1: Deliver Us From Gender

On the first episode of Assigned Sex, Unarchived, Shaun is joined by TJ Chester , Nandikayyy , and an anonymous guest we’re calling “Lady” to unpack spirituality, religion, and faith through the eyes of Black trans and genderqueer folks who grew up in church. TJ and Lady are preacher’s kids, Nandi’s mom was the minister of music, and together they revisit long Sundays in the pews, the joy of choir stands, and the quiet negotiations you learn to make just to survive in “God’s house.” They talk about being culturally Christian without being believers, agnosticism that still loves a good praise break, and what it feels like when ministers focus on your hair, your hemlines, and your body instead of your humanity.

Lady shares what it meant to come into herself as an MTF t-girl in a “come as you are” church that still had plenty to say about what she wore, while TJ reflects on being the questioning kid who wrote notes to their pastor dad and ultimately had to walk away after a transphobic sermon. Nandi brings in hoodoo, conjure, and the idea that Black survival itself is divine, reminding us that churches do not own the copyright on the sacred.

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: TJ Chester, Nandikayyy · 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.)