In The Den with Mama Dragons – Details, episodes & analysis

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Research indicates that autistic individuals are more likely to identify as transgender or gender diverse compared to the general population. Studies show that people who do not identify with the sex assigned at birth are more likely to be autistic than cisgender individuals. This overlap between autism and gender diversity may be confusing to some parents.. Parenting a child who is gender diverse and autistic can feel complex, and supporting them may at times feel overwhelming, so we’re going to get into the complexity in today’s episode. We’ve invited Dr. Theresa Lyons,  international autism educator, to share her unique blend of science and real-world experience to try to give our listeners clarity, confidence, and a roadmap to better supporting their autistic children. 

Special Guest: Dr. Theresa Lyons

Dr. Lyons is an international autism educator, Ivy League scientist, and autism parent. She’s the founder and CEO of Navigating AWEtism, a groundbreaking platform that transforms the overwhelming complexity of autism science into clear, actionable steps for families. With a Ph.D. from Yale and a deeply personal mission, Dr. Lyons has worked with parents in over 21 countries, bringing evidence-based strategies that change lives. She shares her unique blend of rigorous science and real-world experience while giving parents what they’ve never had before: clarity, confidence, and a roadmap for progress.

Links from the Show:

• Navigating Awetism on YouTube
• Navigating Awetism on IG
• Navigating Awetism on FB
• Find Theresa on LinkedIn
• Navigating Awetism on TikTok
• Navigating Awetism website
• Awestism.net  
• Join Mama Dragons today

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Every news cycle lately brings yet another headline about transgender people and their families, whether it's the inflammatory remarks during the State of the Union or the recent invalidation of driver's licenses in Kansas, or any number of other recent court cases. These stories are showing up across the country and creating confusion and fear and a whole lot of questions for our families. So today In the Den, we're taking some time to pause, to break it all down, to breathe together, and to talk about what's happening in the news right now, what these developments mean, why they matter, and how we can all stay grounded and informed in the middle of it all. Joining Sara is special guest and policy strategist Sam Ames. 

Special Guest: Sam Ames

Sam Ames (they/he) is a legal and policy strategist with 15 years of leadership experience in the LGBTQI+ movement. Sam served in the Biden-Harris Administration as Chief of Staff in the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights and Senior Advisor in the Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration. Sam began their legal career as a staff attorney at the National Center for Lesbian Rights, working on impact litigation cases involving marriage equality, employment discrimination, and family law, and in 2013 founded the Born Perfect Campaign, a national effort to end anti-LGBTQI+ conversion therapy.

Links from the Show:

• Find Sam’s Substack here
• Born Perfect
• Join Mama Dragons today

In the Den is made possible by generous donors like you. Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today at www.mamadragons.org. 

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There are days when fear and grief sit heavy in our chests. The headlines, the laws, the hateful rhetoric–it can all make us wonder how to protect our children and queer loved ones. So many of us, parents and queer folks, are feeling so drained, perhaps sometimes teetering on the edge of despair. But, sometimes what we need most aren’t just plans or protests, but blessings—words that can be a balm, a reminder of queer beauty, wholeness, and love when queer and trans bodies and identities are under unprecedented attack; in this world that so often tries to break us. A new book has emerged that is not just relevant—but necessary. It’s called GlitterBlessed: Already Whole, Already Holy—a vibrant collection of blessings, poems, and spells crafted by and for queer and trans people. It’s a book to help all of us conjure courage, summon joy, and banish shame, a book that insists queerness isn’t something to be explained or defended—it’s already divine. Today In the Den, Sara meets with a couple of the creators and contributors of this book. 

Special Guest: Rev. Sean Neil-Barron

Rev. Sean Neil-Barron is a queer minister, married, foster parent who lives and works in Northern Colorado and whose work centers on the proclaiming of the sacredness of every queer and trans person.

Special Guest: Silen Wellington

Silen Wellington is a sculptor of sound, an artist, storyteller, witch, and genderqueer shapeshifter, who writes about bodies as holy places of change.

Links from the Show:

• Silen’s website
• Glitter Blessed Website
• Join Mama Dragons today

In the Den is made possible by generous donors like you. Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today at www.mamadragons.org. 

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Pride events happen around the calendar all across the country, but June is officially Pride month, and the entire month is filled with opportunities to celebrate with our LGBTQ+ loved ones. With the party on the horizon, some of us might have questions about how to show up and participate. In this episode of In the Den, Jen sits down with three other moms to tackle some of the most common questions around attending Pride. Special guests Chrysteil Hunter, Dez Weyburn, and Diane Oviatt discuss their experiences with Pride in different parts of the country. 

Special Guest: Chrysteil Hunter

Chrysteil lives in Mill Creek, Washington, and is a single mom of four incredible adult kids, one 10 year old son, and has a 5 year old grandson. She works full time, one-on-one, with kids on the autism spectrum. She has been a member of Mama Dragons since 2015, serving in many positions, including WA/AK regional coordinator, board member, Director of Education, Director of the D&I Committee, and QPR suicide prevention training instructor. She loves the mountains, road trips, listening to audio books, and, most of all, spending time with her kids.

Special Guest: Dez Weyburn 

Dez is a queer mom of two, birth doula, and massage therapist in Northern Utah. She believes in serving her community and has done so through birth work for over a decade. She also helped run the local postpartum support group and has been a committee member for Davis County PRIDE for the past three years. When she's not building her career or doing volunteer work, she's probably reading to her kids or working on learning Spanish or American Sign Language.

Special Guest: Diane Oviatt

Diane is a pediatric oncology nurse in Oakland, California, and a founding member of Mama Dragons. She loves kids and color and cheese. Her idea of a good time is reading restaurant reviews and visiting new bakeries. 

Links from the Show:

• Join Mama Dragons today at www.mamadragons.org 
• Mama Dragons on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mamadragons 
• Mama Dragons on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themamadragons/ 

In the Den is made possible by generous donors like you. Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today at mamadragons.org. 

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Content Warning: This episodes has mentions of suicidal ideation.

In this week’s episode of In the Den, Jen visits with special guests Alex and Christy Florence about their individual journeys that led them to meet and eventually marry each other. Alex shares his unique experiences as a Latino adoptee and trans man from a conservatively religious family. Christy talks about her experience as an actively religious mother whose child came out as gay and later trans, and the events that led her to meet and fall in love with Alex. 

Special Guest: Christy Florence

Christy was born and raised in Shelley, Idaho. She is a farmer’s daughter and was taught to work hard, for which she is grateful. She served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Poland and is grateful for that experience. Christy is the mom of 4 amazing humans, Adam, Zoe, Luke and Isaac. She is married to Alex Florence and has been living in Farmington, Utah for the past 9 years. Christy has been part of the Mama Dragons for almost 10 years. Together, Alex and Christy advocate for the LGBTQ+ community and commit to be a safe space for families in the LGBTQ community.

Special Guest: Alex Florence

Alex was born in Galeana, Mexico, and was adopted by a family in Layton, Utah, where he was raised. Alex knew from a very young age that he was not comfortable in his body. He struggled to make sense of the disconnect his soul had with his body. After navigating through societal, cultural, religious beliefs and his family expectations, Alex finally decided to live authentically and openly when he started transitioning in December of 2011. Alex's journey has since provided many opportunities, including advocacy work, speaking engagements, and serving as President on a non-profit board for one of Utah's oldest non-profit organizations in Salt Lake City. He has helped guide other transgender individuals in their own journey towards authenticity.  Alex and Christy have been married since 2016 and live in Farmington Utah. 

Links from the Show:

• Join Mama Dragons today at www.mamadragons.org 
• Mama Dragons on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mamadragons 
• Mama Dragons on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themamadragons/ 

In the Den is made possible by generous donors like you. Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today at mamadragons.org. 

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There are similarities and differences between all of our individual stories as Mama Dragons. We come from diverse religious backgrounds, political parties, family dynamics, and geographic areas. Each of us started at different levels of acceptance, but we all relate to the desire of wanting to protect our children over our own biases. This week, we continue our new series of telling Mama Dragons stories. In this episode of In the Den, we meet Chelsea. 

Special Guest: 

Chelsea Hanson (she, her) is a 51 year old teacher and artist currently living in Las Vegas, Nevada.  She grew up in Shelley, Idaho, graduated high school in Conrad, Montana, graduated from Boise State University with a degree in illustration, and spent 2 years studying at a private art academy.  She has also lived in Utah and Oregon.  She has been teaching visual art in the public school realm for 15 years.  She has two awesome, lovely, smart, funny, resilient kids, a 16 year old son and her 20 year old daughter (dragon) who are both the center of her world.  She enjoys playing and coaching tennis, playing guitar, loves music, loves being outdoors, making and building stuff and spending time with her kids.  

Links from the Show:

• Join Mama Dragons today at www.mamadragons.org 
• Mama Dragons on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mamadragons 
• Mama Dragons on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themamadragons/ 

In the Den is made possible by generous donors like you. Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today at mamadragons.org. 

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Queer youth are overrepresented in the foster care system, meaning that the percentage of youth in foster care who are LGBTQ is significantly larger than the percentage of LGBTQ youth in the general population. Choosing to become a resource in the foster care system may seem overwhelming or complicated, but it can be an important lifeline for these kids. This week, Celeste Carolin guest hosts In the Den, and special guest Dr. Gwen Bass joins us again to discuss some of the important aspects of foster care and how to get involved. 

Special Guest: Gwen Bass

Dr. Gwen Bass is the author of Immaculate Misconception: A Story of Biology and Belonging, in which she tells her story of growing up one of the first children of lesbians conceived through artificial insemination.  She is a teacher, advocate, parent mentor, researcher, and collaborative consultant. With a decade of experience each in K-12 classroom teaching and teacher education, plus years of research and program development, Gwen supports kids and adults whose needs and voices aren’t honored by conventional systems. Her team provides consultation and training to help nonprofits, educators, government agencies, and caregivers foster positive outcomes for young people — especially those with disabilities and learning differences, LGBTQ+ youth and families, and youth in foster care and unique family situations. Gwen is also a foster and adoptive parent in a queer blended family. They travel often, work like a team, and live by three rules: Have fun, be safe, be kind.

Links from the Show:

• Gwen’s website: www.drgwenbass.com 
• Gwen on Queer Family Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3gqsGeQifnrx26W6taN3X1 
• Gwen Book : https://bookshop.org/p/books/immaculate-misconception-a-story-of-biology-and-belonging-gwen-bass/20090027?ean=9798889269526&next=t
• Gwen on First Person Plural: https://www.keystepmedia.com/podcast/sister-act/  
• Join Mama Dragons here: www.mamadragons.org 

In the Den is made possible by generous donors like you. Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today at mamadragons.org. 

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On this week’s episode of In the Den, Jen visits with TikTok mother/daughter duo Monica Gupta Mehta and Asha Lily Mehta about a range of topics from how to maintain good parent/child communication to understanding gender, neurodiversity, and queer sexuality. It’s a conversation you won’t want to miss!

Special Guest: Monica Gupta Mehta

Monica (she/her) is a teacher, educational psychologist, author, nonprofit director, mom, and now an artist! She started teaching 20 years ago in a very progressive classroom, where she taught social emotional learning and sex education along with her humanities course. Monica took time off to raise her children, all of whom are autistic and queer, requiring extremely dedicated parenting and putting them at high risk for mental health struggles. Monica went back to earn her master's degree in educational psychology, which she used creating educational content that she has taught over TikTok, Instagram, in her Normalizers podcast, and in her co-authored book, It’s Totally Normal! An LGBTQIA+ Inclusive Guide to Puberty, Sex, and Gender.

Special Guest: Asha Lily Mehta

Asha (she/her) is a freshman at Northwestern University, currently studying physics and dark matter. As a neurodivergent minority lesbian, Asha has had to deal with microaggressions and outright bigotry for most of her life. In addition, the Covid-19 pandemic separated Asha from her peers during a critical phase of social development. Recognizing a similar combination of mental health, support, education, and socialization needs in teens around the world, Asha decided to join Monica, her mom, in creating online safe spaces. Asha helped create a community that has helped over 100,000 LGBTQIA+ and neurodivergent teens around the world.

Links from the Show: 

• Non-profit website: https://www.kindnessproject.love/ 
• The Kindness Project on IG: https://www.instagram.com/kindnessproject.love/ 
• The Normalizers Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/3lzQmBuZNpnSkAaCJtC9dr?si=8dfd115abc7640fc&nd=1&dlsi=b10a090c73394e07 
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@monicatheteacher 
• Buy It’s Totally Normal  here: https://bookshop.org/p/books/it-s-totally-normal-an-lgbtqia-guide-to-puberty-sex-and-gender-asha-lily-mehta/zMpsaRqEGMJKthzZ?ean=9781839973567&next=t
• Join Mama Dragons today: www.mamadragons.org 

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This week In the Den, Jen visits with Nigerian born pediatrician and LGBTQ+ educator Dr. Lulu about parenting queer children. They talk about a range of topics from what to do and not do when we learn about our children’s queer identities to unlearning preconceived ideas about the queer community to refining our advocacy to best serve our children. 

Special Guest: Dr. Lulu

Dr. Lulu is a multiple award-winning Queer, Nigerian-born pediatrician, LGBTQ+ educator, corporate consultant, CEO of Dr. Lulu’s Coaching & Consulting Lounge, and chief host of Moms 4 Trans Kids Podcast. She is a mother of three, one of whom is a transgender young adult woman. In addition to her family-centered gender-affirming coaching & consulting practice “Dr. Lulu’s PRIDE Corner” (which helps families navigate the psychosocial aspects of raising gender-diverse youth), she also helps support employee-parents at the workplace. Her “Allies in White Coats” program trains culturally competent physician-allies to help mitigate health inequities plaguing the LGBTQ+ community. She is the author of About Your Black Transgender Child, and Invited In: How to Become the Parent Your LGBTQ Child Needs, both set to be published in 2024. Her next book Allies in White Coats: LGBTQ+ Basics for Physicians drops in 2025!

She has been featured on numerous news outlets and  interviewed by Oprah Winfrey for her work on LGBTQ+ advocacy. She is a Youth Suicide Prevention Activist and former host of Suicide Pages, and The Pride Corner podcasts. Dr. Lulu’s current focus is helping communities support and affirm Black transgender kids (who are often hiding in plain sight), one family at a time. 

Links from the Show:

• Find Dr. Lulu on IG: https://www.instagram.com/drlulutalkradio/
• Dr. Lulu on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCniyYyULNDE7S3rxoTtTJRA 
• Lulu on FB: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100082578953611 
• Lulu on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/drlulu 
• Dr. Lulu’s website: www.dr-lulu.com 
• More Dr. Lulu: https://linktr.ee/drlulu?fbclid=IwAR2sfQW5-TbTp_QNQjf8C4JqhJ3fj3VNW_3fiOjzwf7gnFxSXgbFpIAtMbs 

In the Den is made possible by generous donors like you. Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today at mamadragons.org. 

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EPISODE 66–Coming Out When You’re a Mom

On this podcast, we often have conversations addressing parenting issues with experts, and we talk about parenting with parents.  Today’s episode explores an example of a mom realizing she was queer as an adult parent with grown children, and the impacts that had on her family. In this episode of In the Den, Jen visits with Jamie Michaels, her daughter Lauryl Armstrong, and Jamie’s partner Celeste Carolin about navigating a coming out later in life as a parent.  

Special Guest: Jamie Michaels

Growing up in a Christian household, Jamie Michaels embraced her faith and raised her family within Evangelical Christian teachings. However, in 2015, Jamie came out as gay to her husband and her three adult children, a revelation that challenged her family's beliefs and reshaped many of her relationships. Through her honesty and vulnerability, Jamie navigated the complexities of reconciling her sexuality with her religious roots, while navigating the complexities of a blended family. Her story serves as a powerful reminder of the strength found in embracing one's true self at any stage in life.

Special Guest: Lauryl Armstrong

Lauryl, the eldest child of Jamie Michaels, grew up in an Evangelical Christian household, deeply rooted in faith and tradition. In her early twenties, she embraced her role as a youth leader intern, passionate about guiding and inspiring younger members of her community. Lauryl continued to uphold her family's values, raising her own family within Christianity. However, her world was turned upside down in 2015 when her mother came out as gay, introducing her partner into the family in 2016. This shift challenged Lauryl's beliefs and sparked a journey of self-discovery and acceptance, ultimately reshaping her perspective on love, family, and faith.

Special Guest: Celeste Carolin

Celeste, Jamie Michaels's partner, came from an LDS upbringing, coming out in 2005. Entering Jamie’s predominantly Christian family introduced her to new complexities and unexpected joys, navigating the intricate dynamics of family ties, including adult stepchildren, grandchildren, and proximal family. Blending traditions, managing expectations, and navigating family rules became a delicate dance in their shared journey, where curiosity and adaptability undoubtedly played pivotal roles in fostering harmony and understanding within their blended family unit.

Links from the Show:

• Join Mama Dragons here: www.mamadragons.org

In the Den is made possible by generous donors like you. Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today at www.mamadragons.org. 

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