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The Natasha Helfer Podcast


Jul 1, 2019

Thank you for listening to Mormon Sex Info. This episode is an archived episode and is only now becoming publicly available. Mormon Sex Info relies on contributions. To contribute, please visit:

mormonsex.info

Please enjoy the episode.

Natasha Helfer Parker interviews Kimberly Anderson, author of the Mama Dragon Story Project, regarding her journey of gender discovery and her ensuing knowledge on such topics as intersexuality and the transgender experience. In the wake of so much controversy about transgender rights to use public restrooms, this is such an important area for all of us to seek education about. What are intersexual conditions? What does it mean to be transgender? What medical interventions are available and when is it appropriate or not appropriate to use them? How do these topics affect people’s lived experiences? What are considerations those of us who are cisgender never have to think about? What types of stigmas and discriminations are typically experienced? How does Mormon doctrine and culture currently deal with some of these issues? This is a fascinating interview covering a broad spectrum, yet applicable details that will make it worth the listen for those who identify as intersex or transgender, for parents of such youth, for family and friends who want to offer support, for ecclesiastical leaders who want to lend support without causing undue harm, and for the general public who needs further education so that we can all do our part to lessen the discrimination this segment of our population readily endures.

Kimberly Anderson is a noted photographer, professor of photography, and storyteller who has recently published the Mama Dragon Story Project, as an attempt to offer a much needed resource within the Mormon community that will fight against the high suicide rates we see within the LGBTQ+ population.   Anderson has a BA and an MFA from Utah State University, has exhibited widely both nationally and internationally and has work in various collections throughout the Intermountain west. She has taught as an adjunct professor at Brigham Young University, Snow College and Utah Valley University.

Resources mentioned during podcast:

Mama Dragon Story Project

Mama Dragons

Disorders of Sex Development Wiki Page

LGBTQ Youth Continuum of Care

Intersex Society of North America

Ending Conversion Therapy: Supporting and Affirming LGBTQ Youth by SAMHSA

transequality.org re travel issues

The Trevor Project

Trans Lifeline

Family Acceptance Project

Mormon Mental Health Association

Mormon Mental Health Podcast

Other things mentioned during the podcast:

Sunstone 

The Family: A Proclamation to the World by the LDS Church

BCC Documentary Thalidomide a Wonder Drug

mormonsandgays.org

Other resources:

PFLAG

Intersexion