Assigned Sex

Apr 29 · 22m

Shaun pulls up a chair with the ancestors, Sylvia Rivera, Bayard Rustin, Marsha P. Johnson, and Stormé DeLarverie, and asks the question that needs to be asked: whose names stay in rotation, and whose work gets acted like it never existed?In this episode of Assigned Sex, Unarchived, Shaun traces the pattern of how movement history gets sanitized , who gets put on the poster and who gets pushed to the margins to keep the story comfortable. Using archival footage of Sylvia Rivera being booed off her own stage at the 1973 Christopher Street Liberation Day Rally, and Bayard Rustin reading the demands of the 1963 March on Washington to a quarter of a million people, Shaun makes the case that erasure isn't an accident.Shaun also centers Stormé DeLarverie, the mixed-race drag king, Jewel Box Revue performer, and self-appointed guardian of Greenwich Village, whose archival voice runs through this episode. Shaun traces what it means that her legacy keeps getting reduced to a single disputed moment  while her years of mutual aid and community protection quietly disappear underneath it.The episode closes with a look at pinkwashing, corporations and governments leaning on LGBTQ+ imagery to appear progressive while the people who did the original work get pushed to the back, and with Shaun's four-part framework for actually honoring Black trans and gender-nonconforming labor: say where you got things from, put money behind it, change who you center, and stop pretending the proof isn't there.Follow Assigned Sex on Facebook and Instagram at @assignedsex, and subscribe to the Assigned Sex newsletter on Substack for episode updates and extended conversations.Credits: Host: Shaun Dawson · Audio Engineer: Aaron Freeman · Producers: Shaun Dawson & Nandikayyy · Sound Design: Nandikayyy · Music: "Soul of Orleans" by John Lopke; "Street Gospel Hip Hop Piano – 75bpm – Bbmaj" by nnaudio (licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0).Sources for archival audio: — Sylvia Rivera, "Y'all Better Quiet Down," 1973 Christopher Street Liberation Day Rally NYC. LoveTapesCollective (Original Authorized Video). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jb-JIOWUw1o — also archived at: https://archive.org/details/l020asylviariverayallbetterquietdownoriginalauthorizedvideo1973gaypriderallynycjbjiowuw1o —  Bayard Rustin reads the demands of the March on Washington, August 28, 1963. American Archive of Public Broadcasting / WGBH. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbGWhBhOBog — full broadcast record at: http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-15-9707wn83 —  Stormé: The Lady of the Jewel Box (1987), dir. Michelle Parkerson. Available free via Internet Archive at: https://archive.org/details/storme—  A Stormé Life. ITL Media. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgCVNEiOwLs

Apr 15 · 37m

Shaun sits back down with Nandikayyy to talk about Black trans joy, what it looks and feels like, how it lives next to grief, and what they wish they could've seen when they were younger, framed by a lesson on Audre Lorde. In this episode of Assigned Sex, Unarchived, Shaun and Nandikayyy get into Black trans joy. The kind that looks like finally feeling at home in your body, music that comes back to you after loss, and a Black trans person at the grocery store, unbothered. They also talk about the projects and creators keeping them going, from The Okra Project to Angelica Ross, and what they wish someone had told them when they were young.Shaun also shares a brief lesson on Audre Lorde, the Harlem-born poet, essayist, and self-described "Black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet" who grew up memorizing poems because no one had words for what she felt. Her life and work became a blueprint for survival, intersectionality, and speaking truth even when the world wasn't ready.Credits:Host: Shaun Dawson · Guest: Nandikayyy · Audio Engineer: Aaron Freeman · Producers: Shaun Dawson & Nandikayyy · Sound Design: Nandikayyy · Music: “Soul of Orleans” by John Lopke; “Street Gospel Hip Hop Piano – 75bpm – Bbmaj” by nnaudio (licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0).Sources for archival audio on Audre Lord:- "Audre Lorde interviewed by Blanche Cook, 1982," LoveTapesCollective. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4rDL-xZ8N0 – - "Audre Lorde interviewed by Judy Simmons, WBAI New York, 1979," WBAI. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_-XhFKn-f0 – "Audre Lorde reading at the San Francisco State Poetry Center, 1974." Available at: https://diva.sfsu.edu/collections/poetrycenter/bundles/238555

Apr 1 · 31m

In this episode of Assigned Sex, Unarchived, Shaun moves from the murder of Islan Nettles and the “real woman” trope to Lil Duval, Boosie Badazz, Dave Chappelle, and the Black church, breaking down how toxic masculinity and bioessentialism push Black trans folks to the edge while still expecting them to ride for “the culture.” Shaun also shares a history lesson on Monica Roberts, the Houston‑born journalist and creator of TransGriot, whose reporting shifted how media covers Black trans women’s lives and deaths, and whose insistence that “Black trans women are Black women” offers a different way to imagine Black community.Follow Assigned Sex on Facebook and Instagram at @assignedsex, and subscribe to the Assigned Sex newsletter on Substack for episode updates and extended conversations.Credits:Host: Shaun Dawson ·  Audio Engineer: Aaron Freeman · Producers: Shaun Dawson & Nandikayyy · Sound Design: Nandikayyy · Music: “Soul of Orleans” by John Lopke; “Street Gospel Hip Hop Piano – 75bpm – Bbmaj” by nnaudio (licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0).Sources for archival audio on Monica Roberts:– Monica Roberts “Call of Service” Lecture & “Courage to Act” Panel, PBHAserves: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ap2jzha7CA&t=631s– “Prominent trans rights activist and journalist Monica Roberts dies at 58,” KPRC 2 Click2Houston: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-qafUZ5Yu0– “Monica Roberts accepts a Special Recognition Award at the 2016 GLAAD Media Awards,” GLAAD: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s81wzwM_Qa4&t=247s– TransGriot Weekly with Monica Roberts: https://www.youtube.com/@transgriotweeklywithmonica915– “Monica Roberts HERO Testimony April 30 2014,” Houston Equal Rights Ordinance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKOCv0Di4K4Additional sources for archival audio:– “Diamond Stylz on Why Black Trans Rights Are Civil Rights,” The Root: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rw6psXYXw6- "Candace Owens Compares Being Trans to Rachel Dolezal Being Transracial," Hollywood Unlocked:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8vaVEe2Aww- "Dave Chappelle on Transgender for 25 Minutes straight," Laugh Up Club: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUERjJCw0tE&t- "Boosie Praises Trump for Blocking Transgenders from Women's Sports: No More Juwanna Manns! (Part 25)," Djvlad:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuT-2tvnh_0 - "Lil Duval & The Breakfast Club Roast The Real Sidechicks of Charlotte," Breakfast Club Power 105.1 FM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lItBaZ3jc_E&t=485s

Mar 25 · 34m

In this episode of Assigned Sex, Unarchived, Shaun reunites with Jade, an original Assigned Sex documentary cast member, to talk about where she is now, the community and chosen family keeping her grounded, and the work of protecting your mind in a world determined to misread you.Shaun also shares a brief lesson on Marsha P. Johnson, the Jersey-born street queen and co‑founder of STAR whose life held mental illness, sex work, HIV, and world-shifting activism all at once, underscoring how Black trans and gender-nonconforming people have always been central to our history. Jade closes by talking about where she finds her trans joy now: making music as her alter ego Fox Sinclair, teaching herself Unreal Engine, and creating the kind of thoughtful, less hypersexual music she wants to hear. Follow Assigned Sex on Facebook and Instagram at @assignedsex, and subscribe to the Assigned Sex newsletter on Substack for episode updates and extended conversations.Credits:Host: Shaun Dawson · Guest: Jade Cervantes · Guest Host: Aurora Jonez · Audio Engineer: Aaron Freeman · Producers: Shaun Dawson & Nandikayyy · Sound Design: Nandikayyy · Music: “Soul of Orleans” by John Lopke; “Street Gospel Hip Hop Piano – 75bpm – Bbmaj” by nnaudio (licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0).Sources for archival audio on Marsha P. Johnson:– “L002A Intro 475: Marsha P. Johnson interviewed by Betty Brown, April 27, 1973,” LoveTapesCollective. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvW-Fif4KFE– “Marsha P. Johnson | Artifacts | The 1979 Stonewall Interview,” Artifacts. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DC0YX_bIq8U– “Pay It No Mind: The Life & Times of Marsha P. Johnson,” PROUDVISION TV – LGBTQ Public Media Network. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeRejL0sMpQ

Mar 18 · 20m

Shaun Dawson looks back on returning to Assigned Sex years after the 2019 short film, talking about what’s shifted since their first time directing and how their relationship to work, money, and being visible as a Black genderqueer storyteller has changed. They get into why the original film centered Black church, gender roles, and a preacher’s kid named Angel, and how watching Paris Is Burning for the first time cracked something open around seeing Black and Latinx queer and trans life on screen.In this episode of Assigned Sex, Unarchived, Shaun breaks down why the project is coming back now as a podcast instead of a film, what it means to “unarchive” work they’d been hiding for years, and how a recurring written history segment plus a companion Substack turn the show into a kind of altar for Black trans and genderqueer lives instead of just more trauma spectacle.The episode also weaves in the story of Octavia St. Laurent, a Brooklyn‑born Black trans legend of the ballroom scene, whose life stretched from Harlem houses like St. Laurent and Mizrahi to Paris Is Burning, indie films, and HIV and AIDS advocacy. Through Octavia’s story, Shaun sits with how she opened up more room for Black queer and trans people to see themselves as worthy of the close‑up, not just a tragic headline. Follow Assigned Sex on Facebook and Instagram at @assignedsex, and subscribe to the Assigned Sex newsletter on Substack for episode updates and extended conversations.Credits: Host: Shaun Dawson · Engineer: Aaron Freeman · Producers: Shaun Dawson & Nandikayyy · Music: “Soul of Orleans” by John Lopke; Street Gospel Hip Hop Piano – 75bpm – Bbmaj by nnaudio (licensed under Creative Commons)

Mar 11 · 26m

Shaun sits down with agender, polyamorous producer and creative director Nandi K. to talk about eight years of choosing each other, from OKCupid to a Barcade stare down to building a life where friendship, creativity, and non monogamy actually work. They get into why “we gotta be friends first” is the foundation, what it feels like to be more yourself in a relationship instead of smaller, and how polyamory became language for loving honestly instead of trying to prove anything to anybody. The episode also weaves in the story of Black trans elder Miss Major Griffin-Gracy as a model for turning survival into strategy, from hustling and prison time to starting the House of gg as a space for Black trans women and trans folks of color to rest, heal, and get politicized. Shaun talks about Miss Major as a movement mother, someone whose life proves that care work, chosen family, and “we look after our girls” are the actual blueprint for how Black trans people keep each other alive.Follow Assigned Sex on Facebook and Instagram at @assignedsex, and subscribe to the Assigned Sex newsletter on Substack for episode updates and extended conversations.Credits:Host: Shaun Dawson · Guest: Nandi K · Engineer: Aaron Freeman · Producers: Shaun Dawson & Nandi K · Music: “Soul of Orleans” by John Lopke; “Street Gospel Hip Hop Piano – 75bpm – Bbmaj” by nnaudio (licensed under Creative Commons).

Mar 4 · 24m

Shaun talks with Southern‑raised nonbinary barber and techie Chris about growing up “both boy and girl” in a Black church home, navigating pronouns in a “queer‑straight” barbershop, and figuring out how to live beyond a gender binary that keeps knocking people “between the washer and the dryer.”In this episode of Assigned Sex, Unarchived, they dig into how family, church, and a “queer‑straight” barbershop shaped Chris’s sense of gender, why labels like “stud” no longer fit, and how words like “bulldagger” land differently across generations and online. Chris talks about studs, dykes, and transmasculine folks arguing over who’s allowed to wear what, the pressure to pick a side, and why gender feels “Barbie‑smooth” with room to accessorize.The episode also weaves in the story of Sweet Evening Breeze, a Black trans trailblazer in early‑20th‑century Kentucky, as a blueprint for living loudly, strategically, and publicly queer in hostile worlds. Chris closes by offering some love to their younger self in Griffeys and overalls, talking about shaving their head, staying weird and tender, and trusting that both‑and has always been who they are Follow Assigned Sex on Facebook and Instagram at @assignedsex, and subscribe to the Assigned Sex newsletter on Substack for episode updates and extended conversations.Credits:Host: Shaun Dawson · Guest: Chris · Engineer: Aaron Freeman · Producers: Shaun Dawson & Nandikayyy · Music: “Soul of Orleans” by John Lopke; Street Gospel Hip Hop Piano – 75bpm – Bbmaj by nnaudio (licensed under Creative Commons)

Feb 25 · 27m

In this episode of Assigned Sex, Unarchived, Shaun sits down with TomKola, a Black Nigerian intersex trans man, activist, and founder of Trans Nigerian Support, for an honest conversation about growing up in a deeply religious, gendered household where everything was “boys do this, girls do that,” and finding the language and community to name himself.Tomkola shares how dissociation became a survival tool in childhood, how culture and Christianity shaped the gender rules he was expected to follow, and what shifted when he finally decided to stop fighting himself and claim his manhood. He and Shaun talk about the loneliness of realizing you are the person no one around you has words for, the power of trans men seeing each other online, and the difference between comparison and motivation when it comes to transition timelines and bodies. He also traces the origin story of Trans Nigerian Support and offers a word to younger trans guys about keeping sight of joy when the future feels impossible. Shaun also shares a brief lesson on Georgia Black, a Black trans woman in mid‑century Florida whose community chose love and protection over spectacle, reminding us that Black trans and genderqueer people have always been part of our history. Follow Assigned Sex on Facebook and Instagram at @assignedsex, and subscribe to the Assigned Sex newsletter on Substack for episode updates and extended conversations.Credits:Host: Shaun Dawson · Guest: TomKola · Engineer: Aaron Freeman · Producers: Shaun Dawson & Nandikayyy · Music: “Soul of Orleans” by John Lopke; Street Gospel Hip Hop Piano – 75bpm – Bbmaj by nnaudio (licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0.)

Feb 18 · 22m

In this episode of Assigned Sex, Unarchived, Shaun sits down with Kyrie, an original cast member from the Assigned Sex documentary, for an honest conversation about Black masculinity, passability, and self-definition as a Black trans masc person. Kyrie opens up about the challenges of performing masculinity in cis-masc spaces—from the early days of transitioning and losing access to community through sports, to navigating dating, fetishization, and loneliness while “blending in.” Together, Shaun and Kyrie explore what it takes to build a version of manhood that feels authentic, grounded, and free. Shaun also shares a brief lesson on Jim McCarris, a Black trans man living in 1950s Mississippi, underscoring how Black trans and genderqueer people have always been part of our history.Follow Assigned Sex on Facebook and Instagram at @assignedsex, and subscribe to the Assigned Sex newsletter on Substack for episode updates and extended conversations. Credits: Host: Shaun Dawson · Guest: Kyrie · Engineer: Aaron Freeman · Producers: Shaun Dawson & Nandikayyy · Music: “Soul of Orleans” by John Lopke; Street Gospel Hip Hop Piano – 75bpm – Bbmaj by nnaudio (licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0.)