. Love that. Sarcasm. Sarcasm. I'm gay and I'm Cantonese and Cantonese is the most sarcastic language in the fucking world. it is right up my alley. I get you. All right.
00:28:22
Speaker
ah It's time for speed round. It's time for speed questions. Speed round questions. Let's get that right. And so we're just going to get to know you a little better. we want you to tap into your reptilian brain and try not to overthink the questions. that Just let it out as fast as you can.
00:28:42
Speaker
Ready for this? Well, not too fast. Let's do it. All right. Is that like truth or dare? what It could be. you know all you know no We say truth or dare, but I mean, it's more so truth than it is dare. But yeah, you know, wish I think that's how we should come up with, Daniel. We should come up with dares for people to do if they don't want to ask the question. and sort of All right. So your first question is going to be, what is your favorite ice cream flavor?
00:29:11
Speaker
Rocky Road. So good. ah That's my go-to. Rocky Road. Does that have marshmallow in it? I don't remember. Yeah, it has everything. don't know. Pretzels too, I think.
00:29:23
Speaker
Pretzels. Okay. I haven't really ice cream in a long time. So, all right. What is a personal motto or mantra that you live by? o that's a good one.
00:29:36
Speaker
I think glass half empty, half full, because I
Personal Insights and Interests
00:29:40
Speaker
always try, no matter what I'm going through, to see how the glass can be full. Every day I practice gratitude at the end of the day. So I feel like, no I guess the motto would be, no matter what you're going through, there's always something to be grateful for. That is so true.
00:29:57
Speaker
So true. What is specific way... But it has to be. I think you you are correct. And going back into what you said earlier about just being staying joyful and hopeful, you have to find the joy in everything.
00:30:11
Speaker
You do. You do. That's the way we get forward. So what's one specific way you prioritize your mental health? That's a big one. Hmm. I get movement in every day, even if it's just a 30 minute walk. I'm also, I always have a lot of energy. So if I don't get it out, I get like kind of crabby. So I take care of myself first thing in the morning. I try and go for a little walk, get the sun, like my sun in, go to the gym.
00:30:38
Speaker
Because I feel like when you get those endorphins running physically, your mental health improves right away. That's just me though, maybe. And your day goes by so much smoother. I start mine off with exercise too. it It's the best way to get your day to go.
00:30:54
Speaker
yeah Yes, I am a 5.30 a.m. gym person as well. So absolutely. Well, I didn't say that. I don't know. I'm 5.30. I'm in the bed at 5.30. I'll meet you at 8 o'clock. All
00:31:13
Speaker
all right. Next question. What's a specific moment when you felt truly connected to a group of people? e and Going back to the sarcasm humor thing, like I went LGBTQ Outdoors Outdoor Fest. It's like this organization called LGBTQ Outdoors I volunteer for. it was last last a month and I was there with 150 people.
00:31:36
Speaker
trans and queer people, all kinds of LGBTQ spectrum. And I was like, felt so connected to them because we were just in nature together. we were in cabins together. And I'm telling you, I was laughing my ass off every second. Like, I have never felt so connected. That's when I realized like our humor is unmatched.
00:31:54
Speaker
But yeah, i would say that would be one moment. I felt we were one. Drawing off of that moment that you felt connected, what's one piece of advice you'd give to someone trying to be a better ally in this day and age?
00:32:08
Speaker
in I think the best allies, they don't assume they know everything and they listen. And if they don't know something, they do their own research. They ask politely. But it's just all about listening and not assuming you know better than than the minority that you're talking about.
00:32:28
Speaker
100%. Absolutely. Next question. Do you have a favorite tattoo? Ooh, yeah. I have so many tattoos.
00:32:38
Speaker
One of them, my so arm sleeve covers up my phalloplasty scars. So phalloplasty is like bottom surgery for trans men. So i think it would probably be my arm sleeve. like that I have a... spartan soldier on my bicep so i think that's cool because it's like my inner warrior so yeah my tattoo is my arm sleeve is all greek side and then i have a back tattoo that's persian that's my iranian side so i have like my ethnicities on my body yeah it's like i might get more but yeah my spartan so soldier is my favorite so far
00:33:13
Speaker
Not might. and I mean, I think most people who ever have tattoos are just like, they're just waiting or saving for the next one. I
Tony's Aspirations and Preferences
00:33:20
Speaker
know am. Okay. So what's one thing you wish more people knew about you?
00:33:29
Speaker
o yeah on dantan i'm like, well, I am single. So there's that. yeah yeah i mean, the can't sound a bag, y'all.
00:33:47
Speaker
Put that in a video clip. Thanks. I know, right? I guess. happened but Man, one thing I'm like, my well, my first language was Greek. So that's that's pretty cool. I guess like i had to learn English. I speak four languages in Spanish, little bit of Farsi, Greek, and then in I guess English too. I guess I speak English, maybe not. I'm trying to think what else. don't know. Maybe I think I'm boring or something. I want to climb Mount Everest. So that's maybe something that people don't know about me. i want to try and climb it. um So that's cool.
00:34:23
Speaker
I know it sounds like a crazy goal, but i can do it. and So, yeah, I don't know. Are those interesting facts? I'm not sure. yeah Maybe the single thing is the interesting.
00:34:34
Speaker
I will say send me pictures. Send me pictures when you get to Mount Everest. I'm not coming with you, but the other rest, I'll pack with you. i'll send you yeah I'll send you a video so you can feel like you're there. There you go.
00:34:48
Speaker
What's one thing you're currently obsessed with that you're slightly ashamed about? o I'm like, oh, no. No. I know there's but like i PG rated. No.
00:35:02
Speaker
What am I obsessed with? Oh, have so many obsessions. I do have a Marvel obsession, DC obsession. So like I am a bit of like a comic board book nerd. Like I just, I just finished Peacemaker season two, which is like ah a DC comic show. So yeah, I do. I do have a little bit of that nerd in me. Yeah.
00:35:24
Speaker
Okay, so since you brought that up, since you brought that DC or Marvel? Or are they equally matched?
00:35:32
Speaker
Ooh. I think it's Marvel slightly beats DC. But DC's recent movies and shows, they're on the upswing, like Superman.
00:35:43
Speaker
So, could be i could answer DC in a few years. I liked it. Yeah, I think it had a good, like, theme, like, empathy and stuff. You didn't like it?
00:35:56
Speaker
i loved it. I thought it was actually the best superhero movie I've seen in a long time, if not ever. Yeah, I thought it was amazing. Even though I love every Henry Cavill. Yeah, I thought it was actually really great. I felt like it was a little too... But you know what? It's funny. It took me back more to the comic book. I will say that. So it was more comic bookish and it was cinematic.
00:36:16
Speaker
But I thought it was a little too trying to be funny, I guess, is what I got from it. You know what it was? It was very earnest. And that can be very arresting in our very sarcastic gay queer milieu. We're like, we're like, is this earnest?
00:36:35
Speaker
and we we're like, we don't know what to do with that. Especially the dynamic between Superman and his dog. I was kind of like, um... is this It wasn't even his dog. It's his cousin's dog. It's his cousin's. Yeah. Well, I mean, oh yeah. Okay, my bad. I'm sorry. I did fall asleep halfway through it. Don't sue me, okay? Oh no. but I think it's a it it earns it's it's it it earns like us a full feelinging that
00:37:06
Speaker
yeah Guess I gotta go sit and watch it all over here. You gotta have the director of Superman so you can grill him. Oh yeah, James got it. I know, I have learned this day and age. Let me be careful what I say. Don't come after me to direct the Superman. I was not trying to put down your film. So if you are listening to me, I'll cry. I promise you. It was cute.
00:37:27
Speaker
I'm good. Everybody else loved it. There you go. Oh, that's my PSA. Ha! Yeah, you got to be careful nowadays. You can't save us so much because you will get canceled. Which I'm actually, knew but that's another that's another conversation for another whole show. So I'm going to stay off of that tangent for a second and come back and ask you, what is a place in life that, or not even place, but I guess a place in life or place in time that has made you feel the most grounded and belonging to yourself,
00:37:55
Speaker
Hmm. I'm a, I'm an ocean person. Water. Water is my element. Whenever, especially if there's a really good LGBTQ beach called Reese Beach in Brooklyn, whenever I'm there, I feel so grounded because I'm surrounded by community.
00:38:11
Speaker
but So yeah, the ocean, immediate grounding in the ocean. And then finally, what does power beyond pride mean
Following Tony's Work and Podcast Conclusion
00:38:20
Speaker
to you? e I think it's going beyond your identity to connect with people, but also being proud of your identity. Because I feel like my identity has shaped me.
00:38:35
Speaker
My adverseity adversities in life as a trans person have shaped me to become more wise, become more empathetic. So I think my pride is my power in a way.
00:38:47
Speaker
i like that. Where can people follow you in your work? Oh yeah, the the social media. The promoting. um if If you want to learn more about Trans and Trumpland, we have a handy dandy website, transandtrumpland.com. We're also on Instagram, Trans and Trumpland, Facebook, Trans and Trumpland.
00:39:12
Speaker
And then me, if you can spell my last name, you can find me on Facebook. And then my Instagram though is super easy. It's at Tony Z Films. So T-O-N-Y-Z Films. So I made it easy for everybody. I'm not on TikTok really, so don't ask me about that. Oh, it's good because based time that is... I am, but i'm I'm too like millennial boomer to use it.
00:39:41
Speaker
Hey, I'm older than you. I got lights. And I got into it. It's easy because it's very addictive. Well, Daniel, that's because you're winning.
00:39:53
Speaker
That's a whole other conversation, Mr. Voyeur and exhibitionist over there. Look, we're not having in that conversation tonight. The show is almost open. You're walking up in the beginning of the show about your voyeuristic tendencies there.
00:40:08
Speaker
ah But I will say, I think I have four videos on TikTok. So I'm right there with you. And my niece cracks me up. She's always like you need to do more. And I'm like, it's too many social media outlets. Look here, I can't keep up with all of them.
00:40:22
Speaker
too many. They're all pretty much compromised. The only one i'm I'm trying to like that is, I would say politically not compromised upscrolled and it's still a small platform. But anyways, I just want to thank you so much, Tony, again for taking the time to have a conversation or have a conversation with us. And please join us again. We'd love to have you back.
00:40:46
Speaker
Yeah. Thank you both for having me. I loved this conversation. I love this podcast. Awesome. Well, thank y'all. Thank you. That makes us feel so special. Thank you so much, Mr. Towning. And yet again, I'm not going to say thank you 20 more seven times, but I will say you have been a delight, truly a delight to sit and talk with tonight. And I've enjoyed it.
00:41:10
Speaker
Thoroughly enjoyed it. And for everyone listening, I am your co-host, Maddie Finum. Like I said before, I am the loudest person in the room, and I love being that person. And you can follow me on my social medias at Instagram at MaddieSymones737, at Facebook at Maddie Finum.
00:41:26
Speaker
And did just tell y'all I had a TikTok, so I guess I need to promote that as well. And I, hold on, I think the name of that one is the same as my Instagram, MaddieSymones737. And I'm your co-host, Daniel W.K. Lee, poet, author, and I admit, Gen Alpha slang kind of slays. And you can follow me at strongplum on Instagram and upscrolled. I am on TikTok, but I don't remember what it is. I think it's strongplum as well. Remember to subscribe and get your friends, lovers, neighbors, who enemies, frenemies to subscribe to Power Beyond Pride on Spotify.
00:42:03
Speaker
Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts. And check out our site at PowerBeyondPride.com. Power Beyond Pride is the project of A Great Idea, clear-owned design and content agency. Learn more about them at agreatidea.com.
00:42:19
Speaker
This episode is produced by Shane Lucas. Maddie Bynum is the project developer. Our editor is Jarrett Redding, with support from Ian Wilson. And me and Daniel are both just a portion of our podcast host team. We are all awesome, fabulous and beautiful. And we invite you to send in your questions and comments to Power Beyond Pride so we can stay in the moment and answer everything that you have.
00:42:43
Speaker
Check out our new episodes each week and we look forward to queer change making with you next time. Thank you from all of us at Power Beyond Pride.