Rae Spoon: Don’t Be Alarmed If You See Me in Either Washroom
*Content Warning* This episode of Late in 88 explores domestic violence, sexual violence, medical trauma, homophobic and transphobic harassment, and teenage substance use, listener discretion is advised.
In this episode of Late ’88, Bronwin Parks and Elinor Svoboda reconnect with musician, producer, and author Rae Spoon, a trailblazing Canadian trans icon and Bronwin’s former gas-station co-worker. Together, they revisit the “very gay gas bar” at the end of the C-train line, and the makeshift sanctuaries of parked cars and late-night conversations that helped them endure a deeply conservative environment.
Rae shares candidly about coming out as queer and then trans in the late ’90s, facing constant street harassment and gendered violence, and navigating a rigidly binary medical system that forced trans people through harmful hoops just to access care. Bronwyn and Ellie open up about their own histories of trauma, threats of corrective violence, disassociation, and the long path toward embracing queer and non-binary identities. Together, they reflect on the power of first love, chosen family, and visibility.
Episode Resources:
Gender Failure by Rae Spoon and Ivan Coyote [book]
Assigned Country Singer At Birth by Rae Spoon [music]
For a complete list of 2SLGBTQIA+ organizations and resources visit: https://latein88.com/resources/
Distributed by Women in Media Network
https://www.womeninmedia.network/
