In this episode of Cubs Out Loud, the cubs head to their local polling places and discuss voting in the year 2022. Given the leak of the US Supreme Court’s opinion draft for the potential overturn of Roe v Wade, the impact of personal freedoms is becoming unknown. Is the SCOTUS opinion a slippery slope? Could marriage equality and gay adoption be next? With this and other topics potentially on the chopping block, is voting the only power society has left? Listen as the guys share their opinions on the recent news and deliberate on the importance of voting and more.
Show Topic
Voting in 2022
Given the leak of the US Supreme Court opinion draft for the potential overturn of Roe v Wade, the impact of personal freedoms is becoming unknown. Could marriage equality be ended? What about adoption? Will the education of future generations become more polarized?
In this episode of Cubs Out Loud, it’s another All T, No Shade show. This time around, the topic is Pride and because the cubs have a lot to say about it, this will be a two-parter. In this second part, the cubs break down their views on the ongoing debate of kink at Pride and its inclusion in LGTBQIA+ spaces. From consent to caution, listen in as the guys paddle their way through this hard stop conversation.
Show Topic
ATNS: LGBTQIA+ Pride 2021 – Part 2: Kink
This year for our annual Pride discussion, we have a two-parter – previously we discussed Corporations. Now that we’ve told big business to fuck off with their pandering, let’s piss off even more people with our thoughts on kink being a part of Pride for the LGBTQIA community.
From COL previous guest Perrin on social media:
Perrin
So here’s the thing… cause it apparently needs to be said. Wearing a leash in public harms absolutely no one. It violates no consent.
This discourse reeks of “think of the children” and “no kink at Pride” and I’m not here for this sanitization.
For years these types of excuses were used to actively harm homosexuals, transfolk, and anyone else who didn’t fit the public’s perception of normal. Still to this day, we see people crying foul when anyone dares deviate from that norm.
Okay, y'all. This is going to be a very, very long thread because I am very, very tired of hearing "BDSM requires consent and therefore you Bad Queers should go back in the closet and leave Pride to us Good Clean Queers."
So we're gonna talk history, and we're gonna unpack shit.
— Forged & Folded A Thousand Times in Rainbow Flame (@vaspider) May 27, 2021
In this episode of Cubs Out Loud, the guys are joined again by Edward Angelini-Cooke to continue our Landscape of Relationships series. In this installment, the cubs share their thoughts on FWBs, otherwise known as friends with benefits. What are the building blocks of this type of relationship and how do you make it work? And, what exactly are the benefits?
Show Topic
Landscape of Relationships: Friends With Benefits
Is a friendship a relationship????
Thoughts?
Many cultures define friendships as a very important relationship
LGBTQ community- “chosen family”
Atlantic 2020 article that discussed the cultural and historical importances of friendships
A set of societal expectations for intimate relationships. Partners follow a set of progressive set of steps, each with clear markers, with a goal in mind.
In 2017, 171 University of Denver students (more women than men) were surveyed on sexual satisfaction, commitment and trust of FWB relationships
Big takeaways? *drumroll please* communication and setting healthy boundaries
They found sexual satisfaction was important but so was sacrificing for the good of the partner, and not looking for the next best thing.
Why? Lots of research is looking at young adults who are in school. Romantic relationships are oftentimes an added stressor that takes away from studying. Some students opt for FWB arrangements to reduce overall stress.
FWBs are supposed to decrease pressure, not add pressure.
You need to be friends in order to call it a FWB. Those take time, trust, shared history, etc.
Must be mutually beneficial and convenient
If the FWB ends, you are allowed to be upset.
“It’s confusing to try to develop friendship founded on a sexual relationship guided by a rule system that has to be invented as you go. Or, when you’re trying to force a friendship so that you can add sex as a benefit, where does the friendship part fit in? That’s putting the benefits before the friendship.”
“Sexual exploration can and often does become a part of an existing friendship between consenting people. Or you may have been in a romantic and/or sexual relationship with this person earlier in your life, but now it’s morphed into a friendship. In such circumstances, the sexual connection may remain, or may be reintroduced. But the common thread is the history between you, the investment you share in the friendship, and the trust that has formed. You recognize that you both enjoy the chemistry, but that you may not be as compatible emotionally as you are sexually. It’s a mutually understood experience. The connection you have as friends determines whether this time in your life and in your relationship is right to be sharing benefits.”
In this episode of Cubs Out Loud, the guys present their next installment of the “What is…” series. This time around, the cubs want a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T!! Listen in as the guys give the lowdown on respect. Are we being respectful to ourselves and others? Where do respect and consent align? All these questions and more are answered.
Show Topic
What is. . . Respect?
Discussion of what ‘Respect’ can be for ourselves and each other.
In this episode of Cubs Out Loud, the guys engage in a conversation on a tough question: Are we as a community “selling out”? With Pride Month coming soon as well as the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall riots, the cubs ask some hard hitting questions. Have we become complacent with the recent wins in the LGBT movement and that we have started to become mainstream? Who is educating our youth of the struggles and has this lack of education affecting their engagement?
Show Topic
For decades, the LGBTQIA community has been working to gain equality. In light of the political climate here in the United States, are we selling out? Have we moved away from our roots of activism, advocacy, fight?