What Makes a Haircut Queer? (w/ Alys Aurora)

Happy New Year! We took some time to catch up with each other, look back on season 3, and discuss Sandra Bullock's secret lesbian club (and Heated Rivalry, ofc). We also responded to some listener voicemails! Thanks for spiraling with us in 2025! Season 3 was our biggest season yet, but we've got so much more spiraling to do in 2026. Stay tuned! Hosted by Ally Beardsley and Babette Thomas, Gender Spiral is a quest to explore the modern experience of being a human in our gendered world. Subscribe/follow/rate/review us to help us out, and support us on Patreon at patreon.com/GenderSpiralPodcast. Follow us on Instagram and TikTok to keep up with all things Gender Spiral. Find transcripts at genderspiralpod.com/episodes, and check out our merch store at genderspiralpod.com/merch!

The legendary gender philosopher and scholar Judith Butler tells us about their personal relationship to non-binary identity. They also provide insight on the global rise of anti-trans ideology, the subject of their 2024 book "Who's Afraid of Gender?" Hosted by Ally Beardsley and Babette Thomas, Gender Spiral is a quest to explore the modern experience of being a human in our gendered world. Subscribe/follow/rate/review us to help us out, and support us on Patreon at patreon.com/GenderSpiralPodcast. Follow us on Instagram and TikTok to keep up with all things Gender Spiral. Find transcripts at genderspiralpod.com/episodes, and check out our merch store at genderspiralpod.com/merch!

What are the practical skills you need to survive the apocalypse? Writer, podcast host, culture afficionado, and reiki practioner J Wortham has done the research (and watched a lot of Survivor). J shares what they learned during their survivalism crash-course on a remote island in Mexico, tells us about their reiki and breathwork practices, and examines why dissasociation might not always be a bad thing. Keep up with J Wortham on Instagram @jennydeluxe, and on Substack. Check out their first book "Black Futures," their article "My 10-Day Crash Course on Surviving the Apocalypse," and their podcast "Still Processing." Hosted by Ally Beardsley and Babette Thomas, Gender Spiral is a quest to explore the modern experience of being a human in our gendered world. Subscribe/follow/rate/review us to help us out, and support us on Patreon at patreon.com/GenderSpiralPodcast. Follow us on Instagram and TikTok to keep up with all things Gender Spiral. Find transcripts at genderspiralpod.com/episodes, and check out our merch store at genderspiralpod.com/merch!

Artist Zander Schlacter and his lawyer Carl Charles from Lambda Legal explain the effects of the Tr*mp administration's executive order barring trans folks from obtaining passports with their correct gender markers, and why Zander is suing the US State Department about it. For more information about Zander's case, visit lambdalegal.org. Find Zander on Instagram @zanderschlacter, and check out the reel he posted when his case was filed. Hosted by Ally Beardsley and Babette Thomas, Gender Spiral is a quest to explore the modern experience of being a human in our gendered world. Subscribe/follow/rate/review us to help us out, and support us on Patreon at patreon.com/GenderSpiralPodcast. Follow us on Instagram and TikTok to keep up with all things Gender Spiral. Find transcripts at genderspiralpod.com/episodes, and check out our merch store at genderspiralpod.com/merch!

You might already know Eoin from our live show in Chicago this past May, but you're about to get to know him even better! Before the show that day, we got a chance to talk with him in-depth about the world of powerlifting, having a cis identical twin, and why for Eoin, tattooing, sexuality and gender are all intricately connected. Then, we got tatted! Find Eoin on Instagram @eoin_mcgraw and book a tattoo if you're in the Chicago area, we highly recommend his work! He also travels for guest spots, so keep an eye out in case he comes to your city. Hosted by Ally Beardsley and Babette Thomas, Gender Spiral is a quest to explore the modern experience of being a human in our gendered world. Subscribe/follow/rate/review us to help us out, and support us on Patreon at patreon.com/GenderSpiralPodcast. Follow us on Instagram and TikTok to keep up with all things Gender Spiral. Find transcripts at genderspiralpod.com/episodes, and check out our merch store at genderspiralpod.com/merch!

The multi-talented Sasha Fuentes tells us about developing his queer archival practice, collecting vintage gay p*rn, and the importance of print media in the age of digital censorship. And stick around to the end of the episode: our very special season finale guest, the legendary Judith Butler(!), joins in to discuss bridging intergenerational differences within the queer community. Follow Sasha on Instagram @three6sashiaa, and get their zines and screenprints on their webstore. Stay tuned for our full episode with Judith Butler in December! Hosted by Ally Beardsley and Babette Thomas, Gender Spiral is a quest to explore the modern experience of being a human in our gendered world. Subscribe/follow/rate/review us to help us out, and support us on Patreon at patreon.com/GenderSpiralPodcast. Follow us on Instagram and TikTok to keep up with all things Gender Spiral. Find transcripts at genderspiralpod.com/episodes, and check out our merch store at genderspiralpod.com/merch!

Everyone wants to run away from society and build a queer homestead with their polycule, but what does it actually take to make that happen? We talk to artist and organizer Kamra Hakim about the land they bought in upstate New York, the artist residency/community space they created on it, and why conflict management is actually the most important skill in an off-grid queer community (besides knowing how to fix a generator). Hosted by Ally Beardsley and Babette Thomas, Gender Spiral is a quest to explore the modern experience of being a human in our gendered world. You can find Kamra on Instagram @almostkarmabutnotquite, and Activation Residency @activationresidency. Check out Kamra's music on Bandcamp and their book Care Manual: Dreaming Care Into Being at Flower Press. Subscribe/follow/rate/review us to help us out, and support us on Patreon at patreon.com/GenderSpiralPodcast. Follow us on Instagram and TikTok to keep up with all things Gender Spiral. Find transcripts at genderspiralpod.com/episodes, and check out our merch store at genderspiralpod.com/merch!

Twitter-queen-turned-fiction-novelist Rose Dommu talks about her new book Best Woman: a family drama Trojan-horsed into a rom-com loosely based on Rose's personal experiences. We also get her opinions about DIY hormone cocktails, bleaching your way out of a crisis, and what Fire Island is really like for trans folks. Best Woman is out NOW! Get your copy at a local bookstore or on Bookshop.org! You can find all of Rose's fiction novel reccomendations on THIS LIST. And find Rose on Instagram @rosedommu. Hosted by Ally Beardsley and Babette Thomas, Gender Spiral is a quest to explore the modern experience of being a human in our gendered world. Subscribe/follow/rate/review us to help us out, and support us on Patreon at patreon.com/GenderSpiralPodcast. Follow us on Instagram and TikTok to keep up with all things Gender Spiral. Find transcripts at genderspiralpod.com/episodes, and check out our merch store at genderspiralpod.com/merch!

Missed us in Chicago? NEVER FEAR, THE RECORDING IS HERE! Two Chicago drag ICONS joined us for night 2 of our weekend at iO Theater in May. Irregular Girl and Mari De La Rua (AKA Stephanie) tell us about being in a drag family, how drag informed their gender identities, and why drag would suck without trans women. Find our incredible guests on Instagram @imirregulargirl and @dragmestephanie Hosted by Ally Beardsley and Babette Thomas, Gender Spiral is a quest to explore the modern experience of being a human in our gendered world. Subscribe/follow/rate/review us to help us out, and support us on Patreon at patreon.com/GenderSpiralPodcast. Follow us on Instagram and TikTok to keep up with all things Gender Spiral. Find transcripts at genderspiralpod.com/episodes, and check out our NEW merch store at genderspiralpod.com/merch!

We're continuing the thread on trans & queer parents in a conversation with scholar, writer, audio producer Cassius (Cass) Adair. He tells us about transitioning in the early days of Tumblr, getting baby fever in his late 20s, and the nitty-gritty of pregnancy and parenting as a trans dad in Minnesota. Check out Cass's work at his website cassiusadair.com. There, you can find links to his writing, audio work, and trans media consulting firm Sylveon Consulting (which he co-runs with our friend Tuck Woodstock!). Hosted by Ally Beardsley and Babette Thomas, Gender Spiral is a quest to explore the modern experience of being a human in our gendered world. Subscribe/follow/rate/review us to help us out, and support us on Patreon at patreon.com/GenderSpiralPodcast. Follow us on Instagram and TikTok to keep up with all things Gender Spiral. Find transcripts at genderspiralpod.com/episodes, and check out our merch store at genderspiralpod.com/merch!