Welcome to the ninth episode of series 4, where we’re focusing on the educators, activists, and influencers who inspire and guide us.

In this week’s episode, Lisa chats to the fabulous Nila Varman, host of the Nila Extract, an award winning radio show and educational platform that amplifies the voices of those from minority ethnic communities, dispels stereotypes and navigates socially pressing issues that are not spoken about enough. Nila has won many awards for her work, including a Diana award, Frontline 50 award, and SRA & BBC Award for Best Student Radio Presenter.

We dive right into how Nila’s journey into activism was accelerated by the surge in global awareness of social justice issues at the start of the pandemic. Nila shares how, as a “British Tamil gal”, clearly seeing the everyday racism directed towards Tamil and South Indian communities, as well as occurring inside them, made her eager to speak out about its impact as well as other “taboo” topics.

Nila is a passionate creative and speaks beautifully about how her work affects her own life and the lives of those around her. She talked about the constant pressure to create and how she finds balance on platforms that demand continuous content production.

Listening to Nila, it’s impossible to miss the joy that infuses her work which, a lot of the time, is focused on heavy, hard issues. Nila consistently brings lightness to these important conversations, an invaluable skill which sets her apart as a truly joyful activist.

You can find Nila & her award winning work here:
- Nila’s website
- Find Nila on Instagram at @the_nila_extract and on TikTok at @thenilaextract
- Listen to The Nila Extract podcast, available on all major streaming platforms!

- Continue the conversation by picking up our book Dear Patriarchy: The Gaslit Women's Guide to the (Corporate) World

• International orders
• North American orders

- Please check out our "Feminism 101" suggested reading list here if you're at a loose end for a great read from an incredible female author.

- Find out more about Nubefy, the amazing artists behind the graphics we use, here.

Welcome to the eighth episode of series 4, where we’re focusing on the educators, activists, and influencers who inspire and guide us.

In honor of Beltane (roll on summer!), this week’s episode is a re-release of our amazing conversation with Shifra Nerenberg (she/ her), owner of Spiral Intuitive & an intersectional feminist based in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.

With more than 20 years experience as an Intuitive Advisor, Shifra guides clients all over the world in connecting with their own powerful inner wisdom. Shifra does her best to increase the kindness & hope in our world. Her work is centered around helping intuitive folk trust themselves & shine their individual lights, spreading more of the bright light needed in the world.

We talked with Shifra about the importance of connecting back to our bodies and grounding ourselves so that we can connect to our communities and work against capitalism and oppressive systems of control, which work best when we are isolated and alienated from each other. We discussed how knowing yourself and leaning into your intuition is an important tool to battle patriarchy, systemic racism, heteronormativity, ableism, and xenophobia. We end by working through Shifra’s techniques and strategies to keep from getting stuck in heaviness while remaining rooted in your power and plugging back in to your community with love.

- All things Shifra:

• Find her on Instagram: @spiralintuitive
• Spiral Intuitive Website

- Continue the conversation by picking up our book Dear Patriarchy: The Gaslit Women's Guide to the (Corporate) World

• International orders
• North American orders

- Please check out our "Feminism 101" suggested reading list here if you're at a loose end for a great read from an incredible female author.

- Find out more about Nubefy, the amazing artists behind the graphics we use, here.

Welcome to the seventh episode of series 4, where we’re focusing on the educators, activists, and influencers who inspire and guide us.

Due to the unprecedented onslaught of anti-trans legislation and the steep rise in anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric in the United States of America, we’re re-releasing our last episode in the hopes that it will spread some much needed truth about trans youth and the support they require.

In this episode we speak to the incredible Joshua Jernigan, a trans rights activist and philanthropist based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Josh started the GEN (Gender Education Network) organization which helps transgender and gender diverse kids aged 12 and younger. As you’ll hear in the episode, Josh is a born educator and is deeply passionate about ensuring every child has a safe and loving home to nurture their growing identities.

In this episode, we’re breaking down myths about the experiences of trans youth: What does gender affirming care REALLY look like for kids 12 and younger? What can adults actually do to actively support trans youth? Josh also dives into where he sees parents of gender diverse kids get tripped up or stuck when trying to educate themselves and support their kids as well as giving advice to parents and family members of gender diverse kids in order to help them survive and thrive.

We talk about the importance of trans kids having a consistent affirming, loving adult presence in their lives and how we all have it in us to be that person. With the rise of anti-trans policies being brought forward in the United States, the UK, and around the world, Josh shares his hopes for the future: That we all be cycle breakers for our children and parent our children in ways which are right for them, ignoring what doesn't fit or is outdated and dangerous. We hope this educational episode sparks your activism - trans and gender diverse kids need your voice!

How you can find Josh & GEN:

• Gender Education Network website (donation link at the top of the page!)
• GEN on Facebook

- Josh mentions the Gender Spectrum website during our conversation which is a fabulous resource for parents, educators, therapists, WHOEVER, to learn more about how to support the health & wellbeing of gender diverse children & teens.

- Continue the conversation by picking up our book Dear Patriarchy: The Gaslit Women's Guide to the (Corporate) World

• International orders
• North American orders

- Please check out our "Feminism 101" suggested reading list here if you're at a loose end for a great read from an incredible female author.

- Find out more about Nubefy, the amazing artists behind the graphics we use, here.

Welcome to the sixth episode of series 4, where we’re focusing on the educators, activists, and influencers who inspire and guide us.

In this week’s episode, we’re hosting the incredible Joshua Jernigan, a trans rights activist and philanthropist living in Charlotte, North Carolina. Josh started the GEN (Gender Education Network) organization which helps transgender and gender diverse kids aged 12 and younger. Josh is a born educator and is deeply passionate about ensuring every child has a safe and loving home to nurture their growing identities.

In this episode, we cover big topics: What does gender affirming care look like for kids 12 and younger? What do parents of gender diverse kids get tripped up by or stuck on when trying to educate themselves and support their kids? Josh expertly breaks these topics down and gives advice to parents and family members of gender diverse kids and also what gender diverse kids need in order to survive and thrive. We talked about the importance of trans kids having a consistent affirming, loving adult presence in their lives and how we all have it in us to be that person. With the rise of anti-trans policies being brought forward in the United States, the UK, and around the world, Josh shares his hopes for the future: That we all be cycle breakers for our children and parent our children in ways which are right for them, ignoring what doesn't fit or is outdated and dangerous. We hope this educational episode sparks your activism - trans and gender diverse kids need your voice!

How you can find Josh & GEN:

• Gender Education Network website (donation link at the top of the page!)
• GEN on Facebook

- Josh mentions the Gender Spectrum website during our conversation which is a fabulous resource for parents, educators, therapists, WHOEVER, to learn more about how to support the health & wellbeing of gender diverse children & teens.

- Continue the conversation by picking up our book Dear Patriarchy: The Gaslit Women's Guide to the (Corporate) World

• International orders
• North American orders

- Check out our website AND our new feminist merch collection

• Dear Patriarchy Podcast Website

- Please check out our "Feminism 101" suggested reading list here if you're at a loose end for a great read from an incredible female author.

- Find out more about Nubefy, the amazing artists behind the graphics we use, here.

Welcome to the fifth episode of series 4, where we’re focusing on the educators, activists, and influencers who inspire and guide us.

In this week’s episode, we’re hosting Jessica Olzak and Shannon Collins, creators and co-hosts of Rainbow Connections from the Abington library, a program designed to give youngsters a safe space in which to discuss LGBTQ+ themed books and topics.

We started our love fest by chatting with them about the origins of their ground-breaking youth program: How & why they set it up, the challenges they faced, and how you, too, could get a program going in your community. We spoke with Shannon about their Youthphoria program and how they use photography as activism. We discussed how they keep their cups full while doing their important work, the statistics for LGBTQ+ youth & how just one affirming adult in the life of an LGBTQ+ child is a game changer.

We hope you love the episode as much as we do: It’s an emotional & gratitude-filled journey.

• Abington Library website
  • Rainbow Connections Next Event
  • Rainbow Connections LGBTQ+ Resources
  • Link to the Rainbow Connections Webinar via the PLA
• Jessica Olzak contact - jolzak@mclinc.org
• Shannon Collins contact - shannon@shannoncollins.com
  • Youthphoria website

Rainbow Connections Guests include:

• 03/2022 - Vanessa & JR Ford, authors of Calvin
• 05/2022 - Lily Freeman, teen trans activist and creator of the IG campaign, @projectuncensored
• 07/2022 - Lindz Amer, CEO of Queer Kid Stuff
  • IG: @lindzamer
  • Queer Kid Stuff website
• 08/2022 - Amy Schneider, 40-time Jeopardy champion and writer
  • Twitter: @Jeopardamy
• 10/2022 - C.K. Malone, author of A Costume for Charly
  • Twitter: @CKMalone2
• 11/2022--Kyle Lukoff, author
  • Kyle's website
• 11/2022--Gavin Grimm, trans activist
  • Twitter: @GavinGrimmVA

- Pick up our new book here:

• International orders
• North American orders

- Check out our website to pick up our new book or via our IG: @dearpatriarchypod

Welcome to the fourth episode of series 4, where we’ve been focusing on the educators, activists, and influencers who inspire and guide us. However, because this week is Trans Awareness Week, we're taking a short break from hosting guests to focus on the trans community and how cis people can be better supporters and allies.

We're using information from the excellent Schuyler Bailar, the Human Rights Campaign, and PFLAG to guide this conversation and we've linked back to all of these educators & organizations (and more) below.

We start off by running through Schuyler Bailar's "cheat sheet" about how to re-frame the language you use when talking about, or interacting with, transgender people. We then move through a list of disinformation, anti-trans tropes and rhetoric that many people believe to be true, and dispel the myths around each item. We discuss the importance of moving away from the patriarchal gender binary and how we can support each other, and the trans, non-binary and LGBTQ+ community in general by leaving behind harmful and false heteronormative gender expectations.

If you learned something from this episode, please share with those you know and love who may need more education on this important topic. Have the hard conversations, spread love, and reach out to the communities that need your support.

- Schuyler Bailar:

• Find Schuyler (and his Trans Awareness Week Cheat Sheet) on IG: @pinkmantaray
• Schuyler's website

- Human Rights Campaign

• Myths & Facts: Battling Disinformation About Transgender Rights
• Be an Ally: Support Trans Equality

- Trevor Project

• A Guide to Being an Ally to Transgender & Non-Binary Young People

Additional Transgender, Non-Binary & LGBTQ+ Resources:

• PFLAG website
• Marsha P. Johnson Institute website
• We mentioned Alok V. Menon in the episode as well who is an excellent gender educator and author - find them on IG @alokvmenon

- Continue the conversation by picking up our book Dear Patriarchy: The Gaslit Women's Guide to the (Corporate) World

• International orders
• North American orders

- Check out our website AND our new feminist merch collection

• Dear Patriarchy Podcast Website

- Please check out our "Feminism 101" suggested reading list here if you're at a loose end for a great read from an incredible female author.

- Find out more about Nubefy, the amazing artists behind the graphics we use, here.

Welcome to the third episode of series 4, where we’re focusing on the educators, activists, and influencers who inspire and guide us.

In this week’s episode, we’re hosting Shifra Nerenberg (she/ her), owner of Spiral Intuitive & a lifelong feminist based in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. With more than 20 years experience as an Intuitive Advisor, she guides clients all over the world in connecting with their own powerful inner wisdom. Shifra does her best to increase the kindness & hope in our world. Her work is centered around helping intuitive folk trust themselves & shine their individual lights, spreading more of the bright light needed in the world.

We talked with Shifra about the importance of connecting back to our bodies and grounding ourselves so that we can connect to our communities and work against capitalism and oppressive systems of control, which work best when we are isolated and alienated from each other. We discussed how knowing yourself and leaning into your intuition is an important tool to battle patriarchy, systemic racism, heteronormativity, ableism, and xenophobia. We end by working through Shifra’s techniques and strategies to keep from getting stuck in heaviness while remaining rooted in your power and plugging back in to your community with love.

AND - the best way to use that power and help your community is to VOTE!! We’re looking at you USA!! If you’re struggling with getting info on where to cast your vote, who to support and where you stand on measures, please check out the following resources:

- You better vote b🐱tch:

• VoteSaveAmerica Website
• Ballot Ready Website

- All things Shifra:

• Find her on Instagram: @spiralintuitive
• Spiral Intuitive Website

- Continue the conversation by picking up our book Dear Patriarchy: The Gaslit Women's Guide to the (Corporate) World

• International orders
• North American orders

- Check out our website AND our new feminist merch collection

• Dear Patriarchy Podcast Website

- Please check out our "Feminism 101" suggested reading list here if you're at a loose end for a great read from an incredible female author.

- Find out more about Nubefy, the amazing artists behind the graphics we use, here.

Welcome to the second episode of series 4 where we’re focusing on the educators, activists and influencers who inspire and guide us.

In this week’s episode, we’re hosting Gonzy, the fabulous owner of sustainable, feminist British brand Sasspatch. Gonzy's designs uplift you while keeping you grounded, and she specialises in Sassy Positivity: Sweet designs mixed with savage honesty.

We talk about the struggle to balance motherhood with paid (and unpaid) work, how all parents need to get therapy, preferably before becoming parents, and how important equity is in everything we do. Gonzy is a passionate intersectional feminist, proponent of slow fashion and speaks beautifully on how much both matter to her and to the company ethos of Sasspatch. Gonzy closes our short (but very sweet) conversation with the perfect words: The good stuff is always worth waiting for.

- All things Sasspatch:

• Find her on Instagram: @sasspatchworld
• Sasspatch Website

- Continue the conversation by picking up our book Dear Patriarchy: The Gaslit Women's Guide to the (Corporate) World

• International orders
• North American orders

- Check out our website AND our new feminist merch collection

• Dear Patriarchy Podcast Website

- Please check out our "Feminism 101" suggested reading list here if you're at a loose end for a great read from an incredible female author.

- Find out more about Nubefy, the amazing artists behind the graphics we use, here.