A Bit Fruity with Matt Bernstein

Autistic nonbinary TikTokers. Loud, flamboyant gay men. The twink who filmed himself having sex in the Senate hearing room. Are gay rights being eroded across the country because some of us are… annoying? It’s tempting to think so, but it isn’t true. Sadly, we can never Blaire White-ify or Pete Buttigieg-ify ourselves to freedom. Support me on Patreon! Find more of Devon’s work. Find more of A Bit Fruity. Find more of Matt. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The new docu-series “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV” is shedding light on the abuse that early-2000s child stars faced behind the scenes of our favorite Nickelodeon shows. The doc focuses especially on Drake Bell (of “Drake & Josh” fame), but leaves out half the story. Is a program that claims to be raising awareness about abuse ultimately just perpetuating it? Support me on Patreon! Huge thanks to Blueland for sponsoring today’s show. Get 15% off a cuter, more sustainable way to clean at www.blueland.com/fruity Find more of Kat. Find more of A Bit Fruity. Find more of Matt. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From “sex is real” to Holocaust denial — if it happened to the wizard lady, it can happen to you. Support me on Patreon! Watch more from the brilliant Natalie Wynn a.k.a. ContraPoints. Find more of A Bit Fruity. Find more of Matt. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2018, I called “Love, Simon” a “gay movie made by a straight woman for straight people.” Today, I tell you why I was wrong. Support me on Patreon! Huge thanks to Blueland for sponsoring today’s show. Get 15% off a cuter, more sustainable way to clean at www.blueland.com/fruity Find more of Becky. Find more of A Bit Fruity. Find more of Matt. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A rant. Support me on Patreon! Learn more about Trans Lifeline. Big thanks to Rocket Money for sponsoring today’s show. Save more and get your life together at www.rocketmoney.com/fruity. Find more of A Bit Fruity. Find more of Matt. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I get called a “groomer” on Twitter every day — which is weird, because I want nothing to do with your kids. What is it with queers and kids that gets conservatives so livid? Today, we explore The Gay Agenda’s exhausting past — beginning with the present. First, UK drag queen Crystal tells us how she successfully sued a right-wing activist who defamed her as a “paed*phile.” Then, Chelsey Weber-Smith (of American Hysteria) takes us through the last century of American history, where myths about the Scary Queer Predator pop up again and again, and again. Support me on Patreon! Listen to Chelsey’s podcast, American Hysteria. Find more of Crystal. Huge thanks to Blueland for sponsoring this episode! Get 15% off a cuter, more sustainable way to clean at www.blueland.com/fruity Find more of A Bit Fruity. Find more of Matt. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Peter Staley was a 24-year-old, closeted finance guy when he was diagnosed with HIV. Having been handed a death sentence, he quit his job and devoted what life he had left to fighting the homophobic governments that were letting him and his friends die. Peter tells us about living through the darkest years of gay history, the pivotal role of lesbians in the AIDS movement, and the silent mental health and drug battles he grappled with after realizing he was going to survive. Support me on Patreon! Find more of A Bit Fruity. Find more of Matt. Try Rocket Money and start cutting your unwanted expenses! Try HelloFresh for a timesaving, budget-friendly approach to home cooking. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Taylor Swift has the power to swing the presidential election. What if nothing else matters? Support me on Patreon! Find Angela on Twitter, not X. Find more of A Bit Fruity. Find more of Matt. Huge thanks to Blueland for sponsoring this episode. Get 15% off a cuter, more sustainable way to clean at www.blueland.com/fruity Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How the manufactured hysteria over a single can of beer brought an end to the golden age of rainbow Doritos and “Homo Estás” Chipotle ads — at least until we’re profitable again. Support me on Patreon! (www.patreon.com/mattbernstein in case the hyperlink is being weird!) Find more of A Bit Fruity. Find more of Matt. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is there valor in scamming your way through a system that failed you, even if you hurt people along the way? What is the value of the lies we tell ourselves about ourselves? Can you be morally bankrupt and a camp icon? The questions of America, explored with friend of the show Kat Tenbarge. Find Kat on Twitter and Instagram. Find more of A Bit Fruity. Find more of Matt. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

99% of people who transition continue identifying as transgender for the rest of their lives. The very small amount of people who stop or reverse their transitions — known as “detransitioners” — have become the center of a moral panic about children, gender, and medicine. Lucy, a detransgender woman, joins us to unpack what’s real and what’s hysteria. Find Lucy on TikTok, Twitter & Instagram Find more of A Bit Fruity. Find more of Matt. Watch the video of this episode on YouTube. Huge thanks to Blueland for sponsoring this episode. Get 15% off a cuter, more sustainable way to clean at www.Blueland.com/fruity Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are “Queers for Palestine” really like “Chickens for KFC”? No, but understanding intersectional justice can be hard, and sharing memes is easy. Joined by Moe Dabbagh, a gay Palestinian American with family currently in Gaza, we Venn diagram gay liberation and Palestinian liberation. They’re less at odds with each other than you’d think. Gal Gadot makes a cameo.  Read Sarah Schulman’s op-ed on pinkwashing here. Thank you to Moe Dabbagh for joining me. Find Moe here. Find more of A Bit Fruity. Find more of Matt. Watch the video of this episode on YouTube. Huge thanks to Blueland for sponsoring this episode. Get 15% off a cuter, more sustainable way to clean at www.Blueland.com/fruity Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The number of kids being homeschooled today is more than double of what it was four years ago, and nobody is making the rules. While the religious right is convinced that political indoctrination is rampant in public schools, we take a look at where teaching is actually flying off the rails.  Huge thanks to Blueland for sponsoring this episode. Get 15% off a cuter, more sustainable way to clean at www.Blueland.com/fruity Read Christina’s and Aaron’s Washington Post story here. Find more of A Bit Fruity. Find more of Matt. Watch the video of this episode on YouTube. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At the forefront of today’s anti-LGBTQ movement is one shockingly uncharismatic woman. Journalist Taylor Lorenz helps us understand the rise of Chaya Raichik, a former real estate agent who now makes a handsome living terrorizing queer students and teachers across the country using her Twitter account, @libsoftiktok. We also hear directly from some of her former targets. Buy Taylor’s new book here. Watch the video of this episode on YouTube. Find more of A Bit Fruity. Find more of Matt. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2008, Jenna Karvunidis was looking for ways to involve her distant mother in the life of her soon-to-be child. Fifteen years, thousands of acres of wildfires, and a few plane crashes later, she wishes she could put the genie back in its bottle. Find Jenna here. Watch the video of this episode on Youtube. Find more of A Bit Fruity. Find more of Matt. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Like many people, sitting still and staring at the wall during the early days of the pandemic brought up new feelings for Miss Benny. Notably, that she was transgender. From viral closeted teenager to out Netflix star, she walks us through the personal and political trials of her first few years living as a woman. Find Miss Benny here. Watch the video of this episode on Youtube. Find more A Bit Fruity. Find more of Matt. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One year later, we revisit the trial that metastasized through society, leaving a culture of brutal misogyny in its wake. NBC journalist Kat Tenbarge helps us navigate a story not just about Amber Heard, but about our misunderstanding of abuse, tabloid spectacles, influencers, and money. It is also a story about Amber Heard. Find Kat’s work here. Watch the video of this episode on YouTube. Find more of A Bit Fruity. Find more of Matt. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

LGBT conservatives: Why? How? Where did they come from? What can we learn from them, and how can we dismantle the LGBT conservative that lives within all of us? Natalie Wynn (aka Contrapoints) helps us psychoanalyze one of the more confusing political positions of our time. Jeffree Star makes an appearance, for better or for worse. Indulge in Natalie’s work Find more of A Bit Fruity Find more of Matt Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A Bit Fruity with Matt Bernstein is coming soon! I'm so happy you're here. Subscribe everywhere podcasts are available, and watch full episodes at https://www.youtube.com/MattBernstein1 Follow Matt: @mattxiv Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices