The Queer Family Podcast – LGBTQ Families & Queer Parenting Stories

Parenting is messy. Queer parenting is no exception. And sometimes you just need to complain about it with your gay friends.The hosts of Gaytriarchs, David F.M. Vaughn and Gavin Lodge, join Jaimie for a hilarious, unfiltered conversation about raising kids, surviving modern parenting, and why even LGBTQ+ spaces aren't immune to patriarchy.Fresh off their delightfully chaotic live event with Gays With Kids, the three parents get into everything from screen-time battles and teenage independence to the impossible expectations placed on today's parents. Plus, why does everything default to male, and why are we all so terrified to let our kids do the things we did at their age?It's a whole lot of laughs, a little righteous feminist rage, and a reminder that none of us really knows what we're doing. And maybe that's okay.Topics: LGBTQ parenting, queer families, gay dads, lesbian moms, screen time and kids, parenting teenagers, childhood independence, modern parenting, gender stereotypes, patriarchy, misogyny, parenting expectations🏳️‍🌈 About the guest(s)/ Resources MentionedDavid F.M. Vaughn and Gavin Lodge are the hosts of Gaytriarchs, a hilariously unfiltered comedy podcast about gay dads, parenting, pop culture, and the absurdities of family life.🏳️‍🌈 Interested in advertising? Email [email protected]🏳️‍🌈 Thanks to our sponsorsPUT YOUR BRAND LINK HERE!🎧 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 [email protected]—we love hearing your stories!🏳️‍🌈 Let’s Connect!Find us on IG, TikTok, Bluesky, & YouTube: @thequeerfamilypodcast 🏳️‍🌈 Watch full episodes on YouTube🏳️‍🌈 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

HIV treatment and prevention have come a long way, but stigma, misinformation, and outdated beliefs continue to shape how we talk about HIV and AIDS. What should parents and families know, and how can we better prepare our children to advocate for their own health?This week on The Queer Family Podcast, Jaimie Kelton welcomes HIV advocates Masonia Traylor, founder of Lady Burgundy, and Jerrell Hartnett of GLAAD for an eye-opening conversation about HIV awareness, sexual health education, and raising informed, empowered children.Through their lived experiences with HIV, Masonia and Jerrell challenge common misconceptions, explain HIV testing and prevention, discuss U=U (undetectable equals untransmittable), and explore why HIV stigma continues despite decades of medical progress.The conversation also tackles HIV criminalization, pregnancy, bodily autonomy, medical self-advocacy, and the importance of age-appropriate conversations with children. Plus, a powerful connection between HIV stigma, anti-LGBTQ bullying, and Spirit Day reminds families that supporting LGBTQ youth requires action all year long.Because raising informed, compassionate children starts with being willing to learn alongside them.Topics: HIV awareness, HIV stigma, HIV and AIDS, LGBTQ parenting, queer families, sexual health education, HIV testing, HIV prevention, U=U, bodily autonomy, medical self-advocacy, HIV and pregnancy, LGBTQ youth, Spirit Day, LGBTQ bullying.🏳️‍🌈 About the guest(s)/ Resources MentionedMasonia Traylor is an Emmy-nominated producer, mother of two, HIV advocate, and founder and executive director of Lady Burgundy, a nonprofit serving women and youth across the southeastern United States through HIV prevention and intervention. Living with HIV for 16 years, Masonia has spent much of that time publicly sharing her experience and advocating for better education, resources, and support.Jerrell Hartnett is Associate Director of Education and Advocacy at GLAAD and lead author of the organization's 2026 HIV Stigma Report. Living with HIV for 13 years, Jerrell combines personal experience with research and media advocacy to challenge misinformation, increase visibility, and help reshape the public conversation about HIV.🏳️‍🌈 Interested in advertising? Email [email protected]🏳️‍🌈 Resources MentionedGLAAD — HIV advocacy, media representation, and LGBTQ inclusionSpirit Day — Resources for supporting LGBTQ youth2026 HIV Stigma ReportCDC HIV Resources — HIV testing, prevention, and treatment informationHIV.gov — Information about HIV and U=U🎧 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 [email protected]—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

What happens when the sperm donor you never expected to know suddenly becomes someone you could text?Jaimie is joined by her wife, Anne, for a candid, funny, and occasionally heated conversation about a surprising new chapter in their family's donor-conception journey. What started as a simple question about their daughter's medical history led to something neither of them anticipated: their sperm donor's phone number and an open invitation to reach out.But just because they can contact him, does that mean they should? Jaimie and Anne have different feelings about it, and their kids have opinions of their own.Plus, the two moms take on misogyny, school dress codes, victim-blaming, and what it means to raise a daughter and a son in a world still steeped in patriarchy.It's a little family update, a little feminist rant, and a very real look at how LGBTQ+ families continue to evolve long after the kids arrive.Topics: Donor conception, LGBTQ families, lesbian parenting, sperm donors, donor siblings, Open ID donors, donor-conceived children, medical history, two-mom families, misogyny, school dress codes, parenting, consent🏳️‍🌈 Interested in advertising? Email [email protected]🎧 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 [email protected]—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

What does it take for two gay dads to build a family through foster care? Psychologist and author Dr. Kevin Nadal shares how he and his husband went from newly approved foster parents to raising three biological siblings, all adopted through New York City's foster care system.From receiving a call about a newborn with less than a day's notice to navigating adoption during a global pandemic, Kevin opens up about the emotional realities of foster-to-adopt parenting, the importance of biological family connections, and the challenges of raising Black children in a transracial adoptive family.He also explores the isolation of gay fatherhood, the importance of LGBTQ+ parenting communities, and why he believes his family came together exactly as it was meant to.Topics: gay dads, LGBTQ families, foster care, foster-to-adopt, adoption, transracial adoption, biological siblings, queer parenting, gay fatherhood, LGBTQ family building🏳️‍🌈 About the guest(s)/ Resources MentionedDr. Kevin Nadal is a psychologist, professor, author, and father of three. His work explores the intersections of psychology, social justice, and identity, with books addressing queer psychology, microaggressions, Filipino American psychology, and Asian American psychology. His latest creative venture is Nothing but Net, a queer romance novel that combines basketball, love, and psychology.Kevin lives in Harlem, New York, with his husband and their three children, all adopted through the New York City foster care system.🏳️‍🌈 Interested in advertising? Email [email protected]🎧 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 [email protected]—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

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 MentionedB.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 [email protected]🎧 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 [email protected]—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