In this powerful conversation, we sit down with Professor Sandy O’Sullivan, a Wiradjuri scholar, community advocate, and transgender, non-binary academic, to explore the deep connections between gender, culture, and Indigenous ways of knowing. Together, we unpack how colonialism has shaped – and often distorted – understandings of gender and identity, and what it means to reclaim space for First Nations sovereignty and transgender histories.

This episode moves beyond surface-level conversations to ask: What does community really mean? How can Indigenous thinking guide more collective, caring, and accountable futures? And how do trans and First Nations communities build solidarity while resisting systems that continue to cause harm?

Grounded in lived experience, truth-telling, and cultural strength, this interview offers listeners a rare opportunity to reflect on gender, togetherness, community responsibility, and the power of Indigenous-led knowledge in shaping more just and inclusive worlds.

Content Warning: This episode discusses colonial violence, systemic discrimination, and lived experiences of marginalisation.

🔗 If you'd like to listen back to the unedited episode - with the music - head to our On Demand website. And don't forget to follow our socials at Facebook and Instagram.

Timestamps and Links:

• 00:00 - Acknowledgement of Country
• 00:20 - Welcome to Tranzmission
• 03:36 - Introducing Professor Sandy O’Sullivan
• 06:36 - Solidarity between First Nations and Trans People: Colonial Containers
• 13:20 - Colonisation: Truth Telling, Underserved, and Ledgers
• 19:20 - Historical Context and the Venus of Willendorf
• 28:00 - Creators, Curators, and Community
• 30:54 - Disproportionate Exceptions: Stories, Dignity, and Housing - Queer As...
• 38:13 - Support: Solidarity and Allyship
• 44:08 - The Memoir: Individual and Selective
• 46:00 - Trans Joy: Permission to be boring
• 48:05 - The Future: Death, Abundance, and "Fuck Hope" Chelsea Watego

Support Services

• QLife - 1800 189 527
• QC LGBT Mental Health Services
• Open Doors Youth Services Inc.

📸 ID: Artist Credit Wayde Clarke - Aboriginal Art | Equality LGBTQIA Inclusive Pride Flag

4ZZZ's community lives and creates on Turrbal, Yuggera, and Jagera land. Sovereignty was never ceded.

Produced and recorded by Ez at 4zzz in Fortitude Valley, Meanjin/Brisbane Australia on Turrabul and Jaggera Country and audio and cover image edited by Tobi for podcast distribution for Creative Broadcasters Limited.

Welcome back to Tranzmission’s series It’s A Man’s World. This is Part Two: Power, Safety, and Conflict.

In the first episode of this Tranzmission series we discussed; First Encounters, Learning the Rules, and Early Negotiations of Masculinity titled - Entering A Man’s World Today we’re digging into what happens after you’ve entered men’s spaces — when the unspoken rules become clearer, power dynamics start to show themselves, and questions of safety, dominance, and belonging become unavoidable.

Men’s spaces — whether it’s a worksite, a footy club, a pub, a gym, or online forums — aren’t just social environments. They’re shaped by hierarchies, competition, silence, bravado, and sometimes aggression. For trans men and trans-masculine people, navigating these dynamics can mean constantly assessing risk, managing how visible or invisible you can afford to be, and deciding when to speak up, blend in, or push back.

In this episode, we’re focusing on lived experiences of negotiating power, setting boundaries, responding to conflict, and staying safe — physically, emotionally, and socially — while moving through masculinity in so-called Australia.

Hosted by Ez (he/him) joined Elliott (he/him). As always, we’re not speaking for all trans men, trans-masculine people, or cis men. This series is about our experiences — how we navigate, survive, challenge, and deconstruct masculinity in real time.

🔗 If you'd like to listen back to the unedited episode - with the music - head to our On Demand website. And don't forget to follow our socials at Facebook and Instagram.

Timestamps and Links:

• 00:00 - Acknowledgement of Country
• 00:20 - Welcome to Tranzmission
• 00:51 - Trigger Warning
• 01:34 - It's A Man's World
• 03:08 - It’s A Man’s World Part Two: Power, Safety, and Conflict.
• 04:48 - Safety: How do you know it's safe?
• 10:04 - Safety: Outside the mould.
• 11:54 - Passing
• 14:30 - Privilege, Authority, and Misogyny
• 26:07 - Transphobia, Erasure, and Masculine Hierarchies
• 36:08 - The Manosphere
• 42:47 - "The body is what the powerless work on when they have nothing else."
• 43:55 - Therapy: Touching base
• 44:47 - Community and Complements
• 49:09 - WrapUp: Finding better community - Moaning Lisa
• 51:26 - WrapUp: Quotes - Nick Escalderon
• 52:57 - Support us by Subscribing to 4zzz

Support Services

• QLife - 1800 189 527
• QC LGBT Mental Health Services
• Open Doors Youth Services Inc.
• Beyond Blue

4ZZZ's community lives and creates on Turrbal, Yuggera, and Jagera land. Sovereignty was never ceded.

Produced and recorded by Ez and Elliott at 4zzz in Fortitude Valley, Meanjin/Brisbane Australia on Turrabul and Jaggera Country and audio and cover image edited by Tobi for podcast distribution for Creative Broadcasters Limited.