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People use anything as an excuse to be transphobic. They don’t want Drag Queens reading to children, or trans folks using their preferred bathrooms, or whatever else is the topic of the moment. And it feels like we have to work harder to amplify our voices and our joy, but that is what this episode is all about! Today on Dem Bois Podcast, I sit down with Cuee, recording artist, activist, and influencer, who embodies black trans joy! We discuss his music career, his coming out story, his relationship with his mom, and more.

We talk:
How the name Cuee chose him - 5:13
His relationship with his mom - 16:42
Becoming aware of himself in the body he was in - 27:44
How Cuee was introduced to music - 42:28
The dream retreat that he is creating - 55:46

Read more about Cuee is his bio below:
Cuee, from Chicago, IL is a Black Trans Recording Artist, Activist and Influencer who embodies Black Trans Joy. His mission is to spread it across the world through his activism and music. His message is spreading across the world with the goal of reaching 100K LGBTQ+ / Allies that he calls, "Cueeties".

• https://www.twitter.com/cueemusic
• https://www.instagram.com/cueemusic

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Donate to support our 2023 Gender Affirming Surgery Grant Fund here!

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What happens when we don’t share our own stories? They get told by non-trans, non-people of color who want to advocate for us, but don’t necessarily understand how to. This is why diversity and inclusion is so important, especially in spaces that can control narratives like media and entertainment. In this episode of Dem Bos Podcast, I continue the conversation with Sydney Baloue and we discuss the importance of storytelling, the fluidity of gender, the truth of “American culture,” and more!

We talk:
The importance of storytelling in the trans community - 3:48
Sydney’s experience challenging the “gender is a fact’ rhetoric - 14:40
How the gender binary shifts with time - 23:50
Sydney’s favorite childhood cartoons - 30:07
Advice from Sydney Baloue - 40:04

Click here for transcript!

References:
Moi Renee
Miss Honey by Moir Renee
Kylian Mbappe
“HIM” from PowerPuff Girls
Dexter’s Laboratory
Sailor Moon
Looney Tunes
From Kalulu the Hare to Bugs Bunny: Trickster Lagomorph Legends
“What’s Opera, Doc”
Little Richard - Documentary
Tina - Documentary
Scooby-Doo

Read more about Sydnes in his bio below:
Sydney Baloue is a TV writer/producer, dancer, archivist and journalist. He is in the House of Xtravaganza and he was Co-Executive Producer on HBOMax’s LEGENDARY Seasons 1 and 2. In 2022, he was the first Black trans man in the Writers Guild of America after working as a staff writer in scripted TV on The Vanishing Half at HBO and Tom Swift at the CW. Sydney is the author of Undeniable: A History of Voguing, Ballroom and How it Changed My Life (And the World). He was the first trans man to solely win Grand Prize for “Old Way” at the Latex Ball in 2019.

• www.sydneybaloue.com
• https://www.instagram.com/sydneybaloue
• https://www.twitter.com/sydneybaloue

Are you enjoying the Dem Bois Podcast? Donate today to help support the cost of production and the honorarium we pay our guests for their time. All donations are tax-deductible. Click here!

Donate to support our 2023 Gender Affirming Surgery Grant Fund here!

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If you’ve ever wondered about Ballroom, then this episode is for you! Today on Dem Bois Podcast, I sit down with my friend, Sydney Baloue, TV writer/producer, dancer, archivist and journalist. Sydney is an expert on Ballroom culture and he breaks down its history and the role it has played in his life. We discuss how we met, his transition journey, his career in TV, and much more!

We talk:
How the name Sydney chose him - 4:37
Going deeper into the Ballroom scene - 16:13
Ballroom culture for those who don’t know it - 27:55
Sydney’s travel and studies abroad - 35:17
His work on HBO’s Legendary - 45:08

Click here for transcript!

References:
Sciences Po
London School of Economics
Edens Garden
CliniQ
Callen-Lorde
Apicha
Los Angeles LGBTQ Center
Tiq Milan
Paris is Burning
Legendary
Sara Ahmed
Making Gay History
Harper Collins

Read more about Sydnes in his bio below:
Sydney Baloue is a TV writer/producer, dancer, archivist and journalist. He is in the House of Xtravaganza and he was Co-Executive Producer on HBOMax’s LEGENDARY Seasons 1 and 2. In 2022, he was the first Black trans man in the Writers Guild of America after working as a staff writer in scripted TV on The Vanishing Half at HBO and Tom Swift at the CW. Sydney is the author of Undeniable: A History of Voguing, Ballroom and How it Changed My Life (And the World). He was the first trans man to solely win Grand Prize for “Old Way” at the Latex Ball in 2019.

• www.sydneybaloue.com
• https://www.instagram.com/sydneybaloue
• https://www.twitter.com/sydneybaloue

Are you enjoying the Dem Bois Podcast? Donate today to help support the cost of production and the honorarium we pay our guests for their time. All donations are tax-deductible. Click here!

Donate to support our 2023 Gender Affirming Surgery Grant Fund here!