This isn't your average podcast. While Raffy and Taylor have a blast debating the social implications of #Beychella and ranking their Love, Simon crushes, they're always down to have a few laughs with LGBTQ guest celebrities, mull over everything between interracial dating and using a strap-on while being trans, and discuss some of the touchiest aspects of what it means to be LGBTQ in the current political climate.
WerQ's mission is to uplift the community with a celebration of all things queer. It's a party, y'all. So let's get to it!
Welcome to PRIDE's LGBT entertainment podcast, WerQ!
Culture and entertainment writer Taylor Henderson crashes the GLAAD Rising Stars Luncheon and talks to some of the stars of a few of our favorite LGBT shows and movies about the future of queer media!
\u201cThe #GLAADawards Rising Stars event is starting and our grant recipients are on \ud83d\udd25. These young people are changing the world and accelerating acceptance for LGBTQ people in their communities and around the \ud83c\udf0e.\u201d
GLAAD is dedicated to the diversification of media, not only for LGBTQ folk, but black and brown people, immigrants, and anyone else has ever felt marginalized. Stars from everywhere between Love, Simon and 13 Reasons Why came together to celebrate this year's queer representation, and they had a lot to say about where film and music industries are going.
Andi Mack received the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Kids & Family Programming for their emotional storyline involving Cyrus's (Joshua Rush) coming out, the first of its kind on the Disney Channel. When asked about the importance of representation, Rush truly believes that, "Everyone deserves the chance to see themselves on tv."
Co-star Stoney Westmoreland, an openly gay actor who plays Andi Mack's dad, pointed out how much society has progressed since his heydey. "When I came out to my father, it was a much different world twenty-five years ago, he explained. "When you watch these kids today, the fluidity of the world we live in is here, and it's real, and it's what's going on. To see it represented on screen is an amazing thing for all of us."
\u201cCONGRATS! #AndiMack has won the inaugural Kids and Family Programming Award, presented at the #GLAADawards Rising Stars event https://t.co/QcgXtlGEY5\u201d
Openly gay country artist Brandon Stansell is proud to be a part of an industry where he's not very well represented (yet). "Country music is a place where we [LGBTQ people] are usually undercounted," he told PRIDE. "So I'm happy to at least raise my head and be noticed."
Atlanta native Clark Moore, who you might remember as the quick quick-witted openly gay kid in Love, Simon, wants to see more storylines involving black LGBTQ people, and maybe even "dive into characters like [Love, Simon's] Ethan."
\u201cWe\u2019ve got the @lovesimonmovie cast here helping us honor young people who are accelerating acceptance for LGBTQ people. #GLAADawards \u2764\ufe0f\ud83c\udfa1\u201d
Atypical actor Nik Dodani, who shared that he was openly gay, agreed. "Personally I would love to see more people of color storylines. I think that's the next frontier. Moonlight showed that it is viable and can be successful and I think we need more of that. Especially now, we need as many voices are possible in the media landscape. I would love to see some color. Some queer color would be great." Dodani mentioned his role in the upcoming film Alex Strangelove, a gay coming of age story he described as Pretty in Pink meets Superbad meets Love, Simon.
Isabella Gomez plays the first openly out lesbian character in a sitcom on One Day At A Time and is amazed that her character Elena's story, as well as many Latinx stories, haven't yet been told. "The fact that they haven't been represented is just inaccurate to the human experience."
Superfruit stars Scott Hoying Mitch Grassi are changing the landscape of pop music with their recent album Future Friends, where they proudly lust after guys and sing about bad relationships. "It's so insanely important that people are singing about boys," said Hoying. "We don't get enough of it. For so many years, me included, I tried to shape the way I portrayed myself and it wasn't healthy. It's not healthy for anyone. Representation is so important so kids are just inspired to be themselves."
Grassi added, "It's about not being ashamed of who you are. We want to live loudly and proudly."
\u201cWe had a blast performing at @GLAAD\u2019s Rising Stars Luncheon today! We are inspired by the program and all the ways it helps local LGBTQ+ communities. #GLAADawards\u201d
Nafessa Williams, who plays television's first black lesbian superhero on Black Lightning is hyped to play such a groundbreaking character. "Young lesbians, especially black in particular, are seeing me and see themselves and are inspired and empowered to really embrace who they are. Representation matters!"
GLAAD CEO Sarah Kate Ellis really drove the point home, "When you see yourself, your world, your life reflected on television, you can see a future for yourself."
\u201cWhat a dream team. #BlackLightning star @NafessaWilliams with our superstar board member @harto and CEO @sarahkateellis. \ud83d\udcaa\u26a1\ufe0f\u2b50\ufe0f\ud83d\udd25 #GLAADawards\u201d
"There are so many people in this country who might not personally know someone who is trans," she added. "But they might know someone on a tv show who's trans and they can relate to that and they understand them better. That understanding develops acceptance and we need acceptance in this country."
It looks like LGBTQ stories, particular ones at the intersections of a wide variety of identities, are what's going to change the world for the better. Listen below for more takes from Hannah Hart, Jazz Jennings, Sarah Kate Ellis, Luna Blaise, Peyton Elizabeth Lee, Lilian Bowden, and Lauren Tom. The stars also reveal music/films/tv shows their obsessed with right now. (Mostly Cardi B and Love, Simon)
The GLAAD Media Awards premiere tonight on Logo at 8p.m. ET/PT! Follow Raffy and Taylor on Twitter, and subscribe to WerQ on iTunes and SoundCloud!
Can transgender women use strap-ons? Jessie shares a story from her recent sexcapades that lead her to question her identity.
There was one point when I asked my girlfriend, 'Would you feel comofrtable if I used a strap-on with you?'
She said yes, but she was very overly concerned about me being, since I'm a trans woman, she's like, 'I don't want to make you do anything you're uncomofortable with.'
I started to think about it and realized that I wasn't really bothered by the fact that I would have to use a strap on. Body disphoria is a very common thing a lot of transgender people experience. The tendency with trans people going from male to female is if you have a penis and don't feel comfortable with having a penis, you don't like to use a penis in any sexual situation. I actually did feel that much did feel that, very much so when I had a penis. I'm post surgery.
But talking to her about it in that situation, I started to realize I have no qualms in using a strap on, which could theoretically bring back a lot of the emotional things I was going through when I did have a penis. It's sort of making me realize that I'm okay with it because I feel very confident in who I am and my identity, which wasn't always the case. I've been trying to figure out what it means to be trans now that I've sort of finished transitioning.
I don't have any major steps to go through anymore. I'm sort of where I want to be. What does that mean for me as a trans person? What is inherently trans when you're not transitioning?
After a heartfelt and vulnerable conversation about identity, Raffy, Taylor, and Jessie also give some words of wisdom to their younger selves and things get E*MO*TION*AL.
Raffy's weekly obsession:
— (@)
Raffy and Taylor's weekly obsession:
Jesse's weekly obsession:
\u201cHellblade: Senua's Sacrifice is coming to Xbox One & Enhanced for One X on April 11th! As a thank you to the patient Ninja Theory Xbox fans, pre-order from Monday or buy in the 1st week on the Xbox Store and save 10%!\u201d
Check out Jessie Gender's pop culture video series Nerd Out, follow Raffy and Taylor on Twitter, and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes and SoundCloud!
Welcome to PRIDE's LGBT entertainment podcast, WerQ!
Join editor-in-chief Raffy Ermac and culture writer Taylor Henderson as we chat with Keiynan Lonsdale, the 26-year-old actor playing Bram in the highly-anticipated gay teen rom-com Love, Simon.
Keiynan opens up about his depression, how he came out to his friends (very dramatically at a house party), how Hollywood shoved him back into the closet, why he came out to the world (while filming Love, Simon!), and the happiness he found after leaving the closet.
"Maybe six months after I'd come out, I booked Insurgent, my first job in the U.S. When I booked that and I was officially moving over here, I went back in the closet.
Suddenly, I was in a whole new place. I was like, 'oh, I could just be honest straightaway,' but then that's when my fear of Hollywood and ruining my career, that's when all that came in. I had a few months of being out, then I all of a sudden went back in."
"Sexuality was the thing I gripped so tightly on for my whole life. Once I was completely free, I just started to grow a lot. I've changed a lot.
This is what it feels like to be a full human being."
Keiynan also shares what it's like to navigate Hollywood as a black actor, and how he hopes Love, Simon, with its several lead characters of color, will change that narrative.
"When you know another black actor is cast in a film or tv show, you think, 'Oh I'm not going to get anything in it then. They've already got one black guy.'''
"This proves that that's not the case. Just because one black person has gotten an opportunity doesn't mean you can't also."
Raffy's weekly obsession:
\u201cIs it September yet??? #OTRII @ArseliaGales\u201d
Welcome to PRIDE's LGBT entertainment podcast, WerQ!
Join editor-in-chief Raffy Ermac and culture writer Taylor Henderson as we sit down with filmmaker Allison Tate!
This week, Allison shares her empowering short film First Step, talks about how important it is to have women in front of and behind the camera, and we discuss how hard it is for queer people to find their voice.
On First Step:
This project demanded my vulnerability. The idea sparked in response to a female filmmaker competition prompt that urged directors to share your voice with the world. It immediately made me think of a poem I wrote a year ago when I felt like I didn’t know what my voice was. It started with the line “I’m sick of people telling me to “find my voice” / as if I’ve accidentally misplaced it” and I decided that poem would be the backbone of the film. It became the voiceover about my journey from feeling voiceless to “finding my voice” and shouting with it. The visuals show a story of starting with the wrong person, breaking free, finding the right partner, and ultimately emerging a stronger self.
I illustrated this with a slow-motion swing dance sequence that seems like a one-take, but isn’t. You can see the moments of transition and I liked that. It showed the “process” of making the film and the process of my personal journey. It’s purposefully imperfect, my shiny shoe is scuffed. It’s important for me to show that we can all be imperfect and fantastic - as signaled by my fabulous costume changes!
Another aspect that terrified me was acting. I had never performed in a film, let alone danced in one! But I deeply wanted to rise to the challenge of the prompt and felt that meant putting myself in the piece. In many ways. It was my writing, my voiceover, my body, my dance, my girlfriend dancing with me. I was coming out through film for the world to see. And we all know how scary that can be! But it was facing that fear and riding through that vulnerability that makes me feel accomplished and proud of this film. It feels like a major step of growth. I hope that other people take their own first step by sharing their stories, in any form, even if they are scared. The vulnerability you experience and put into a piece is what makes your story real and relatable.
The struggle is real, y'all.
Watch First Step below.
We also brought back Stan Wars, where we debate innocuous topics, and the table quickly devolves into a yelling match...
Raffy's weekly obsession:
Taylor's weekly obsession:
\u201cCan we talk about how deeply The New Yorker misunderstands who the breakout star of the new Queer Eye is?\u201d
