Jodie Patterson

About Episode 2:

Being a mother is tough. But for Jodie Patterson things got even more complicated after her daughter turned three.  Penelope announced that she was actually a boy.  And that was the start of an incredible journey that Jodie details in her book “The Bold World: A Memoir of Family and Transformation.”  Now she works to inform herself, and others, about the bias in her community and society at large.

Our co-host for this conversation is Pearl Ricks. Pearl is the executive director and a founding member of what is now the Reproductive Justice Action Collective or ReJAC. Being a black non-binary transperson, they have experienced the joys, triumphs, beauties, and complexities of their identities; as well as the discrimination, harassment, and violence that stemmed from being black, fat, queer, trans, nonbinary, etc. Seeking empowerment in those experiences, Pearl works at the intersections Reproductive Justice, strategic communications, and community collaborations to create, support, or maintain meaningful action and change.

About Our Hosts:

Nia Weeks (she, her, hers)
Lawyer, Humanitarian, Founder
Citizen She
A Warrior Of A Woman: Nia Weeks – Howard University News Service
Hairstyle discrimination now banned in New Orleans workplaces – Times Picayune / New Orleans Advocate

Pearl Ricks (they, them, theirs)
Executive Director, Founding Member
Reproductive Justice Action Collective (REJAC)</a
Gender Identity & Gender Expression – Some Basics

About Our Guest:

Jodie Patterson
Author, Activist, Mother
A Family Portrait

Timestamps:

1:43: Jodie describes the moment when her child announced they were trans

4:07: How Jodie had to educated herself in the years that followed

9:26: The ways in which her family had to navigate their new reality

13:40: Pearl discusses their own journey and the importance of pronouns

18:53: How Jodie thinks about identity now

22:35: The best ways to protect trans and gay kids

25:41: On the importance of changing the definition of what a “good” mother looks like