PODCAST · society
Assigned Sex
by Assigned Sex
Black trans and genderqueer voices on identity, bodies, faith, and the systems designed to silence us.
Episodes
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16: Pauli Murray, In Their Own Words
In this episode of Assigned Sex, Unarchived, Shaun tells the story of Pauli Murray: writer, lawyer, poet, civil-rights strategist, and Episcopal priest. The episode sits with the question of Pauli Murray’s gender without forcing an answer Murray never had the language or safety to give publicly....
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15: Ancestors, Altars, and Gatekeeping
In this episode of Assigned Sex, Unarchived, Shaun talks with Chris, aka Conjure Boi, a root worker and teacher. They cover hoodoo's roots in ancestral practice and the wave of appropriation that followed films like Sinners. They also talk about how to choose which ancestors you honor. In the...
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14: Creativity vs. Capitalism
In this episode of Assigned Sex, Unarchived, Shaun sits down with Nandi Kayyy, a fellow tech veteran and creative collaborator, to talk about why they both left the tech industry and what it cost them to stay as long as they did. In the history segment, Shaun centers Wilmer "Little Axe" Broadnax…
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13: The Werq of Sylvester
Sylvester James Jr. was born in Watts in 1947, pushed out of his Pentecostal church at thirteen, and ended up homeless on the streets of Los Angeles. He still managed to build the rooms where Black queer people could exist fully. In this Pride Month episode of Assigned Sex, Unarchived, Shaun…
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12: Spicy Work
In this episode of Assigned Sex, Unarchived, Shaun sits down with an anonymous guest who goes by Lady, a Black trans woman who came to escorting at twenty-nine, after years of religious shame and romantic disappointment. Lady breaks down what it takes to do this work safely: how she reads a text...
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11: PREA, Paulina Poe v. DOJ and Dee Farmer
Shaun pulls up the case files and sits with two women separated by thirty-one years who made the exact same argument to the exact same government: you knew what would happen to me, and you put me there anyway. In this episode of Assigned Sex, Unarchived, Shaun traces the legal history behind Poe…
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10: Credit Where It's Due
Shaun pulls up a chair with the ancestors, Sylvia Rivera, Bayard Rustin, Marsha P. Johnson, and Stormé DeLarverie, and asks the question that needs to be asked: whose names stay in rotation, and whose work gets acted like it never existed? In this episode of Assigned Sex, Unarchived, Shaun traces...
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9: Black Trans Joy
Shaun sits back down with Nandikayyy to talk about Black trans joy, what it looks and feels like, how it lives next to grief, and what they wish they could've seen when they were younger, framed by a lesson on Audre Lorde. In this episode of Assigned Sex, Unarchived, Shaun and Nandikayyy get into...
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8: It Be Your Own People
In this episode of Assigned Sex, Unarchived, Shaun moves from the murder of Islan Nettles and the “real woman” trope to Lil Duval, Boosie Badazz, Dave Chappelle, and the Black church, breaking down how toxic masculinity and bioessentialism push Black trans folks to the edge while still expecting...
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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…
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6: Origin Story
Shaun Dawson looks back on returning to Assigned Sex years after the 2019 short film, talking about what’s shifted since their first time directing and how their relationship to work, money, and being visible as a Black genderqueer storyteller has changed. They get into why the original film...
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5: Polyam, Black and Still Best Friends
Shaun sits down with agender, polyamorous producer and creative director Nandi K. to talk about eight years of choosing each other, from OKCupid to a Barcade stare down to building a life where friendship, creativity, and non monogamy actually work. They get into why “we gotta be friends first”…
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4: Bralettes and Bust Downs
Shaun talks with Southern‑raised nonbinary barber and techie Chris about growing up “both boy and girl” in a Black church home, navigating pronouns in a “queer‑straight” barbershop, and figuring out how to live beyond a gender binary that keeps knocking people “between the washer and the dryer.”…
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3: They Wouldn’t Support Us, So We Figured It Out
In this episode of Assigned Sex, Unarchived, Shaun sits down with TomKola, a Black Nigerian intersex trans man, activist, and founder of Trans Nigerian Support, for an honest conversation about growing up in a deeply religious, gendered household where everything was “boys do this, girls do…
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2: What Makes the Man?
In this episode of Assigned Sex, Unarchived, Shaun sits down with Kyrie, an original cast member from the Assigned Sex documentary, for an honest conversation about Black masculinity, passability, and self-definition as a Black trans masc person. Kyrie opens up about the challenges of performing...
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1: Deliver Us From Gender
On the first episode of Assigned Sex, Unarchived, Shaun is joined by TJ Chester, Nandikayyy, and an anonymous guest we’re calling “Lady” to unpack spirituality, religion, and faith through the eyes of Black trans and genderqueer folks who grew up in church. TJ and Lady are preacher’s kids…
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Assigned Sex have?
Assigned Sex currently has 16 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Assigned Sex about?
Black trans and genderqueer voices on identity, bodies, faith, and the systems designed to silence us.
How often does Assigned Sex release new episodes?
Assigned Sex has 16 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Assigned Sex?
You can listen to Assigned Sex on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Assigned Sex?
Assigned Sex is created and hosted by Assigned Sex.
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