The Queer Family Podcast – LGBTQ Families & Queer Parenting Stories

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Latest Episodes:

Queer Families Deserve Better Care with B.J. Woodstein Sep 28, 2026

Show notes

B.J. Woodstein is a queer mom, doula, lactation consultant, author, and LGBTQ+ specialist who knows firsthand how much the right support can change a family’s experience. After difficult pregnancies, birth complications, painful breastfeeding, and healthcare providers who didn’t always understand her two-mom family, B.J. became the kind of provider she wished she’d had.

Jaimie and B.J. talk about queer family building, birth trauma, feeding, advocacy, inclusive language, and why LGBTQ+ people deserve healthcare that sees and respects who they actually are.

Topics: LGBTQ families, queer parenting, lesbian parenting, queer family building, donor conception, sperm donation, pregnancy, hyperemesis gravidarum, birth trauma, breastfeeding, chestfeeding, lactation, doulas, inclusive healthcare, LGBTQ healthcare, nonbinary birth, gender-affirming care

🏳️‍🌈 About the guest(s)/ Resources Mentioned

B.J. Woodstein is a writer, translator, former academic, LGBTQ+ specialist doula, lactation consultant, counselor, and bibliotherapist. She lives in the UK with her wife and their two children.

B.J. is also the author of We’re Here: A Practical Guide to Becoming an LGBTQ+ Parent, which combines practical family-building information with the experiences of LGBTQ+ parents, as well as Be Fruitful, which focuses on family building in the Jewish community.

She also co-runs Queer Wayfinder, which offers counseling, coaching, and bibliotherapy for LGBTQ+ people.

🏳️‍🌈 Interested in advertising? Email thequeerfamilypodcast@gmail.com

🎧 Loved this episode?

Support The Queer Family Podcast on Patreon for exclusive bonus content and help keep these stories alive!

OR become a paid subscriber through our RedCircle page for bonus episodes and one-time or recurring donations:

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🏳️‍🌈 What resonated most with you?

Drop a comment, DM us, or email thequeerfamilypodcast@gmail.com—we love hearing your stories!

🏳️‍🌈 Let’s Connect!

Find us on IG, TikTok, Bluesky, & YouTube: @thequeerfamilypodcast 🏳️‍🌈 Watch full episodes on YouTube

🏳️‍🌈 Order the If These Ovaries Could Talk book 🏳️‍🌈 Shop merch here. 🏳️‍🌈 Full transcript & episode info available on our website

🏳️‍🌈 Edited by: Jerson Barajas 🏳️‍🌈 Theme Song by: Tiffany Topol 🏳️‍🌈 Logo by: Daneen Stevenato

🗳️ VOTE. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ ADVOCATE. 🍼 BUILD QUEER FAMILIES.

The information shared in this episode is for educational purposes only and not a substitute for professional advice. Always consult a trusted professional for your specific situation!

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-queer-family-podcast/exclusive-content
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Making a Baby Was So Complicated, They Built an App Sep 21, 2026

Show notes

description

Sydney and Gina knew they wanted to build a family—and they knew, as a lesbian couple, it would take planning. What they didn’t expect was a stage-three endometriosis diagnosis right as they began trying to conceive.

In this episode, they walk Jaimie through their queer fertility journey: choosing a known sperm donor, navigating the legal agreements, three failed IUIs, the emotional and financial toll of fertility treatment, and finally moving to IVF. They also talk about grieving differently as partners, advocating for yourself in the medical system, and what it means to parent without a genetic connection.

Their experience ultimately inspired them to create WeFertility, an app designed to help people manage the paperwork, appointments, finances, and endless logistics of family building.

A candid conversation about queer parenting, LGBTQ families, IVF, known donors, endometriosis, and finding something meaningful on the other side of a difficult fertility journey.

Topics: queer parenting, LGBTQ families, lesbian parenting, queer family building, IVF, IUI, known sperm donors, fertility treatment, endometriosis, donor conception, LGBTQ parenting

🏳️‍🌈 Interested in advertising? Email thequeerfamilypodcast@gmail.com

🏳️‍🌈 Resources Mentioned

WeFertility - the app designed to help people manage the paperwork, appointments, finances, and endless logistics of family building.

WeFertility Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wefertilityapp

WeFertility TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wefertilityapp?_r=1&_t=ZP-99ePpNsDHEU

WeFertility Website: https://wefertilityapp.com

Gina Brickey Instagram: @ginabrickey_

Sydney Brickey Instagram: @sydneybrickey94

🎧 Loved this episode?

Support The Queer Family Podcast on Patreon for exclusive bonus content and help keep these stories alive!

OR become a paid subscriber through our RedCircle page for bonus episodes and one-time or recurring donations: 🔗 redcircle.com/thequeerfamilypodcast/exclusive-content

🏳️‍🌈 What resonated most with you?

Drop a comment, DM us, or email thequeerfamilypodcast@gmail.com—we love hearing your stories!

🏳️‍🌈 Let’s Connect!

Find us on IG, TikTok, Bluesky, & YouTube: @thequeerfamilypodcast 🏳️‍🌈 Watch full episodes on YouTube

🏳️‍🌈 Order the If These Ovaries Could Talk book

🏳️‍🌈 Edited by: Jerson Barajas 🏳️‍🌈 Theme Song by: Tiffany Topol 🏳️‍🌈 Logo by: Daneen Stevenato

🗳️ VOTE. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ ADVOCATE. 🍼 BUILD QUEER FAMILIES.

The information shared in this episode is for educational purposes only and not a substitute for professional advice. Always consult a trusted professional for your specific situation!

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-queer-family-podcast/exclusive-content
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Pregnancy Is So Butch: Queer Parenthood, Identity & Letting Go Sep 14, 2026

Show notes

Meghan and Erika never imagined parenthood would be part of their story. Growing up without examples of queer families—and navigating neurodivergence and fears about losing themselves in parenthood—they weren't even sure they wanted children.

Then listening to this podcast helped Meghan realize there might be another possibility.

Now they're raising their three-year-old son, Nova, with another baby on the way. They share a fertility journey that included IUIs, miscarriage, IVF, and an unexpected final vial from their dibling community.

Erika also opens up about navigating pregnancy as a butch woman—and discovering that carrying a baby didn't make her feel less connected to her identity. Quite the opposite.

As Erika puts it: “I think pregnancy is so butch.”

🏳️‍🌈 Key Takeaways

You don’t have to have always dreamed of parenthood to become a deeply intentional parent.
Queer family building often means staying open when the path looks nothing like the one you planned.
Parenthood can crack you open—and give you the chance to break old cycles.
Pregnancy doesn’t have to be inherently feminine. Erika found it could actually deepen her connection to her butch identity.
Fertility loss can bring grief, compassion, and a new understanding of just how complex these journeys can be.
Representation matters. Sometimes seeing another queer family is what makes imagining your own possible.

🏳️‍🌈 About the guest(s)

Meghan and Erika are a queer couple and parents to three-year-old Nova, with their second child on the way. Erika, a proud butch woman, is currently pregnant with their second child and hopes that sharing her experience can offer representation for other butch people considering pregnancy.

🏳️‍🌈 Resources Mentioned

Meghan and Erika on Instagram - Follow along on their journey

🏳️‍🌈 Interested in advertising? Email thequeerfamilypodcast@gmail.com

🎧 Loved this episode?

Support The Queer Family Podcast on Patreon for exclusive bonus content and help keep these stories alive!

OR become a paid subscriber through our RedCircle page for bonus episodes and one-time or recurring donations:

🔗 redcircle.com/thequeerfamilypodcast/exclusive-content

🏳️‍🌈 What resonated most with you?

Drop a comment, DM us, or email thequeerfamilypodcast@gmail.com—we love hearing your stories!

🏳️‍🌈 Let’s Connect!

Find us on IG, TikTok, Bluesky, & YouTube: @thequeerfamilypodcast 🏳️‍🌈 Watch full episodes on YouTube

🏳️‍🌈 Order the If These Ovaries Could Talk book

🏳️‍🌈 Edited by: Jerson Barajas 🏳️‍🌈 Theme Song by: Tiffany Topol 🏳️‍🌈 Logo by: Daneen Stevenato

🏳️‍🌈 Shop merch here. 🏳️‍🌈 Full transcript & episode info available on our website

🗳️ VOTE. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ ADVOCATE. 🍼 BUILD QUEER FAMILIES.

The information shared in this episode is for educational purposes only and not a substitute for professional advice. Always consult a trusted professional for your specific situation!

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-queer-family-podcast/exclusive-content
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Finding the Right Donor—and Finding Our Way to Parenthood Sep 07, 2026

Show notes

What happens when you want to build a family—but have no idea where to start?

Kaelyn, known online as one half of @kaelynandveronica, joins Jaimie to share how she and her wife found their way to parenthood by doing what so many LGBTQ+ families do: looking to the families who had done it before them.

Kaelyn shares the emotional—and sometimes surprising—process of choosing a sperm donor, two years of fertility treatments before becoming pregnant with their daughter Rosie, and why having donor siblings has become such a meaningful part of their family's story. She also opens up about Veronica's experience as the non-biological mom, raising Rosie with an open understanding of donor conception, and how postpartum depression is shaping their conversations about having another child.

Plus, why Kaelyn says if she could have dinner with anyone, she'd choose Rosie's donor—just so she could say thank you.

🏳️‍🌈 Key Takeaways

There is no single “right” way to build an LGBTQ+ family.
Queer families often become roadmaps for the families coming behind them.
Biology doesn't determine the depth of a parent-child bond.
Being open about donor conception gives kids the language to understand their own stories.
Taking care of the parent matters, too—especially when considering another pregnancy after postpartum depression.

🏳️‍🌈 About the guest(s)

Kaelyn is a social media manager, content creator, wife to Veronica, and mom to their almost-three-year-old daughter, Rosie. Through @kaelynandveronica, she shares their life as a two-mom family, from donor conception and fertility to parenting and LGBTQ+ family life. Her work also focuses on helping others navigate family building and showing more of the many ways families can be created.

🏳️‍🌈 Interested in advertising? Email thequeerfamilypodcast@gmail.com

🎧 Loved this episode?

Support The Queer Family Podcast on Patreon for exclusive bonus content and help keep these stories alive!

OR become a paid subscriber through our RedCircle page for bonus episodes and one-time or recurring donations:

🔗 redcircle.com/thequeerfamilypodcast/exclusive-content

🏳️‍🌈 What resonated most with you?

Drop a comment, DM us, or email thequeerfamilypodcast@gmail.com—we love hearing your stories!

🏳️‍🌈 Let’s Connect!

Find us on IG, TikTok, Bluesky, & YouTube: @thequeerfamilypodcast 🏳️‍🌈 Watch full episodes on YouTube

🏳️‍🌈 Order the If These Ovaries Could Talk book

🏳️‍🌈 Edited by: Jerson Barajas 🏳️‍🌈 Theme Song by: Tiffany Topol 🏳️‍🌈 Logo by: Daneen Stevenato

🏳️‍🌈 Shop merch here. 🏳️‍🌈 Full transcript & episode info available on our website

🗳️ VOTE. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ ADVOCATE. 🍼 BUILD QUEER FAMILIES.

The information shared in this episode is for educational purposes only and not a substitute for professional advice. Always consult a trusted professional for your specific situation!

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-queer-family-podcast/exclusive-content
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

How to Legally Protect Your LGBTQ+ Family Aug 31, 2026

Show notes

Is your LGBTQ family as legally protected as you think it is?

LGBTQ+ family law attorney Rachel Levy joins Jaimie to break down the legal steps queer and trans families should know about—from confirmatory and second-parent adoption to donor agreements, estate planning, healthcare decisions, name changes, gender markers, and more.

Rachel explains why being listed on your child's birth certificate may not be enough to establish parental rights, what families using known donors should put in writing, and why finding an attorney who actually understands LGBTQ+ family law matters.

They also dig into the realities facing trans adults and parents of trans kids right now, including name changes, document updates, privacy and safety concerns, and the enormous differences in protections from state to state. And while the political climate can feel terrifying, Rachel offers an important reminder: frightening headlines don't always tell the whole legal story, and meaningful protections for LGBTQ+ families are still advancing at the state level.

This episode isn't about panic. It's about knowing your rights, asking the right questions, and taking the extra steps that can help protect the people you love.

🏳️‍🌈 Key Takeaways

A birth certificate may not be enough to establish parental rights.
Confirmatory adoption can offer important legal protection.
Put known-donor agreements in writing.
Estate planning is essential for LGBTQ+ families.
Find an LGBTQ+-competent lawyer who practices in your state.
Parents of trans kids should understand name-change and gender-marker laws.
LGBTQ+ protections vary significantly from state to state.
Scary headlines don’t always reflect what’s actually happening legally.
There’s no single “right” way for LGBTQ+ and trans people to navigate safety.
The Uniform Parentage Act could help standardize protections across states.

🏳️‍🌈 About the guest(s)

Rachel Levy is an attorney with Jerner Law Group, an LGBTQ+ family law firm based in Philadelphia. Her practice focuses on adoption and assisted reproductive technology (ART), estate planning, family building, and transgender legal issues, including name changes and legal affirmation. Rachel is passionate about helping LGBTQ+ families understand their rights and take the legal steps needed to protect themselves and their children.

🏳️‍🌈 Resources Mentioned

Website: www.jernerlaw.com

Jerner Law’s LGBTQ+ Resources Hub: www.jernerlaw.com/lgbtq-resources/

Instagram: @jernerlawgroup

🏳️‍🌈 Interested in advertising? Email thequeerfamilypodcast@gmail.com

🎧 Loved this episode?

Support The Queer Family Podcast on Patreon for exclusive bonus content and help keep these stories alive!

OR become a paid subscriber through our RedCircle page for bonus episodes and one-time or recurring donations:

🔗 redcircle.com/thequeerfamilypodcast/exclusive-content

🏳️‍🌈 What resonated most with you?

Drop a comment, DM us, or email thequeerfamilypodcast@gmail.com—we love hearing your stories!

🏳️‍🌈 Let’s Connect!

Find us on IG, TikTok, Bluesky, & YouTube: @thequeerfamilypodcast 🏳️‍🌈 Watch full episodes on YouTube

🏳️‍🌈 Order the If These Ovaries Could Talk book

🏳️‍🌈 Edited by: Jerson Barajas 🏳️‍🌈 Theme Song by: Tiffany Topol 🏳️‍🌈 Logo by: Daneen Stevenato

🏳️‍🌈 Shop merch here. 🏳️‍🌈 Full transcript & episode info available on our website

🗳️ VOTE. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ ADVOCATE. 🍼 BUILD QUEER FAMILIES.

The information shared in this episode is for educational purposes only and not a substitute for professional advice. Always consult a trusted professional for your specific situation!

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-queer-family-podcast/exclusive-content
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Two Dads, One Mom, and a Whole New Way to Think About Family Aug 24, 2026

Show notes

What happens when three people intentionally choose to build a family together?

Vikram Kolmannskog is a psychotherapist, writer, and dad raising his four-year-old son with his husband, Daniel, and their son's mother, Cecilia. From finding each other through a queer family forum to navigating home insemination, biology, and the realities of three-parent co-parenting, their path to family is anything but traditional.

Vikram and Jaimie talk about the messy reality of parenting, biological vs. non-biological connection, the pressure to identify the "real" dad, and the deeply ingrained gender roles that still tell us mothers should nurture while fathers should provide.

It's a conversation about rupture and repair, challenging the rules we've inherited, and what queer families can teach us about what really makes someone a parent.

Because family isn't biology. It's love, commitment—and sometimes a whole lot of mess.

🏳️‍🌈 Key Takeaways

Why Vikram and Daniel chose intentional co-parenting
Finding their child's mother through a queer family forum
The very queer logistics of making a baby together
Navigating three-parent co-parenting when reality didn't match the plan
Biology, non-biological parenting, and the idea of the "real" parent
Why their family kept biological paternity private for the first year
The gendered expectations placed on mothers and fathers
Breastfeeding, formula, and the pressure placed on parents
How therapy helped their family move through conflict and repair
Why "messy" has become one of Vikram's favorite words for parenting

🏳️‍🌈 About the guest(s)

Vikram Kolmannskog is the author of Reflections on Parenting from a Gestalt Therapist Father: Life with Leo, a personal exploration of his first years of parenthood.

🏳️‍🌈 Resources Mentioned

Vikram’s Website

Vikram’s Instagram

Vikram’s Book

🏳️‍🌈 Interested in advertising? Email thequeerfamilypodcast@gmail.com

🎧 Loved this episode?

Support The Queer Family Podcast on Patreon for exclusive bonus content and help keep these stories alive!

OR become a paid subscriber through our RedCircle page for bonus episodes and one-time or recurring donations:

🔗 redcircle.com/thequeerfamilypodcast/exclusive-content

🏳️‍🌈 What resonated most with you?

Drop a comment, DM us, or email thequeerfamilypodcast@gmail.com—we love hearing your stories!

🏳️‍🌈 Let’s Connect!

Find us on IG, TikTok, Bluesky, & YouTube: @thequeerfamilypodcast 🏳️‍🌈 Watch full episodes on YouTube

🏳️‍🌈 Order the If These Ovaries Could Talk book

🏳️‍🌈 Edited by: Jerson Barajas 🏳️‍🌈 Theme Song by: Tiffany Topol 🏳️‍🌈 Logo by: Daneen Stevenato

🏳️‍🌈 Shop merch here. 🏳️‍🌈 Full transcript & episode info available on our website

🗳️ VOTE. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ ADVOCATE. 🍼 BUILD QUEER FAMILIES.

The information shared in this episode is for educational purposes only and not a substitute for professional advice. Always consult a trusted professional for your specific situation!

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-queer-family-podcast/exclusive-content
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

From Lesbian Community to Trans Elder: Reid Vanderburgh’s Story Aug 17, 2026

Show notes

Reid Vanderburgh spent more than 20 years living in lesbian community before realizing he was trans. More than 30 years later, he's a retired therapist, author, stepfather, chosen grandfather, and proud trans elder.

Reid joins Jaimie to talk about finding the language to understand yourself, becoming the therapist he once needed, and why younger generations give him hope. They also explore chosen family, the power of representation, and what Reid calls the most important relationship he ever found—the one with himself.

It's a conversation about identity, belonging, empathy, and the gift of becoming who you are.

🏳️‍🌈 Key Takeaways

Representation gives us the language to understand ourselves.
There's no one "right" way—or timeline—to know who you are.
Believe people when they tell you who they are.
Sometimes the most important relationship is the one you build with yourself.
Our identities can be gifts, not burdens.
Chosen family can change—and save—lives.
Younger generations aren't creating new identities; they have more freedom to name what's always existed.
Progress isn't linear, but Reid's 50+ years in the community give him real hope for what's ahead.

🏳️‍🌈 About the guest(s)

Reid Vanderburgh is a retired therapist, author, trans elder, and longtime LGBTQ+ advocate who transitioned more than 30 years ago. After his own experience with therapists who didn't understand what he was going through, Reid became one of the early openly trans therapists dedicated to serving the trans community, working with hundreds of clients throughout his career. He's also an author, longtime member of the Portland Gay Men's Chorus, stepfather, and proud chosen grandfather.

🏳️‍🌈 Resources Mentioned

https://reidvanderburgh.com/

🏳️‍🌈 Interested in advertising? Email thequeerfamilypodcast@gmail.com

🎧 Loved this episode?

Support The Queer Family Podcast on Patreon for exclusive bonus content and help keep these stories alive!

OR become a paid subscriber through our RedCircle page for bonus episodes and one-time or recurring donations:

🔗 redcircle.com/thequeerfamilypodcast/exclusive-content

🏳️‍🌈 What resonated most with you?

Drop a comment, DM us, or email thequeerfamilypodcast@gmail.com—we love hearing your stories!

🏳️‍🌈 Let’s Connect!

Find us on IG, TikTok, Bluesky, & YouTube: @thequeerfamilypodcast 🏳️‍🌈 Watch full episodes on YouTube

🏳️‍🌈 Order the If These Ovaries Could Talk book

🏳️‍🌈 Edited by: Jerson Barajas 🏳️‍🌈 Theme Song by: Tiffany Topol 🏳️‍🌈 Logo by: Daneen Stevenato

🏳️‍🌈 Shop merch here. 🏳️‍🌈 Full transcript & episode info available on our website

🗳️ VOTE. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ ADVOCATE. 🍼 BUILD QUEER FAMILIES.

The information shared in this episode is for educational purposes only and not a substitute for professional advice. Always consult a trusted professional for your specific situation!

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-queer-family-podcast/exclusive-content
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Parenting Ourselves While Raising Our Kids Aug 10, 2026

Show notes

Not every episode about queer families is about making a family.

Sometimes it's about healing the person who became one.

This week, Jaimie sits down with Bronwin Parks and Elinor Svoboda, hosts of the Late in 88 podcast, to explore the "baby gay" still living inside all of us. Together they unpack growing up queer in the 80s and 90s, the importance of queer history, how today's political attacks echo the past, and why doing our own healing helps us raise more confident, resilient kids.

Whether you're a parent or simply someone still unlearning shame, this conversation is a reminder that our stories—and our history—matter.

🏳️‍🌈 Key Takeaways

Healing ourselves is part of raising healthy kids.
Queer history helps us understand ourselves—and how far we've come.
We all have an inner "baby gay" who deserves compassion.
Simply living authentically can change hearts and minds.
Community and representation matter for every generation.
The world we're creating for our kids starts with how we show up today.

🏳️‍🌈 About the guest(s)

Bronwin Parks and Elinor Svoboda are lifelong friends and the hosts of Late in 88, a podcast that explores queer history through the lens of their own childhoods growing up in conservative Alberta during the late 1980s and 1990s. Blending personal storytelling with queer history, child psychology, and cultural context, they invite listeners to reconnect with—and heal—their own "baby gay."

🏳️‍🌈 Resources Mentioned

Website: https://latein88.com/

Late in 88 Social Media

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/late.in.88/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@late.in.88

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Late.in.88

🏳️‍🌈 Interested in advertising? Email thequeerfamilypodcast@gmail.com

🎧 Loved this episode?

Support The Queer Family Podcast on Patreon for exclusive bonus content and help keep these stories alive!

OR become a paid subscriber through our RedCircle page for bonus episodes and one-time or recurring donations:

🔗 redcircle.com/thequeerfamilypodcast/exclusive-content

🏳️‍🌈 What resonated most with you?

Drop a comment, DM us, or email thequeerfamilypodcast@gmail.com—we love hearing your stories!

🏳️‍🌈 Let’s Connect!

Find us on IG, TikTok, Bluesky, & YouTube: @thequeerfamilypodcast 🏳️‍🌈 Watch full episodes on YouTube

🏳️‍🌈 Order the If These Ovaries Could Talk book

🏳️‍🌈 Edited by: Jerson Barajas 🏳️‍🌈 Theme Song by: Tiffany Topol 🏳️‍🌈 Logo by: Daneen Stevenato

🏳️‍🌈 Shop merch here. 🏳️‍🌈 Full transcript & episode info available on our website

🗳️ VOTE. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ ADVOCATE. 🍼 BUILD QUEER FAMILIES.

The information shared in this episode is for educational purposes only and not a substitute for professional advice. Always consult a trusted professional for your specific situation!

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-queer-family-podcast/exclusive-content
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

She Grew Up With Two Gay Dads in the 70s—Here's What She Wants Parents to Know Aug 03, 2026

Show notes

Melissa Pas Blake grew up with two dads—but not in the way many queer families exist today.

After losing her mother to cancer at just six years old, Melissa was raised by her father and his lifelong partner, Ken, throughout the 1970s and 80s, long before LGBTQ+ families had visibility or legal protections.

In this heartfelt conversation, Melissa shares what it was like growing up in a loving home while her dads remained largely closeted, why their relationship wasn't something anyone talked about, and how she eventually came to understand the extraordinary family she'd always had.

Together, Jaimie and Melissa explore what children actually need to thrive, how family is built through consistency and love—not gender—and why representation matters so deeply for the next generation.

They also discuss second-parent adoption before it even had a name, coming out as the child of queer parents, and the lasting impact of growing up in a home filled with safety, joy, and unconditional love.

🏳️‍🌈 Key Takeaways

Love—not gender—is what makes a family.
Children don't need a "perfect" family; they need to feel safe, loved, and significant.
Melissa's childhood offers a rare look at queer family life decades before marriage equality.
Second-parent adoption existed long before it became common because queer families have always found ways to protect each other.
Growing up with queer parents gave Melissa a broader understanding of love, acceptance, and family.
Visibility matters because children of LGBTQ+ parents shouldn't have to carry shame or secrecy about the people they love.
Even in difficult historical moments, queer families have always existed—and have always been raising wonderful kids.

🏳️‍🌈 About the guest(s)

Melissa Pas Blake is a clinical hypnotherapist, heart-healing practitioner, and Parkinson's wellness specialist. Raised by her father and his lifelong partner after losing her mother to cancer at age six, Melissa brings the unique perspective of someone who grew up in a loving gay household during the 1970s and 80s. Today, she helps others heal emotional wounds while sharing her family's story to inspire and support LGBTQ+ families everywhere.

🏳️‍🌈 Resources Mentioned

Instagram: @pasitivesolutions/

LinkedIn: Melissa Pas Blake https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissablake2/

Website: pasitivesolutions.com

https://pasitivesolutions.com/homecoming/

🏳️‍🌈 Interested in advertising? Email thequeerfamilypodcast@gmail.com

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🏳️‍🌈 Edited by: Jerson Barajas 🏳️‍🌈 Theme Song by: Tiffany Topol 🏳️‍🌈 Logo by: Daneen Stevenato

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🗳️ VOTE. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ ADVOCATE. 🍼 BUILD QUEER FAMILIES.

The information shared in this episode is for educational purposes only and not a substitute for professional advice. Always consult a trusted professional for your specific situation!

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Why We Need to Reclaim “Lesbian Bed Death” Jul 20, 2026

Show notes

When a clip from one of our earlier Tea Time episodes sparked a heated debate online, we knew we had to dedicate an entire episode to it.

This week, we're unpacking the history of "lesbian bed death"—where the term came from, why many researchers now reject it, and whether it's time for queer women to reclaim it altogether. We talk about intimacy, consent, long-term relationships, aging, emotional connection, and why comparing queer relationships to heteronormative standards misses the point entirely.

Whether you're in a decades-long partnership or just moved in together, this is one of our most thoughtful (and funniest) Tea Time conversations yet.

Why You'll Love This Episode

This isn't just a conversation about sex—it's a conversation about how queer relationships are often misunderstood. Jaimie and Dianni challenge decades of assumptions, share personal experiences from opposite ends of long-term relationships, and ultimately ask a bigger question: What if we've been measuring intimacy all wrong?

🏳️‍🌈 Key Takeaways

The surprising (and problematic) origins of the term "lesbian bed death."
Why measuring queer relationships through a heteronormative lens misses the point.
How consent, changing bodies, and life stages naturally affect intimacy.
Why emotional intimacy often looks different in queer relationships.
Jaimie's case for reclaiming "lesbian bed death" as something empowering instead of shameful.
A thoughtful discussion about comparing relationships—and why frequency isn't the same as satisfaction.

🏳️‍🌈 About the guest(s)

Dianni is Jaimie’s friend, fellow queer human, and co-host of Tea Time with Jaimie & Dianni, a short-form bonus series featuring casual, unfiltered conversations about their very different queer little lives. Together, they spill the tea on what’s happening behind the scenes, compare notes across generations and life stages, and talk about the things that don’t always make it into a regular episode of The Queer Family Podcast.

Funny, curious, and always ready to ask the follow-up question, Dianni helps turn Tea Time into the kind of conversation that feels like eavesdropping on two friends catching up.

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🎧 Loved this episode?

Support The Queer Family Podcast on Patreon for exclusive bonus content and help keep these stories alive!

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🔗 redcircle.com/thequeerfamilypodcast/exclusive-content

🏳️‍🌈 What resonated most with you?

Drop a comment, DM us, or email thequeerfamilypodcast@gmail.com—we love hearing your stories!

🏳️‍🌈 Let’s Connect!

Find us on IG, TikTok, Bluesky, & YouTube: @thequeerfamilypodcast 🏳️‍🌈 Watch full episodes on YouTube

🏳️‍🌈 Order the If These Ovaries Could Talk book

🏳️‍🌈 Edited by: Dianni Hall 🏳️‍🌈 Theme Song by: Tiffany Topol 🏳️‍🌈 Logo by: Daneen Stevenato

🏳️‍🌈 Shop merch here. 🏳️‍🌈 Full transcript & episode info available on our website

🗳️ VOTE. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ ADVOCATE. 🍼 BUILD QUEER FAMILIES.

The information shared in this episode is for educational purposes only and not a substitute for professional advice. Always consult a trusted professional for your specific situation!

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-queer-family-podcast/exclusive-content
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