Transgender Woman Talking – Details, episodes & analysis

In this installment of Transgender Woman Talking, Elle hosts a conversation with Mary Almy and Cheryl Shaver about a documentary they created together. Cheryl is a filmmaker and director who spent time with Mary and her loved ones to explore and present an intimate portrait of her world. In the episode, Elle talks with the two of the importance of story-telling, the poignancy and power of Mary's experiences, and what we expect yet ahead.

The film "Mary: Her Journey from Pain to Purpose" is currently in the film-festival pre-release phase and so has limited availability publicly. However, interested folks can reach out through instagram or Cheryl's website (below) to potentially host a screening or talk more about how to share the project. In some ways, the film resonates with Will Ferrell's work on "Will and Harper" a Netflix documentary about the celebrity's relationship with an old friend and colleague who transitioned later in life.

• Watch a Trailer for Mary's film here.
• Cheryl Shaver's website SLA Video can be found here; her company's facebook page is here.

• Mary and Cheryl's Instagram for the project.
• Film Will and Harper
• ⁠⁠Elle's BlueSky Account⁠⁠

As always, to learn more about Elle and her work, or to explore the possibility of accessing psychotherapy with her, please visit her website at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.estherloewen.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

For constructive feedback on the show, to ask questions, or to get access to the Fierce Femmes or Sacred Wounds support group, please email ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠twatpodcasting@gmail.com⁠⁠.

Elle checks back in with her thoughts about the current political discourse regarding trans people, including the many cruel and stigmatizing executive orders the new president of the United States signed during the first few weeks in office. Elle discusses some of the practical things she's doing to take care of herself, and how she believes we will all survive these times. Included in the episode are references to the following links and resources:

• Elle's BlueSky Account
• The Parable of the Sower &The Parable of the Talents by Octavia Butler
• Balatro Game (*caution* you may not be able to stop)
• Amy Beaver'sTik-Tok Encouragement
• Pride Plans Estate Planning
• The LGBTQ Center of the Desert in Palm Springs -Scott Hines Behavioral Health Clinic
• Sacred Wounds Support Group (Zoom) for LGBTQ People who have experienced religious hurt. Every Wednesday morning at 10am PST.Email for access.

As always, to learn more about Elle and her work, or to explore the possibility of accessing psychotherapy from her, please visit her website at⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.estherloewen.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

For constructive feedback on the show, to ask questions, or to get access to the Fierce Femmes support group, please email⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠twatpodcasting@gmail.com⁠. The group meets ever 2nd and 4th Tuesday evening of the month on Zoom at 6:30pm PST.

On this episode, Elle brings back her book report format, exploring her reactions and thoughts about Taylor Jenkins Reid's masterful novel, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. Among the themes included in this monologue are: reflections on allyship, the difficulty of being in the closet, how names and labels for the queer experience have changed over the years, the ways in which the dangers and societal expectations have shifted in even the last 70 years, the importance of feminism, and the fabulous and informative podcast "Bad Gays".

Many thanks for tuning in to the program, for your constructive feedback, and encouragement. Continue to send it to twatpodcasting@gmail.com.

If you'd like to become one of Elle's clients in therapy, and you are in the state of California, please reach out to her on her website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠www.estherloewen.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ and click on "Therapy".

In this episode of the program, Elle talks about some of her understanding of religious trauma or spiritual abuse. As a former pastor and lifetime member of the Seventh-day Adventist Christian denomination, she resonates very strongly with many of the experiences folks identifying as victims of religious trauma describe. In the program, Elle also reflects on some of her understanding of trauma in general from a therapist's perspective, as well as some of the symptoms that people who have been hurt by religion go through.

Some of the resources mentioned on the episode this week include:

• Sacred Wounds religious trauma support group (Elle leads this weekly with one of her colleagues on Wednesday mornings at 10am on Zoom) - email for the link
• Bessel Van der Kolk - "The Body Keeps the Score"
• Gabor Mate - "The Myth of Normal"
• EMDR Trauma Therapy
• Marcos Torres and the Hunger Podcast on religious trauma / take the quiz here

As always, thank you so much for listening to the program, for your constructive feedback, and encouragement. Continue to send it to twatpodcasting@gmail.com

If you'd like to become one of Elle's clients in therapy, and you are in the state of California, please reach out to her on her website: ⁠⁠⁠www.estherloewen.com⁠⁠⁠ and click on "Therapy".

Nex Benedict was a 16 year old trans child who used he/him/they/them pronouns and lived in Oklahoma outside of Tulsa. Early in February, they were bullied to death in the girls bathroom at school. Before passing, video and text messages were captured from Nex reflecting on the experience of the fight that took his life and the years of harassment and bullying that led up to it. Many folks have been struck by his unjust and untimely passing - including bad actors and bigots like the head of Libs of TikTok who was recently appointed to an Oklahoma position overseeing library books. For most queer folks, however, Nex's killing evokes painful memories about our own traumas -- and the deaths of our queer siblings over the years including especially Matthew Shepherd, Brandon Teena, Brianna Ghey, the Q Nightclub Shooting, The Pulse, O'shae Sibley, and on and on and on.

In this episode, Elle shares her feelings that come up after hearing of Nex's death -- as well as short recordings taken from the Vigil in her town. She finishes the episode with an invitation to take constructive action to push back against the hate.

Some resources shared and mentioned on today's podcast include:

• Therapy with Elle
• "A Warped Version of the Bible Killed NEx Benedict" by Serene Jones
• The work of Kevin Garcia, "Bad Theology Kills"
• The work of Jeffrey Marsh

As always, thank you so much for listening to the program, for your constructive feedback, and encouragement. Continue to send it to twatpodcasting@gmail.com

If you'd like to become one of Elle's clients in therapy, and you are in the state of California, please reach out to her on her website: ⁠⁠www.estherloewen.com⁠⁠ and click on "Therapy".

Elle talks about some recent experiences she's had with haters, and how she chose to respond. She reflects on some of the principles she's used in the past (and present) for shaping reactions, offering a matrix of priorities that may arrive in a variety of priorities depending on the situation. The themes and topics addressed in this episode include Nex Benedict's death, verbal and physical threats, intimidation, personal safety, blocking and deleting on social media, attending to self-respect, getting our needs met, fighting for justice, ghosting, reconciliation, forgiveness, intimacy, and leaving good reviews :)

Thank you once again for listening to the program, for your constructive feedback, and encouragement. Continue to send it to twatpodcasting@gmail.com

If you'd like to become one of Elle's clients in therapy, and you are in the state of California, please reach out to her on her website: ⁠www.estherloewen.com⁠ and click on "Therapy".

This week's show features an interview recorded some time ago with one of Elle's coworkers at the LGBTQ Center of the Desert in Palm Springs, Bekki Lorton. They are a nonbinary person who shares their experiences on the path of self-discovery and self-love. In addition to doing community work at The Center, Bekki also worked with exotic animals in a zoo. Learn more about Bekki and their work here: https://thecentercv.org/en/about-us/our-people/bekki-lorton/

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If you have a story or insight relevant to the work of Transgender Woman Talking, and would be willing to sit for an interview, please reach out to Elle at twatpodcasting@gmail.com.

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To learn more about therapy with Elle, please visit her website at: ⁠www.estherloewen.com⁠ and click on "Therapy".

This episode concludes (for now) Elle's series asking the question about gender identity, Am I Transgender? This final episode again will work just fine on its own but will be best absorbed in the context of the previous six (linked below). In it, Elle talks about the Erin in the Morning's fabulous response to a transphobic hit piece published by the New York Times this last week. She also reflects on themes of intersex experiences, HRT as an experiment, the persistence of Gender Dysphoria over the years, and the collective weight of all the little "signs" along the way.

If you have a story or insight relevant to the work of Transgender Woman Talking, and would be willing to sit for an interview, please reach out to Elle at the email address listed below.

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Previous episodes in the series:

Am I Transgender? (Part 1) - https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/twatpodcast/episodes/Am-I-Transgender-e1r3df3/a-a8tfsck

Am I Transgender? (Part 2) - https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/twatpodcast/episodes/Am-I-Transgender--Part-2-e1t0hp9/a-a94fg40

Am I Transgender? (Part 3) - https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/twatpodcast/episodes/Am-I-Transgender--Part-3-e1v9592/a-a9c8939

Am I Transgender? (Part 4) - https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/twatpodcast/episodes/Am-I-Transgender--Part-4-e23bj4a/a-a9ouuq2

Am I Transgender? (Part 5) - https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/twatpodcast/episodes/Am-I-Transgender--Part-5-e26pv66

Am I Transgender (Part 6) -

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/twatpodcast/episodes/Am-I-Transgender--Part-6-e2a637f

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Reach out to Elle at the following email address: twatpodcasting@gmail.com with constructive feedback, questions, or connection :)

To learn more about therapy with Elle, please visit her website at: www.estherloewen.com and click on "Therapy".

Elle this week reflects on the stress of existing as a trans person (and more generally a minority person) in the world today. She talks about the weight of discouragement and hopelessness that some trans people get covered by, and why it shows up for us. Among other themes, Elle recommends the work by Erin in the Morning who tracks anti transgender legislation in the United States (read with caution because the facts can be depressing). In addition, she references the concept of Minority Stress which is widely considered a significant stress factor by medical providers. She closes with some practical tips for managing the Impending Doom including a recommendation for those who are able to write your representatives (check out this guide).

Elle has therapy openings available!! If you are in the State of California and looking for (or know someone who is) a therapist to work with on a virtual basis, please reach out. Elle is an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist (AMFT#142998), Supervised by Traci Lowenthal, PsyD (CA#22910). She currently accepts private pay only, but has a few sliding scale spots available for those who are in financial difficulty.

As always, Elle welcomes your constructive feedback, questions, and friendly connection. Send your message to twatpodcasting@gmail.com.

In this episode, Elle reflects about a conversation she had with educators and medical providers at Loma Linda University, a Seventh-day Adventist college and hospital in southern california. The table talk itself was not recorded, but Elle brings her report before, immediately after, and in retrospect of what happened. What she had erroneously thought of as an interview or panel discussion prior turned out to be an intimate chat with a group of empathetic educators, many or most of whom were allies. The group is exploring a book published by Baker Academic, exploring four contrasting Christian theological interpretations of transgender identities (link to book). Warning, for people with religious trauma, and for transgender people from Christian backgrounds, this book features some incredibly hostile messaging that could be equated with hate speech. For this reason, Elle cannot recomend it, even though she resonated with Justin Sabia-Tanis' and Megan Defranza's contributions.

Additional recommended resources on the intersection between Christianity and LGBTQ people include:

• Trans-Gender by Justin Sabia-Tanis
• Dazzling Darkness by Rachel Mann
• Transforming by Austen Hartke
• Take Back The Word by Goss and West (out of print)
• Work by Marcella Althous-Reid including Trans/Formations
• Bad Theology Kills by Kevin Garcia

As always, please reach out to Elle at twatpodcasting@gmail.com with your constructive feedback and affirmations.

Soon, Elle will be open for seeing clients looking for psychotherapy in the State of California. Stay tuned!