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History, Trans Legacy, and Courage with Sophie Edwards #57
36 Plays12 days ago
Description:
This episode explores why history matters in the fight for LGBTQ+ visibility and belonging. Sophie Edwards discusses the importance of creating trans-centered educational content that goes beyond explaining trans people to cis audiences and instead helps trans people understand their own historical legacy. The conversation examines healthcare, gender-affirming care, political challenges facing queer communities in Canada and beyond, and the role social media plays in public education. Sophie also reflects on language, identity, and the ways cultural narratives shape how communities are understood. Together, the hosts and guest unpack the power of storytelling as a tool for connection and resistance
Guest Descriptors:
- Insightful
- Curious
- Authentic
Episode Tags:
#TransHistory #TransgenderAdvocacy #LGBTQRights #QueerEducation #GenderIdentity #VoiceFeminization #CanadianPolitics #communitybuilding #HistoricalStorytelling #TransVisibility
Tags Again:
#TransHistory #TransgenderAdvocacy #LGBTQRights #QueerEducation #GenderIdentity #VoiceFeminization #CanadianPolitics #communitybuilding #HistoricalStorytelling #TransVisibility
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Purpose
00:00:00
Speaker
I think for a lot of trans creators, a lot of it is geared towards cis people and geared toward helping cis people better understand what we are and what we're about. It is important to educate people to like counter all of these ridiculous narratives they're putting in. I wanted to make content that was specifically for trans people. My goal is to help trans people understand our place in history.
00:00:26
Speaker
Hello, 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.
00:00:38
Speaker
I am Maddie Bynum, the hostess with the mostest. I am, like I say all the time, a comedian, an actress, a... an activist, a lover of all things, passionate about many things, and very quickly, easily will block anybody and everybody. That's
Guest Introduction: Sophie Edwards
00:00:54
Speaker
just who I am. I'm a Leo, so hear me roar.
00:00:57
Speaker
And I am also just in company with the amazing Daniel, my co-host. So Daniel, take it away. Hi, I'm Daniel, poet, author, Palestinian liberation agitator and former fat kid.
00:01:12
Speaker
We are co-hosts on today's Queercast journey. I'm very excited about today's guests. She's a Canadian writer, historian, and voice feminization coach.
00:01:26
Speaker
Sophie Edwards is the host of We Have Always Existed, a video series that explores the rich history of transgender people in the ancient Mediterranean and near East.
00:01:39
Speaker
Welcome to Power Beyond Pride. Thank you. Thank
Life in Canada: Positives and Challenges
00:01:42
Speaker
you. I've been accused of those things before, so let's see if they're true or not. but I love it. Well, Sophie, thank you again for being here today. i hope you are enjoying yourself, even though we just got started so far. i hope that you are enjoying the banter between the two of us and look forward to more coming your way. Let's get started about, first off, can we just have a round of applause? Our first Canadian guest since we started the show. so
00:02:12
Speaker
Awesome. Breaking the maple ceiling.
00:02:18
Speaker
poutine ceiling. Good Lord. Yes, yes. i I want to ask two good things about Canada or two interesting things about Canada. How is the process of what's going on with us in the United States affecting Canada, our big brother, as you are so eloquently called, and geography? And also, how does it feel just...
00:02:41
Speaker
Knowing that you are Canadian. Yes. so my So I was born in 1985. My parents are both born in Canada, but they my mom's parents lived in Florida. So my parents moved down there to to just live in Florida for a while. And they lived there until 1984. And they moved back so they could have their children here. They wanted to have Canadian kids. And I thank them for moving back every chance I get.
00:03:10
Speaker
Canada has a lot of problems. It really does. We are far from perfect. I think a lot of Americans view Canada as this beautiful, perfect, magical utopia. We're really, really not. We have a lot of problems. There's a lot of things about Canada I don't like.
00:03:25
Speaker
We have a lot of conservative governors. We don't have governors. We have premiers. But there's a lot of conservatism in Canada as well. And it's screwing things up left, right and center. we it's It's not far from perfect.
00:03:38
Speaker
Very far from perfect. But i'm <unk>d I'd rather live here than in the U.S. So... and um' I don't blame you. Not the one bit. I don't blame you. I think a lot of Americans right now are starting to question their um citizenship. there's Yes, i definitely agree. That's interesting and and wonderful to hear.
00:03:57
Speaker
like I said, Canada is, as you put as you did put it, as Americans, we do view you as this utopia, utopian society, because the way it does from preview to us, I would say definitely. How does it feel living in Canada, though? I will say because y'all were one of the first countries to, across the board, legalize gay marriage and also other LGBT initiatives. So how does that feel as a Canadian?
00:04:30
Speaker
It's like in the U.S. when like Roe v. Wade passed, like when it when it was a thing. It's great, but in many ways it feels very precarious.
Political Influences and Misconceptions
00:04:40
Speaker
Again, there are conservative movements in Canada that want to reverse those rights. And any right that is granted by the government can be taken away by the government. So as nice as it is to have it in place, i I don't know if we can be too comfortable about it, which is frustrating because living next door to the U.S., y'all are loud. And so a lot of Canadians are more up to date on what's happening in U.S. politics than on Canadian politics, which is a real problem because Canadian politics affects Canadians. And obviously U.S. politics affects affects us as well. But a lot of us just don't really know what's going on in our own country. And that's it frustrating.
00:05:23
Speaker
For sure. For sure. i mean, obviously our president is doing his best to damage the relationship that completelys between our countries with tariffs, working boycotts and everything with boycotts of liquor, which I thought was, I think is really, really fascinating. and What's been your impression of the internal narrative and changing dynamics that Canadians have with respect to yeah the flaming dumpster south of your borders?
00:05:55
Speaker
cook It's some so around the corner from my house, there is somebody who, for as long as I've lived, and I've lived in my neighborhood for a about four years now, I think. And as long as I've lived here, they were flying a MAGA flag.
00:06:10
Speaker
And yeah, yeah, we again, we have our share of conservatives here and like far right conservatives, too. And once the tariffs started, they took their MAGA flag down. So i think even Canadians who are very conservative,
00:06:29
Speaker
really, really, really, really hate Trump because he's screwing up our country too. And that i use my dad as an example too. He's he's very conservative himself. He hates Trump.
00:06:43
Speaker
He lives in New Brunswick, pretty close to the border. And he said, I used to go to the US all the time. I won't go there as long as, you know, for for a very long time. i think some Americans underestimate just how pissed off we are up here.
00:06:58
Speaker
We like most of you. we like most Americans. I've traveled all through the US. I've been to Memphis, as I mentioned before. I've been to Indianapolis. I've been to Philly. I've been to to all over Florida. I've been ah New York City. up and all over the place. Chicago.
00:07:12
Speaker
The vast majority of Americans I meet, I have met on a day-to-day basis, both pre and post-transition, have been wonderful. Most y'all are great. You just have a terrible habit of picking shitty governments. Am I allowed to say shit? I don't know. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You are fine. Leave it in post. Okay. Okay. Yeah, most most of us realize that most of y'all are cool.
Journey into Transgender History
00:07:34
Speaker
It's unfortunately your leadership really sucks. And that's true of a whole lot of countries, right? Daniel, you mentioned you're a Palestinian liberation activist. I know I'm sure a lot of Israelis are great people, but their government is fucking awful.
00:07:47
Speaker
And that's true of a lot of countries around the world. Absolutely. Historically, I think all governments have their moments where they are pretty much shitty and try to get better and do better. But I do want to tie that back to you being a historian. And I love that down through a lot of your, excuse me, on a lot of your videos that I have watched, I like how you tie the Canadian history and just history in general, along with and talking about how trans people have existed all through history and the different things that we have shown and showcased. Could you tell us a little bit about the journey of how you became the historian that you are and how it has become a very vital topic in your life?
00:08:30
Speaker
Sure, sure. I did my undergrad in 2005 to 2010. I studied, I did classical studies, which is, for those who are listening, if it's not, has nothing to do with classical music, it is about, it's the study of the ancient Mediterranean. But that's history. No, there's more than history. It's archaeology, it's literature, it's language, it's it's sociology, it's it's a bunch of different things all wrapped up in a bow, right?
00:08:55
Speaker
Ancient Mediterranean has always been something that I've been fascinated in. I was born in Canada, but I'm i'm Sicilian ethnically. And so I've just always been interested in the ancient Mediterranean.
00:09:06
Speaker
And i transitioned in 2018. Between graduating and transitioning, I started a business and most of my and I was in bands over the years and stuff like that. So that was mostly my my focus. And then once I started transitioning, I started hanging out in more trans spaces. And I heard people talk about, oh, did you hear about these people? ancient priestesses who drank horse piss to feminize themselves? Or did you hear about this trans Roman emperor or whatever? And it's ah that that's interesting.
00:09:36
Speaker
I want to learn more about this. I want to find out more. Aside from like stuffy academic texts, nobody was putting this together in a way that was like consumable for non-academics. And so I was like, somebody should do something about this.
00:09:51
Speaker
Wait a minute. I know enough. I can do it. And so I did it. It was it was a pandemic as well. and i was Pandemic's not over, but it was lockdowns, I should say. But it was, yeah, it was lockdowns and I was didn't have much to do. So I decided to start figuring out how to do YouTube
Social Media vs. Traditional Education
00:10:09
Speaker
videos. So here we are. What are your feelings more broadly about the state of trans-centered educational or infotainment content in YouTube and across social platforms? I mean, do you see a drawback of kind of being educated, quote unquote, through social media? There's like 15 different ways I can answer that question. so
00:10:35
Speaker
I think there's two different questions there. So i'm going to address what I think are two different questions. ah First of all, what do I think about the state of trans-centered content? I think for a lot of trans creators, and this is not ah not a criticism of anybody, I understand why they're doing it the way they're doing it.
00:10:55
Speaker
I think a lot of it is geared towards cis people and geared toward helping cis people better understand what we are and what we're what we're about and stuff like that. That is absolutely a way bigger audience. And from a like shrewder, ah more like platform building perspective, I can understand why they create content like that.
00:11:15
Speaker
From a from a a creator perspective, I also see the importance of content like that because it is important to educate people about what's going on with trans people, to help them understand why JK Rowling is so bloody awful, to help them understand why everything they're saying about... like Trans kids is is is made up. Everything they're saying about like that that boxer is completely made up to like counter all of these ridiculous narratives they're putting out there. Totally necessary content. Again, no criticism.
00:11:47
Speaker
I didn't want to make content like that. I wanted to make content that was specifically for trans people. like it's It's not that cis people are not allowed to watch it. Please do. Comment, subscribe. All the cool kids are doing it. But like it's it's not that's not the goal of my content. My goal is to help trans people understand our place in history. So that is what was my like main approach there. Is there a drawback to this sort of stuff being taught through social media? Yes and no
00:12:19
Speaker
Education is... Government-centered education is more and more vulnerable to cutbacks and political interference and stuff like that. Tons of cutbacks are happening here in Canada, in in Ontario, at least. I don't know how it works in the US, but in in Canada, education is dealt with on a province, provincial basis. So canada or Ontario's had a conservative government for like I want to say seven years now, it could be longer, but tons of cutbacks in in the education space has been a real problem. And so they're not going to teach this stuff.
00:12:55
Speaker
They're just not. And so unfortunately, it is left to people like me to do it. And am I the most qualified person in the world? No, but I'm certainly not the least.
00:13:07
Speaker
And i don't i i I try to be fairly and in-depth and fairly nuanced with the content I do create. that going to be true of everybody? No, it's not. But I don't know. it's it's It's far from ideal, but it's that's just capitalism in general. We're doing our best in a system that's not very good. Yeah.
00:13:27
Speaker
Are you finding a lot of joy, though, in the process? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, absolutely. I, the, there was a video that I did. In fact, two of the videos that I've done this year, they were more archaeologically centered.
00:13:39
Speaker
And I had people in the comments saying the, like several people in the comments saying that, like, the videos moved them to tears. And that I thought was really beautiful. And I,
00:13:50
Speaker
It makes me grateful because it means that I've properly conveyed the sense of wonder that I was feeling when I was researching this stuff. Because whatm what you get in the videos is not necessarily stuff that I already knew. It's stuff that I'm researching and putting together. So I'm going along the journey with you and and discovering all this stuff as I put it together. So I'm feeling this incredible sense of wonder. I'm able to convey it to other people. So yeah, it is it is very much enjoyable for me.
00:14:20
Speaker
I think secretly, though, everybody on the show currently today is a nerd. I think that's something that we all have in common. Yeah, probably. But I love that. And and yet like I said, watching your videos, I definitely can understand that the content is very informative and and and intriguing as well. as But I will say right now we have to take a quick break. But please stay with us. Come back with us as we go on a journey with Sophie and talk about how the beautiful history of trans
Healthcare and Gender-Affirming Care in Canada
00:14:45
Speaker
people.
00:14:45
Speaker
All right.
00:14:53
Speaker
Welcome back to Power Beyond Pride, a queer change making podcast. And I am Maddie. I am here with my co-host, Daniel, and we are here with the very interesting and historically insightful Sophie Edwards, who by chance, I promise you, Sophie, you will always be on my charades team and my Trivial Pursuit team, and because I think just with our powers combined, we will take over the world. I think that much.
00:15:18
Speaker
um But I will definitely take this time. Daniel, I want to throw it back to you. You had the next question. Yeah, I just want to pivot really quickly and i ask a kind of broader question about kind of healthcare in Canada. Obviously, y'all are known for having universal healthcare, which is, at least to my mind, something great.
00:15:41
Speaker
Here, of course, we can lose our livelihoods getting ill in the sense of getting met going medically bankrupt. I'm curious, kind of what's the the state of kind of health care Canada more broadly and then more specifically, or where does gender affirming care kind of fall within that system or your coverage?
00:16:04
Speaker
Sure, sure. Like with education, as I mentioned earlier, healthcare care is done on a provincial level, so I can't really speak to the nuances of Manitoba healthcare. care I have no idea. I live in Ontario, so I can i can speak to that.
00:16:17
Speaker
And again, because we have a conservative government, there's a lot of cutbacks that have been made in Ontario healthcare. it is It is very unfortunate because I'm a big proponent of universal healthcare,
00:16:29
Speaker
I think it is a good thing, actually, for people to not be sick. Bit of a controversial opinion, I know. Super, super, super radical idea there. But yeah it is it is nowhere near as comprehensive as a lot of people in the U.S. think it is. it is better than what you have, again, for sure.
00:16:52
Speaker
It is still, there's there's still a lot you have to pay for out of pocket. Again, there there have been improvements made. Dental care was recently just added, but it's far from universal. it is It's only if you don't have benefits. And there's a bunch of different factors that you have to consider, like if you're if you qualify or not.
00:17:11
Speaker
I have my my ive private health care through my girlfriend. So she's, she we live together. So we get, we get she's got health care through her job, extended benefits, which covers things like dentistry and chiropractic and stuff like that.
00:17:25
Speaker
Massage, that kind of thing. you So yeah, it is it is far from far from universal. it It could be a lot better and it is currently being made a whole lot worse. In terms of trans healthcare, didn't have a whole lot of trouble getting access to healthcare. care i and it is it's It's interesting because my girlfriend is also trans and she came out like a decade before I did or something. I don't remember exactly, but like a long time before I did. And for her, she was on like a six year wait list before she was able to start. I think it was six years. Don't quote me on that. But she was on a long wait list. Whereas for me, it was like, okay, you're trans. let's
00:18:04
Speaker
Let's go through the steps. And so my doctor was like, i'm not going to. she She said to me, she's not going to put ah up any barriers that are not medically necessary. So it did take me a while to get on hormones. I had some health issues that I had to work out. Those were worked out and then we unrelated to being trans. We worked those out. And so I just I started on HRT. So it was fairly, fairly straightforward process.
00:18:28
Speaker
Those again, like with with being able to get married, it's awesome. Anything granted by the government can be taken away by the government. So it's actually kind of province specific where you can have. Sorry, just a quick follow up. A province can be like, oh, we don't want to cover HRT or any kind of trans or gender affirming care.
00:18:51
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. And in fact, in Alberta, they're working on banning it. um Alberta is our Texas, to give you a kind of a a comparison. In that it's both like a really beautiful space, a really beautiful country, like landscape, I mean, a lot of cool stuff, a couple of kind of like, relatively like liberal bastions, and then a whole bunch of whole bunch of hicks. And they're working on banning it. That goes against the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. And so they're currently duking it in the courts over it. So...
Shift to Historical Nonfiction and Language Importance
00:19:22
Speaker
Well, Sophie, not only are you a historian and a knowledge plethora encyclopedia of all things Canadian, I see, you are very well-rounded as a speaker, also as a writer. And I would like to bring some light to your body of work. So if you could pick one, i guess this is a crazy question as you are a writer, which is your favorite to write, fiction or nonfiction?
00:19:45
Speaker
I had a lot of fun writing fiction. fiction. I've got my novel, of course. I've got several short stories that I published. um I also have a half-finished second novel sitting on my hard drive. And I've recently, just like a few months ago, i was talking with with my girlfriend and I was like coming to the realization that I might not ever be able to finish that novel because I've gotten so much into the history work that I've been doing. And it's um
00:20:16
Speaker
it's Not only is it connecting with me personally in a way that like creative work that I've done in the past never has, it's also connecting with others in a really profound way. So that's that is my focus these days and it will be for quite some time, I think.
00:20:33
Speaker
You never know when that kind of a a fiction bug can swoop in and then carry you carry you away. And it in a good way, of course. Right. Yeah, that's true. That's true. But I also make more money off the the the YouTube stuff, too. yeah Again, from a shrewd kind of like. Hey.
00:20:50
Speaker
Regarding your kind of not, well, your nonfiction work, you wrote an article for Queer Toronto Literary Magazine called It's Trans Women, two words, not trans women, one word. gosh, wrote that six years ago. I barely remember that one. It didn't have a it didn't have a date stamp it.
00:21:09
Speaker
But you you take on the the semantics and grammar of each and the kind of the cognitive consequences of it. ah that You just said that you you don't really remember it, but maybe you have a semblance of a memory of what you were seeing or experienced that kind of necessitated writing that piece.
00:21:27
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. that It was written in a very different time as well, I think. It's interesting to reflect on one's like past body of work.
00:21:39
Speaker
i I do remember like the the the kind of like general thesis statement, and I still don't think it's wrong, but it's it's interesting to reflect on one's body of work from the perspective of being both a...
00:21:55
Speaker
the sociocultural place in which it was produced, as well as the like personal place in which it was produced. Basically like the first four years of my transition, I wrote like a little personal essay, like every single day and posted it on, on Instagram.
00:22:14
Speaker
And that piece that you're referring to kind of came out of that as I realized, actually, there's more to this. Maybe I could get it published. And of course, obviously I did.
00:22:25
Speaker
But it was it was at a time that felt much more optimistic toward queer rights. And so the semantic details felt like more of a relevant conversation.
00:22:38
Speaker
To say, look, like when you say trans space women, you're talking about us as a category of women, just like you would say tall woman or Indian woman or annoying woman or whatever. It's an it's a it's it's it's a modifier to woman, whereas trans women becomes a separate thing linguistically.
00:23:02
Speaker
I'm also like a a i'm I'm a professional writer. So these are these are the sorts of things I think about. But I think in a time where we're very quickly losing access to our rights worldwide, the gains that we've made are very quickly being clawed back.
Voice Feminization Coaching
00:23:22
Speaker
I think conversations around that sort of that sort of space have become less relevant because it's We no longer have the luxury, I think, for conversations like that. I think it's more more of a life or death point at this point.
00:23:37
Speaker
That is true. I think that the conversation itself... No, no, no, And no you you're not. But I will say the conversation itself, I think, is always... It's a constant pull and push and pull because we we have moments where the conversation does get pushed forward. And then there are always people that want to come and bring the conversation and pull it back. So i think that...
00:23:59
Speaker
Just knowing the difference between trans space woman versus trans woman. I think that is a big thing because I think a lot of times people like to just lump and group things and in sections that shouldn't be lumped and grouped in the first place. Like we are not just a lump of people. We are a multifaceted community of people. And I think it should be very much individually exposed through it all that.
00:24:23
Speaker
And speaking of that, like, I know one of the things that you say we talked about that you do is voice feminine feminization training. So how does that what are the techniques that one uses? And I know I'm not asking you to give away a free class, but what would be some of the techniques that you do teach people whenever we are thinking about shop feminizing our voices?
00:24:44
Speaker
Sure, sure. In terms of working through that sort of process, there are there are different muscles involved that we use in voice that we don't really think about because we just use them without really thinking about it.
00:24:59
Speaker
And a big part of the process of voice feminization is learning what those muscles are and learning how to how to directly control them. So a big one is your larynx, which is it's a collection of like cartilage and muscles and stuff in your in your throat. your Your Adam's apple or Eve's apple is attached to it. And it is something you can take direct control over, but it's something a lot of girls don't know how to do. And a lot of guys as well. A lot of people don't know how to control their larynx independently. You can do, but it's a process of
00:25:35
Speaker
teaching girls how to control that, which is a bit of a weird process because like for most people, unless unless you've had some sort of horrible injury and you had to relearn how to walk, that sort of thing, most people haven't done anything like this since they were like literally a tiny little baby learning how their body works, right? learning how to put your arm up, learning how to crawl, that kind of stuff. Most people haven't learned how to use their body in a different way. So in a lot of ways, the process would be just as weird as if I said, Maddie, did you realize you have a third arm growing out of your back? And then you're like...
00:26:11
Speaker
Wait, what? What? And then you like start learning, like you start figuring out how to control it, that sort of thing. it it's It sounds bizarre, but if you've never really directly used one of your muscles before, it's that unusual to try to access it. So for a lot for a lot of a lot of what I focus on is mindfully working through muscles.
00:26:34
Speaker
getting in touch with how your voice feels, which is difficult for a lot of girls I work with because I work exclusively with trans people. So I work exclusively with a population of people who've spent the vast majority of their lives dissociating from how they feel in their bodies. So to say, like, how does that feel? Often the the answer is, i don't know.
00:26:54
Speaker
And so it's, it's, you have to, with like, with as much sympathy as possible, we have to work through it and say, okay, well, Let's take some time. Let's listen. Let's try to get in touch with how what what sort of sensations you are feeling so we can start building that into a greater access over those muscles that you can use to start feminizing your voice.
00:27:16
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. We're going to take a quick break here. Stay with us because we're going to come back in a minute to share some fun facts, play our speed round of questions. And I also want to have a quick follow up question on how exactly you got into this vocal feminization work.
00:27:33
Speaker
We'll be right back.
00:27:40
Speaker
Welcome back to Power Beyond Pride, where we're talking to the creator of the YouTube series, we have always been here, Sophie Edwards. Following up with what you were talking about earlier, or before we went to break, how did you come to a voice feminization work?
00:27:58
Speaker
Quite by accident, actually. I was... So I do some search engine optimization work as well. And I got a client in in Washington, D.C.
00:28:08
Speaker
And she owns a speech therapy clinic there. And... So we went through, she needed a new website as well. I went through the process of convincing her that she should give me her money. And then we we went to talking about what she wants on her website. And she's like, I want a page for stuttering for this, that, the other.
00:28:27
Speaker
and And she said, I also want a page for a voice, transgender voice. and I'm like, that's cool. And then she starts like explaining to me like what a trans person is and why they need voice. And i'm like, what the hell is happening right now? And then and then I realized, like, I had just never mentioned that I was trans. Not that I'm, I don't try to hide it, but it just never came up.
00:28:47
Speaker
And so I didn't think to mention it And so i was like, oh, that's really cool. As a trans person, I think that's awesome. And she's like, what? You're trans? How did you do that with your voice? Oh my gosh, that's incredible. I'm just like, I don't know. I didn't realize my voice was anything noteworthy at that point. like i i had I did work hard to to to feminize it, but I didn't realize it was that noteworthy. And we just left it there. And I don't know, not to brag or anything, but like we knocked it out of the park with her from an as SEO perspective. Her clinic grew quite a bit. She ended up having to hire... new people. And she asked, she she we were talking on the phone one day and she's like I want you to, i don't have time for this anymore. I need you to take care of my trans clients. And I'm just like, but i what?
00:29:31
Speaker
and I don't know how to do that. And she's like, yes, you do. You just don't know that. Let me teach you how to know what you already know. And then you can teach other people. So I was like, Okay, sure. My general mentality in life has always been like, all right, let's let's give this a shot and see what happens. I'm usually down for whatever. i might like to I like to try new things. So I thought, screw it. let's Let's see what happens. And so it turns out I'm good at it. So there we go.
Voice and Comedy
00:29:58
Speaker
Happenstance, so magical. It is fun because when you when you really get really good at this sort of thing, you can actually learn to switch your voice in the middle of a sentence. yes It's a lot of fun to mess with people like that.
00:30:11
Speaker
And it's funny you said, as a comedian, I do the same thing on stage. I have particular jokes that I will drop down into my lower range to talk. And it does it. It really, i love the how it does catch people off guard, especially... Quick story, whenever i me and my friends that went out one time, this guy was being very rude and disrespectful. We had went to dinner. And so I got irritated with him after a while. And then so finally I just dropped my voice and he was like, wait a minute, what's going on? And I was like, honey, everything that looks good ain't good. I need you to know everything that glitter ain't gold always. But and i just but i love how it just...
00:30:47
Speaker
changes people's perspective and opens them up. So kudos to a great job as a voice of voice feminization coach. That is a wonderful thing. Wonderful thing. Well, thank you. So we are now at the time of my favorite part of the show, which is called our speed round question time.
Personal Insights and Advocacy
00:31:03
Speaker
So Sophie, this is a time where we get to get just a little intrusive, a little bit more invasive. It can get spicy. It can stay PG. It just depends on how we're feeling that day. Daniel, don't you feel just... Depends on how we're feeling if we if we get a little spicy or racy with the questions. But if you are game to play the game with us and have questions be asked to you, just say yes or no.
00:31:26
Speaker
Bring it on. All right. So Daniel, I think you have the first question. I do. I'm curious. so What is your favorite book that you're embarrassed to tell people that you love?
00:31:38
Speaker
I'm not really embarrassed to tell people stuff. like Ever since I transitioned, like that was the big secret of my life. And now it's, I don't know, whatever. I like what I like. So I don't think I have a book I'm embarrassed to tell people love.
00:31:49
Speaker
I'm sorry, that may be a boring question or a boring answer, but... that love making michael in aition Is that is that like embarrassing to just be like super just like plugging my own stuff? My book is the best. No, no, no, no. Be shameless.
00:32:03
Speaker
I don't I don't have any kind of like imposter syndrome, so I don't have any qualms about you you should love my you should love it. You should read it. That kind of thing. but I mean, and even Barbara Walters said the best, the best advertiser you have is yourself. So always always put yourself out there. Do not be ashamed to plug yourself. Now, I do know that you like playing games, I think. I think that was something a little birdie told me. So what type of games do you like playing?
00:32:30
Speaker
My girlfriend works in the gaming industry, so we play a lot of games together. We played a game called Cult of the Lamb recently that was pretty fun. Personally, i just like to play Super Smash Bros because it's it's something I can pick up and then put down.
00:32:44
Speaker
right It's not like I'm getting into it and sinking like eight hours into a game. I can pick it up. I can play it for 20 minutes. I can move on with my life. I wish I were good at that. And then during the pandemic, I was like, all right, I'm going to get a Switch and I'm going to get good at it. And then I realized that I really don't need to involve myself with. I never said I was good at it. Yeah. I was about say, it's not about being good, Daniel. I think my favorite game is always going to be Grand Theft Auto because after a long, hard day of dealing with people, it's good to run over somebody. So games are good. Like, it does allow you to get out that fence of aggression.
00:33:20
Speaker
to deal with. This is true. I mean, I am more of a button masher for sure, but like in Smash Brothers, if you don't even know how to get yourself from falling, like you can just fall off the the terrain and it's like womp womp and your your your your your game is really over. So I can't even really do that. And if I do, I'm able to climb climb out and it's just completely felt like I wasn't really doing other than smashing buttons. air Fair, fair.
00:33:50
Speaker
Next question. Do you prefer small gatherings or big parties? I prefer to grab a small group of people at a big party. o i like to be able to float from group to group.
00:34:06
Speaker
Okay, social butterfly just fluttering all around. I like it. I like it. What was the moment in life that you felt that you were truly seeing? The last video I put out got like a whole lot of views and I was like really, really excited about it.
00:34:19
Speaker
And again, getting those comments from people being like, wow, this brought me to tears, brought me to tears too, as I was like researching this stuff. So feeling the sense of awe that I felt and then seeing other people feeling the sense of awe, it's like I've i've i've sufficiently conveyed to you how fucking awesome this stuff is. Yeah, that's awesome. Amazing. That's awesome.
00:34:42
Speaker
What is your favorite non-physical way to feel close to someone? you Sharing music together. i love, I love music. Learning, like, sharing, like, my favorite music with someone, having them share their favorite favorite music with me, that, that's, that's my thing.
00:34:59
Speaker
Is there, like, a quick follow-up, is is there, is there, like, an artist that if they say, I'm into this, you're just, you're, you're going to have eyeballed emojis? Oh. a lot of i love heavy metal.
00:35:11
Speaker
I love 70s soul and funk sort of stuff. i love i don't know I love a lot of different types of music. um I don't know if someone's into Judas Priest or Dark Throne or something like that, I'm i'm into it. If somebody's into doom metal, I'm into that. If someone's into...
00:35:27
Speaker
like black metal, but in a black metal can either be like really progressive and anti-fascist or it can be like literal Nazis. So you're either like, I'm, I want to be your friend or stay the fuck away from me before I gouge your eyes out. So it's, it's one of the two. Yeah.
00:35:44
Speaker
So I want to take you to a channel, your inner Miss Congeniality, if you remember the movie, Miss Rhode Island. And so what would be your ideal first date? Yeah. my ideal first date okay an interesting conversation where it feels like this could continue but we're just ending because we have to move on with our day it the the environment doesn't really matter i guess i'm not i'm not super bougie i like dive bars i like like i like like local coffee shops that kind of thing
00:36:20
Speaker
so it's it's It's less the environment as much as it is the like the the personal connection. For sure. What history book do you think everyone should read? The Odyssey.
00:36:35
Speaker
that's That's my first thought. But that's not a history book. I can hear people saying, come on, come on, just give me a break. The Iliad and the Odyssey, they're such fascinating texts for so many reasons. And I could nerd out here for hours, but it is an oral poem.
00:36:52
Speaker
As far as we know, there there was a city of Troy. It was destroyed. There were Greeks present. That is what we know of the historicity of the Trojan War. but and And roughly it was destroyed around 1250 BCE.
00:37:06
Speaker
Homer, if he was one guy, I'm not going to get into it, wrote the Iliad and the Odyssey in the 700s. So there's like a 500-year span of time where this story was passed down through oral poetry. And you can find the DNA of that in the entire process. So you can find descriptions of a a like...
00:37:25
Speaker
a sword from the 1100s striking somebody's shield from the 800s and they they use they're wearing a helm from the 1200s and like all these different layers and like you can see that it was it was an oral poem so a lot of the lines are repeated and it's just an awesome interesting story.
00:37:43
Speaker
Yes, it is. and And one of my favorites as well. So I would say what would be, let's see here. Let's think of something juicy. Are you a hugger or a kisser when it comes to affection?
00:37:58
Speaker
I don't know. Both, I guess. I do. I do very much love hugs. okay I don't know. I like kissing too. hey I mean, they do go hand in hand together.
00:38:09
Speaker
yeah.
00:38:12
Speaker
And I had the final question. Which do you prefer, a sweet or savory breakfast? Savory, no question. Yes. I'm not big on sweets. No. My mom ate, eight is is like a big sweet tooth, and ate a lot of sweets when she was pregnant with me. So I think maybe I just developed this...
00:38:32
Speaker
I don't like sweets because I was just overloaded with it while I was in the womb. So I don't know. Maybe that's just something I'm making up. I don't know. But never big never been big on sweets. I'm very much a savory person. I'm very much like a a lot of Asian folks, especially first generation or 1.5. We grow up eating leftovers for breakfast. So that's in what I've always done or when I was younger, at least. And I usually want savory rather than...
00:39:01
Speaker
Yeah, pastry or something. Unless the pastry was savory. Right, right. mean, I think that's across the board, though, because ain't not like a good piece of cold fried chicken or cold pizza the next morning for breakfast. So I'm like, I wish you was savory. Savory is always going to best. So we always like to always end our questions with this, Sophie. And what does Power Beyond Pride mean to you?
00:39:23
Speaker
Just being yourself and doing your, putting what you want to put out into the world, regardless of what what what people think. Obviously, there's certain certain limits to that. But in terms of like creating your persona, creating your your work, doing what you want to do in the world, it's just taking that taking that power and and pushing forward.
Closing and Engagement Encouragement
00:39:50
Speaker
For sure. And then one final question. What are some actions that people need to take or should take if they want to advocate for trans people?
00:40:02
Speaker
Oh, gosh. this Listen to it's it's the same as what can you do as a white person to push back against racism? Call out your fellow cis people when they say transphobic things. Not in a like aggressive sort of your bad sort of way, because nobody like scolding doesn't help that that is a We tried that through the 2010s. If that worked, we wouldn't be where we are right now. So even though it's not even necessarily wrong, we have to recognize that that is a failed strategy. That is not an effective approach. We need to re reorient our approach. So just less less of a you're bad and more of a calling in sort of thing.
00:40:44
Speaker
That's that's not sure if you knew this, but that's offensive, that that sort of thing. And like taking more of a an educative rather than a condescending sort of approach.
00:40:56
Speaker
I think that's important. For sure. And that's a really great tip. And unfortunately, we are out of time for this podcast. and We would love to have you back if if you have time.
00:41:09
Speaker
Where can people follow you? YouTube at the channel is called We Have Always Existed. What's the yeah URL? I forget the URL, whatever. It's called We Have Always Existed on YouTube. I'm at Transgender History on Blue Sky, it's called. And those are the channels that I'm most active on. Also, Instagram at queer.trans.writer.sophie. You can tell I'm an SEO.
00:41:33
Speaker
but That's wonderful. And we thank you again so much. It was been a pleasure talking with you today. at thoroughly feel like I haven't learned a whole lot. Like I said, just being in in presence of just a great, wonderful being like yourself and just knowing that Hopefully people can take the time to stop by and look at your YouTube because I want to tell people as you listen today, it is a very good way to learn as a good, good edutainment outlet. So please go by and and show some love to our beautiful friend, Sophie and all her social media outlets.
00:42:09
Speaker
With that being said, I am Maddie, your co-host here, the Hostess with the Moses, and I have enjoyed this show this evening. You're so sweet. Thank you so much. And I'm your co-host, Daniel, poet and author of Anatomy of Want. And you can follow me at ah Daniel W.K. Lee on TikTok, Daniel W.K. Lee on Blue Sky and st Strong Plum on Instagram.
00:42:31
Speaker
Remember to subscribe and get your friends to subscribe to Power Beyond Pride on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and wherever you get your podcasts. And check out our site at PowerBeyondPride.com.
00:42:44
Speaker
And Power Beyond Pride is a project of A Great Idea, queer-owned design and content agency. Learn more about them at agreatidea.com. This episode was produced by Shane Lucas. Maddie Bynum is the project developer. Our editor is Jarrett Redding with support from Ian Wilson.
00:43:04
Speaker
And both me and Daniel here are two of the awesome hosts of the host team that we have here at Power Beyond Pride. And we invite you to send us your questions and comments so that we can always stay fresh and focused on things that need to be discussed. You can send them at PowerBeyondPride.com. That's PowerBeyondPride.com.
00:43:24
Speaker
And check out our new episodes each week. We look forward to queer changemaking with you next time. Thank you from all of us at Power Beyond Pride.