Trans and Caffeinated

A full transcript of this episode is now available at transandcaffeinated.com/transcripts Payment | Venmo: @bloggerbrit Social | Twitter: @bloggerbrit Instagram: @bloggerbrit Links | Buy Brit’s novel: All We’ve Ever Done Brit’s blog: The Non-Binary Barista The Twelfth Annual Sprudgie Award Nominations Umeko Moyotoshi’s "A Better Table" interview with Alice Wong Umeko Moyotoshi Alice Wong Background Info | Brit Alexandria and I have confusingly parallel online presences. I’m a coffee person, they’re a coffee person. I run a coffee and trans stuff blog, they run a coffee and trans stuff blog. Both of our websites were nominated for Sprudgie awards, both of us write candidly about mental health and workplace advocacy. But earlier this year, Brit released a full-length, sci-fi fantasy novel, so I guess now I have to write a freaking book! Brit, who is sometimes referenced (at least in my brainhole) by their longtime username “Blogger Brit” , has been writing online since 2006. Formerly a lifestyle blogger, Brit launched The Non-Binary Barista in early 2020 to give themselves—and the coffee community—a space to talk about coffee, fun little coffee experiments, disability justice, gender, workplace dynamics, and so much more, and to share resources for marginalized baristas. They also use their social media for similar purposes, and are constantly seeking new ways to show their support for people around them. Brit just has lots of great thoughts about a whole array of different topics, and doesn’t tend to limit themselves to discussing or addressing any one particular thing—only that, from what I can see, pretty much everything they do both on and offline is filtered through their desire to make the world a kind, safer, happier, healthier place for others. This episode mentions mental health, ableism, and workplace mistreatment. This is Brit Alexandria on writing a novel, being “a lot,” and The Non-Binary Barista

Oh hey, there. You’re pretty cute. Haven’t seen you around here before… Heh heh, come here often? Oh, you work here? So you’re here to stay? Oh fuck yeah, they fired the other guy? Honestly, I never liked him—yeah, what was his name… Uhh… what was that? Oh, yeah, Penis, that’s right, Penis used to be there Penis used to be there but now here you are all shiny and new and pretty and well… You’re mine. I mean, you were always mine but four months ago I woke up from a surgery and they were like “you have a vagina!!!” and I was like “cool I’m on a lot of drugs and in a lot of pain!!” And then four days later, when they removed the bandages, that resident assistant lady took one very intense look into your eyes… erm, eye… and said, “UGH! Rachel’s an artist!” and I looked down at you, and looked up at her and said “that’s art?!” No, seriously, I said that. Or… I thought it really loudly? I don’t know, they still had me on that pain stuff, but you were categorically not cute back then. Art was a bit of a stretch. But uh…. May I say. Now… now I see art. I look at you and you’re a fucking masterpiece—my dazzling David chipped out of the metaphorical penile stone by my very own private Michaelangelo, AKA Rachel Bluebond-Langner at NYU Langone. And you’re mine. All mine, no one else’s. Nope, you’re mine. No more staring at myself in undies in the mirror, dick yanked back between my buttcheeks and wishing my coochie would just sit nice and flat against my pelvis. No more staring intensely at someone’s face as they take stock of my naked body for the first time, wondering what they’re thinking, wondering if they’re realizing they actually think my body is kind of gross and now they’re second guessing their impulsive decision to go home with that hot trans girl who absolutely wrecked them at pool in the back of Henrietta Hudson—not based on a real example… or several real examples. Nope. None of that. Now, it’s just me and my pussy. My. Pussy. I can’t wait for all the… climactic adventures we’re going to have together. I’m very grateful that you are mine. This episode mentions transphobia, discrimination, violence, genitals, sex, and surgery. It’s also… really funny, if I do say so myself. This Very Special Episode of Trans and Caffeinated, I Went to NYU Langone and All I Got Was this Brand New Pussy, is brought to you in part by… Otters, holding hands while they sleep… no wait, wrong episode. Ah, yes, Anchor. Thanks Anchor. You’re a pal.

SOCIAL | IG/Twitter: @meghanannette PAYMENT | Ca$happ: $MeghanAnnette Venmo: @mrsgoodwin LINKS | Likewise Coffee Canary Coffee Bar US Coffee Championships World Barista Championships Coffee and Good Spirits Glitter Cat bootcamps Glitter Cat DiGiTiTiON Cup Taster’s DiGiTiTiON Getchu Some Gear Black and White Coffee Q Grader Certification BACKGROUND | If you’re a coffee person like myself...which many of you are... chances are you’ve seen M-A Reida’s face flash across your timeline at least once or twice. Over the past few years, M-A has competed in a number of local and national coffee competitions and started to make quite a name for themselves. They placed second in the qualifier for Coffee in Good Spirits, a competition where coffee and liquor craft collide, and they placed second by a literal… second… in Glitter Cat Barista’s inaugural Coffee Taster’s DiGiTiTiON. I know what you’re thinking—”wow, M-A Reida sounds so stinkin’ cool!” But to me, the coolest thing about M-A is their beautiful outlook on the world. “Love yourself. Love your friends. Say I love you, and say it often.” “Be present with people.” “Life is bigger than toasted seeds and water” These are just a few of the warm pretzel nuggets of wisdom that M-A dropped into my… erm, pretzel basket... throughout this episode. Anyone who’s friends with M-A is better for it, and I think you’ll all be a little bit better for hearing them share. This episode mentions the COVID pandemic and social isolation. This is M-A Reida on being present, saying “I love you,” and saying it often

A full transcript of this episode is now available at https://transandcaffeinated.com/transcripts/ LINKS | Hudson Valley Amps, Facebook/Instagram www.morganrosedean.com SOCIAL | IG: @_morgandean_ Twitter: @_morgandean_ INFO | Like many millennials, Morgan Dean grew up in a world controlled by a generation who were taught that feelings are private, and mental illness is shameful. As a child and into their adolescence, Morgan bounced from doctor to doctor, many of them suggesting that their symptoms were the result of various totally out-of-left-field physical ailments — when the truth was actually very simple: Morgan, like many young trans and non-binary people, was struggling with mental illness. Today, after finally gaining access to proper medication and therapy, Morgan is happier than they ever thought possible. They move through the world with a simple mantra: “be who you needed when you were younger.” Whether you like to cry at work, on the train, or compartmentalize until you can cry in private, Morgan wants to remind you that it is okay to struggle. And it’s also okay to get help. This episode mentions depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, eatings disorders, drugs and alcohol, and societal stigma about mental illness and sex work. This is Morgan Dean on drinking water, touching plants, and dancing in the rain

A transcript of this episode is now available at transandcaffeinated.com/transcripts/ PAYMENT | Venmo: @charli-mandel SOCIAL | IG: @gnarli_xcx LINKS | Documentary: Fixed up - A Terrible Idea Cycling Tips Article: Everesting on a Fixie with a Hormone Headwind ABOUT | It’s hard to know which one Charli Mandel learned first: how to walk, or how to ride a bike. You know, come to think of it, you probably need to be able to walk before you can learn how to ride a bike… but if it were possible to ride a bike first, I’m pretty sure Charli would have done it. Because from the time she was itty bitty teeny tiny, Charli. Loved. Bikes. Starting at just 4 years old on a little Rhino Racer mini, they would eventually go on to set their very own world record. This episode mentions transphobia, misgendering, and biking injuries This is Charli Mandel on the World’s VERY FIRST Fixed Gear Brakeless Everesting Not sure what that means? I didn’t at first either, but that’s what this interview is for, silly billy! Looks like you came to the right place...