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I say this all the time and I will say it again! Masculinity is what you choose to make of it. You don’t have to subscribe to the toxic masculinity of our fathers and uncles. We can choose a softer side, and we talk all about that in this episode of Dem Bois Podcast. Today’s guest is fiction writer and poet, Bodi, and we explore the themes of masculinity, identity, and community. We emphasize the power of vulnerability and the role of writing in healing. And, we address the privileges and challenges at the intersections of race and gender.

We talk:

3:45 - How we met at Camp Lost Boys

9:59 - Bodi’s journey of self-discovery

29:58 - Navigating race and identity in germany

40:10 - Embracing change and positive masculinity

48:31 - The role of art in expression

53:29 - Bodi’s poem

Episode References:

Camp Lost Boys

One World Poetry Night

Math jokes page?

Read more about Bodi in his bio below:

Bodi (he/him), a fiction writer poet is a fire sun and rising, moon in cute. His work guides him to process what life blessed him with like dreams and water, spirituality, ancestry, love and affection but also body politics around gender, queerness and disability. Bodi has a background in cultural science and has been working with queer communities of colour in Berlin Germany as a project manager, educator and social worker for more than 10 years. He loves to sing, he loves to cook, give massages and he thinks about qualities of rest.

• @bodipoetry

Celebrate 10 years of Dem Bois Inc.!

2026 marks ten years of Dem Bois Inc. To honor this milestone, we invite you to join our 10 for 10 campaign by giving $10 a month to help sustain the care, leadership, and visibility that trans men of color deserve.

Your support helps build a future rooted in care, visibility, and possibility.

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What do you know about “trans time?” I had never heard the term before my interview with poet and educator, Alexis N. Garcia, but in this episode of Dem Bois Podcast, Alexis teaches all about this concept and more! In this episode, Alexis also discusses their identity, exploring themes of gender, ancestry, and the importance of community. They reflect on the role of play and imagination in our lives, the journey of writing and creativity, the significance of support systems, and the essence of freedom.

We talk:

2:44 - Exploring identity and ancestry

18:26 - The journey of gender and transition

33:21 - Healing generational trauma

40:05 - Understanding “Trans Time” and nonlinear existence

54:35 - Support systems and community connections

Episode References:

Octavia Butler

Caro De Robertis

Tina Aguirre

The Hips on the Drag Queen Go Swish, Swish, Swish

Read more about Alexis is their bio below:

Alexis N. Garcia is a t-boy poet & educator dreaming against the state. Their cross-discipline experiments glitch traditional poetic form to construct trans time & non-linear meaning-making. You can find their work in The Hopkins Review, Poets.org’s “Poem-A-Day” series, The Slowdown, The Best of the Net Anthology 2022, among others. Aceves Garcia has received fellowships from The Outpost Foundation, Jack Jones Literary Arts, and the Tin House Summer Workshop. Their latest callings include bringing plant offerings to the ocean and escaping linear time.

• Instagram loveloaf_
• alexisacevesgarcia.com

Celebrate 10 years of Dem Bois Inc.!

2026 marks ten years of Dem Bois Inc. To honor this milestone, we invite you to join our 10 for 10 campaign by giving $10 a month to help sustain the care, leadership, and visibility that trans men of color deserve.

Your support helps build a future rooted in care, visibility, and possibility.

Donate today!

Donate today to support Transmasc Gender Affirming Grants and Community Wellness Packages for Trans Men of Color!

The Visibility = Possibility™️ Merch is here! - Not just merch, but a movement!

Dem Bois Community Voices Facebook Group is a safe, moderated sanctuary where trans men of color can connect authentically, discuss podcast episodes, share powerful experiences, and build support networks.

Dem Bois YouTube Channel! - @demboisinc - Exclusive content you won't find anywhere else!

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Laughter is a powerful tool for connection! It breaks down barriers and cools fires, and in this episode of Dem Bois Podcast Jonnea talks about how he connects with people through comedy. Jonnea is a stand-up comedian and artist/designer, and he shares insights on embracing his hater side, the significance of his name, and girlhood and womanhood. We also discuss the importance of relationships and support systems, the impact of perception on identity, and the intersection of humor and identity, particularly as a trans individual.

We talk:

02:58 - Embracing the hater within

15:03 - Menstruation and body experiences

24:03 - Perception and identity

36:33 - The journey into stand-up comedy

49:50 - The power of laughter

53:29 - Comedy and gender identity

01:01:31 - The intellectual side of comedy

Click here for Episode References!

Read more about Jonnea in his bio below:

Jonnea Herman is a queer, afrolatinx, part storyteller and part hater, stand up comedian, and artist/designer based in Brooklyn, New York.

• @j0nnea (Twitter + IG + tiktok)
• www.jonneaherman.info

Celebrate 10 years of Dem Bois Inc.!

2026 marks ten years of Dem Bois Inc. To honor this milestone, we invite you to join our 10 for 10 campaign by giving $10 a month to help sustain the care, leadership, and visibility that trans men of color deserve.

Your support helps build a future rooted in care, visibility, and possibility.

Donate today!

Donate today to support Transmasc Gender Affirming Grants and Community Wellness Packages for Trans Men of Color!

The Visibility = Possibility™️ Merch is here! - Not just merch, but a movement!

Dem Bois Community Voices Facebook Group is a safe, moderated sanctuary where trans men of color can connect authentically, discuss podcast episodes, share powerful experiences, and build support networks.

Dem Bois YouTube Channel! - @demboisinc - Exclusive content you won't find anywhere else!

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Connection is like a light in a dark space. The more light there is, the brighter the room becomes. And the more trans men of color connect with each other, the bigger our families become. In this episode of Dem Bois Podcast, my guest, award-winning author KB Brookins, shares their journey of navigating identity, writing, and family dynamics. We discuss the importance of visibility and connection, the nuances of Black womanhood and manhood, the precarity of these identities, and the significance of diverse representation in literature.

We talk:

09:05 - Understanding gender and self-discovery

21:14 - Advice for navigating queerness and family

34:22 - The journey of writing a memoir

44:36 - Exploring freedom through poetry

55:18 - Trans News That Doesn't Suck

Episode References:

1946 (movie)

Dearborn (book) By Ghassan Zeineddine

Erin In The Morning

Autostraddle

LGBTQ Nation

Learning to Shut Out the Noise with Ja’Mel Ashely Ware

Read more about KB in their bio below:

KB Brookins is the author of three books, including Pretty (2024), winner of the Lambda Literary Award in Transgender Nonfiction. They are an ACLU of Texas Artist-in-Residence and a Black Mountain Institute Shearing Fellow at UNLV.

• @earthtokb on Instagram, TikTok, and Substack
• Trans News That Doesn’t Suck
• Freedom House

Celebrate 10 years of Dem Bois Inc.!

2026 marks ten years of Dem Bois Inc. To honor this milestone, we invite you to join our 10 for 10 campaign by giving $10 a month to help sustain the care, leadership, and visibility that trans men of color deserve.

Your support helps build a future rooted in care, visibility, and possibility.

Donate today!

Donate today to support Transmasc Gender Affirming Grants and Community Wellness Packages for Trans Men of Color!

The Visibility = Possibility™️ Merch is here! - Not just merch, but a movement!

Dem Bois Community Voices Facebook Group is a safe, moderated sanctuary where trans men of color can connect authentically, discuss podcast episodes, share powerful experiences, and build support networks.

Dem Bois YouTube Channel! - @demboisinc - Exclusive content you won't find anywhere else!

Send a text

When you think about masculinity and vulnerability, you may not think they work together, but they do! And in this episode of Dem Bois Podcast, denim chang tells us how. He also shares personal experiences with conventional femininity, healing from toxic patterns, and the role of spirituality in healing processes. Together we discuss the importance of community care, the significance of names and pronouns, and the journey of gender identity and transition.

We talk:

Chapters

05:56 - The significance of names and pronouns

18:04 - The role of spirituality in healing

35:35 - Embracing vertical alignment and masculinity

43:44 - Creating a space for learning and growth

47:22 - The journey of self-discovery

55:59 - Visibility equals possibility

Episode References:

bell hooks

Ep. 106 - Extracting Closure From a Past Situation with Shawn Aaron

Audre Lorde: Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power

@tboyskr1pclub

Read more about denim in his bio below:

denim {d} chang is a somatic trauma resolution practitioner and erotic power enthusiast. In his work, he bridges body-based intelligence, the ancestral wisdom of his taoist lineage, and his love for relationship anarchy to support our healing work in feeling more vulnerability, intimacy and belonging. He is the creator of Somatics for the People, an emerging school for liberatory embodiment and identifies as a transmasculine nonbinary immigrant and survivor on the autism spectrum, and a love and sex addict in recovery. When not avoiding his writing practice, he's in muay thai or at the drums.

• d-chang.com
• IG - huesofdenim
• somaticsforthepeople.com

Celebrate 10 years of Dem Bois Inc.!

2026 marks ten years of Dem Bois Inc. To honor this milestone, we invite you to join our 10 for 10 campaign by giving $10 a month to help sustain the care, leadership, and visibility that trans men of color deserve.

Your support helps build a future rooted in care, visibility, and possibility.

Donate today!

Donate today to support Transmasc Gender Affirming Grants and Community Wellness Packages for Trans Men of Color!

The Visibility = Possibility™️ Merch is here! - Not just merch, but a movement!

Dem Bois Community Voices Facebook Group is a safe, moderated sanctuary where trans men of color can connect authentically, discuss podcast episodes, share powerful experiences, and build support networks.

Dem Bois YouTube Channel! - @demboisinc - Exclusive content you won't find anywhere else!

Send a text

Think about anger like a pot of boiling water. If the fire keeps burning when all the water is boiled, the pot will eventually catch fire. And if you allow your anger to boil over, your body will pay the price. And we dive deeper into this concept in this episode of Dem Bois Podcast. Today’s guest is Simran Chugani and we discuss the role of poetry in self-discovery, the intersection of cultural expectations, and the importance of staying connected to humanity amidst societal chaos. We also explore the multifaceted nature of activism, emphasizing the importance of community, healing, and the balance between anger and joy.

We talk:

08:53 - Martial Arts and the concept of peace

17:48 - Cultural expectations and assimilation

39:28 - Balancing anger and joy in activism

44:51 - Alternative forms of contribution

54:46 - Marathons as a metaphor for life's struggles

01:00:13 - The beauty of humanity in shared experiences

Episode References:

Power Beyond Pride

Andrea Gibson

John Green

Dan Savage

E.R. Fightmaster

Violence - EP

Read more about Simran in their bio below:

Simran Chugani is a health researcher, poet, and marathoner based in Orlando, Florida whose work lies at the intersection of storytelling, community-building, and having as much fun as possible. As a researcher, Chugani aims to make health care more integrated, responsive, and accessible. As a poet, they aim to tell stories that capture the beauty in the everyday. As a marathoner, Chugani promotes visibility for trans athletes and leads initiatives that improve inclusivity in sports. At their core, Chugani is grounded in ancestral knowledge and powered by joy.

• Instagram: @simran.chugani

Celebrate 10 years of Dem Bois Inc.!

2026 marks ten years of Dem Bois Inc. To honor this milestone, we invite you to join our 10 for 10 campaign by giving $10 a month to help sustain the care, leadership, and visibility that trans men of color deserve.

Your support helps build a future rooted in care, visibility, and possibility.

Donate today!

Donate today to support Transmasc Gender Affirming Grants and Community Wellness Packages for Trans Men of Color!

The Visibility = Possibility™️ Merch is here! - Not just merch, but a movement!

Dem Bois Community Voices Facebook Group is a safe, moderated sanctuary where trans men of color can connect authentically, discuss podcast episodes, share powerful experiences, and build support networks.

Dem Bois YouTube Channel! - @demboisinc - Exclusive content you won't find anywhere else!

Send a text

Finding community is something we discuss often on Dem Bois Podcast. Why? Because it is important! And in this episode, Miles and I emphasize the significance of community, confidence, and visibility, as well as the challenges and triumphs faced during transition. We also discuss fitness, exploring the harmful stereotypes and gatekeeping present in gyms and sharing our personal journeys of self-acceptance and expression.

We talk:

03:52 - Exploring identity and gender journey

13:00 - Family support and relationships

25:47 - Navigating visibility and transition

34:02 - Challenging fitness norms and gatekeeping

46:55 - The importance of visibility in healthcare

55:18 - Fluidity in gender identity and self-expression

Episode References:

Coming to America

Single All the Way

Ep. 96 Episode of Empowerment with Alexander Rey Simon-Perez

The Sultan Room

The Bush

Cubbyhole Bar NYC

Henrietta Hudson

Read more about Miles in their bio below:

I’m a transmasc creative working across nightlife, modeling, and wrestling. Known for my confident energy, I’ve hit stages with Butch Hooters, Dykes & Dolls, The Bush, Gingers, Mascarade, and Masc House, walked TGS NYFW with Dapper Q, been featured in BINADW, and thrown down in Lesbian Oil Wrestling and Tboy Wrestling. I’ve also co-produced shoots recently! I love blending seduction, strength, and storytelling, exploring masculinity through many lenses. I’m driven by a vision where trans men and transmascs are celebrated and adored — never treated as an afterthought.

• Instagram: @amillymiles
• Tiktok: @amillymiles
• Twitter: @amillymiles

Celebrate 10 years of Dem Bois Inc.!

2026 marks ten years of Dem Bois Inc. To honor this milestone, we invite you to join our 10 for 10 campaign by giving $10 a month to help sustain the care, leadership, and visibility that trans men of color deserve.

Your support helps build a future rooted in care, visibility, and possibility.

Donate today!

Donate today to support Transmasc Gender Affirming Grants and Community Wellness Packages for Trans Men of Color!

The Visibility = Possibility™️ Merch is here! - Not just merch, but a movement!

Dem Bois Community Voices Facebook Group is a safe, moderated sanctuary where trans men of color can connect authentically, discuss podcast episodes, share powerful experiences, and build support networks.

Dem Bois YouTube Channel! - @demboisinc - Exclusive content you won't find anywhere else!

Send us Fan Mail

I say it all the time and I will continue to say it: “Children are a blessing!” They are innocent beings that deserve love and care, and that is the basis of my conversation with Keo Ruiz-O’Neal on this episode of Dem Bois Podcast. Keo is our first guest who is actively pregnant and we talk all about it. We also discuss the importance of community care, the journey of identity, and the challenges faced by trans individuals, particularly in family dynamics and societal acceptance. Keo shares his experiences of being unapologetically Black and Trans, navigating family acceptance, and the beauty of pregnancy as a trans man.

We talk:

05:29 - The power of being unapologetically Black and Trans

13:40 - Navigating family dynamics and acceptance

24:13 - Keo’s experience with Pregnancy as a Trans man

38:16 - Navigating parenthood in this complex world

51:11 - Family dynamics and support systems

01:00:42 - Embracing identity and open conversations

Read more about Keo in his bio below:

Keo Ruiz-O’Neal is a married Black transman carrying his own baby. He is unapologetically Black and trans. Keo has been medically transitioned for 9 years before deciding to carry his baby and grow his family. Keo fiercely believes in equity and serving the most vulnerable and marginalized of the population. He lives up to that through his work and life by advocating for those populations as he is among them as a multiply marginalized individual. He currently lives in Colorado with his husband, dog, and 3 cats.

• IG - keos_kingdom

Celebrate 10 years of Dem Bois Inc.!

2026 marks ten years of Dem Bois Inc. To honor this milestone, we invite you to join our 10 for 10 campaign by giving $10 a month to help sustain the care, leadership, and visibility that trans men of color deserve.

Your support helps build a future rooted in care, visibility, and possibility.

Donate today!

Donate today to support Transmasc Gender Affirming Grants and Community Wellness Packages for Trans Men of Color!

The Visibility = Possibility™️ Merch is here! - Not just merch, but a movement!

Dem Bois Community Voices Facebook Group is a safe, moderated sanctuary where trans men of color can connect authentically, discuss podcast episodes, share powerful experiences, and build support networks.

Dem Bois YouTube Channel! - @demboisinc - Exclusive content you won't find anywhere else!