5: Polyam, Black and Still Best Friends

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).