In the Season 5 finale (finally!!!), we celebrate Leo season by speaking with audio producer, stand-up comic and drag queen Hideo Higashibaba (he/him). [CW: mentions of suicide (40-41:20)]

Topics include:

• What you might not understand about “chosen family”
• Growing up in a cult that hates queer and trans people
• Rebuilding yr entire framework for understanding the world, from scratch. 
• Being a transfemme man (and discovering that via drag)
• Plus: “The only practical idea I’ve ever had”

This Week in Gender: “The Tale of Queer Appalachia” in the Washington Post. Check the Queer Appalachia website and IG page for updates. We also mention this Netflix tweet. 

Find Hideo on Instagram at @dr_miyazaki and @punchupnc, and listen to his seven-part podcast, Growing Up Moonie.

Take a peek at our merch shop at bit.ly/gendermerch, or submit your own design to [email protected].

Join the Gender Detectives Slack at bit.ly/genderslack2.

Join our Patreon (patreon.com/gender) to receive our weekly newsletter and other rewards. We also welcome donations via PayPal, Cash App, or Venmo (Tuck-Woodstock). Thank you!

You can reach us at genderpodcast.com or on Twitter or Instagram. You can also follow our host's reporting at @tuckwoodstock.

Do you have gender questions that you’d like answered on the show? Submit questions anonymously via this Google form.

Learn more about Tuck's trans-focused equity consulting company at Sylveon.co.

Logo: Ira M. Leigh

Music: Breakmaster Cylinder

Additional Music: “That Horse Ithica” and “Sino de Cobre” by Blue Dot Sessions

Sponsors: YOU! Thank you!