7: Pay It No Mind

In this episode of Assigned Sex, Unarchived, Shaun reunites with Jade, an original Assigned Sex documentary cast member, to talk about where she is now, the community and chosen family keeping her grounded, and the work of protecting your mind in a world determined to misread you.Shaun also shares a brief lesson on Marsha P. Johnson, the Jersey-born street queen and co‑founder of STAR whose life held mental illness, sex work, HIV, and world-shifting activism all at once, underscoring how Black trans and gender-nonconforming people have always been central to our history. Jade closes by talking about where she finds her trans joy now: making music as her alter ego Fox Sinclair, teaching herself Unreal Engine, and creating the kind of thoughtful, less hypersexual music she wants to hear. Follow Assigned Sex on Facebook and Instagram at @assignedsex, and subscribe to the Assigned Sex newsletter on Substack for episode updates and extended conversations.Credits:Host: Shaun Dawson · Guest: Jade Cervantes · Guest Host: Aurora Jonez · Audio Engineer: Aaron Freeman · Producers: Shaun Dawson & Nandikayyy · Sound Design: Nandikayyy · Music: “Soul of Orleans” by John Lopke; “Street Gospel Hip Hop Piano – 75bpm – Bbmaj” by nnaudio (licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0).Sources for archival audio on Marsha P. Johnson:– “L002A Intro 475: Marsha P. Johnson interviewed by Betty Brown, April 27, 1973,” LoveTapesCollective. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvW-Fif4KFE– “Marsha P. Johnson | Artifacts | The 1979 Stonewall Interview,” Artifacts. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DC0YX_bIq8U– “Pay It No Mind: The Life & Times of Marsha P. Johnson,” PROUDVISION TV – LGBTQ Public Media Network. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeRejL0sMpQ