Joshua Rosenberger - The Sex Education of Shawn C Fettig (And What Does "Queer" Mean?)

Explicit content warning

06/16/23 • 80 min

Sex and sex education is an exciting, and sometimes controversial topic. LGBTQ sex and sex education is, unfortunately, more controversial, especially in today’s political environment. But, for me – it’s also more exciting. And, having this conversation, and talking about sex can bring us joy; it can make us happier and more fulfilled people; it can enhance our relationships and our mental health; and it can literally save lives.

My guest today – Dr. Joshua Rosenberger – is an expert on this subject. He is an associate professor of Biobehavioral Health at Penn State and the Director of the Survey Research Center. He’s also a very prolific researcher and author – focusing on the sexual development and health of gay and bisexual men, HIV /STI prevention, health disparities, and sexual marginalization.

We talk about all of these things, as well as the concept of gay age, the FDA’s recent reversal of their decades-old ban on men who have sex with men donating blood, Tennessee’s decision to deny accepting federal HIV funds, and the potential impact of that, and the idea of redemption in our contemporary politics.
Mentioned:
Vanderpump Rules
White Tears, Brown Scars: How White Feminism Betrays Women of Color – Ruby Hamad

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Follow Deep Dive:
Bluesky
YouTube
Email: [email protected]
Music:
Majestic Earth - Joystock

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Follow Deep Dive:
Bluesky
YouTube
Email: [email protected]
Music:
Majestic Earth - Joystock

Previous Episode

Adam Odsess-Rubin - National Queer Theater (Pride Needs to be a Protest)

Welcome to Pride Month! This is the 53rd annual pride in the United States. The first, in 1970, happened in New York City to mark the first anniversary of the Stonewall Riots – popularly considered to be a seminal moment in gay rights in the United States, when the queer community – trans folks, gay folks, drag queens, queers of all colors and races – protested the brutal tactics employed by the New York City Police Department to harass and intimidate the queer community. And, it was this protest that sent a shot across the bow of law enforcement, as well as the government generally and society as a whole, that the gay community was no longer going to be a silent victim to abuse and repression. Since then, Pride events in June each year have grown and proliferated in the United States – and also outside of our borders - culminating in a month of visibility and celebration.

As I will discuss with my guest today, and also in my closing thoughts, these events take on special significance and meaning this year – as the queer community is under a uniquely direct and targeted campaign of hatred and derision, largely driven by the Republican Party and the far-right Christian community in the United States.

Today’s guest confronts this environment by providing creative outlets for queer artists, creators, performers, and youth to express themselves and showcase their talent in a safe space, but also on the world stage.

Adam Odsess-Rubin is the Founding Artistic Director of National Queer Theater and co-founder of the annual, New York Times acclaimed, Criminal Queerness Festival. We talk about these projects, how and why they’ve developed, what it’s like working in this medium in these challenging times, how National Queer Theater designs programming to provide an outlet for queer people and queer youth, how you can engage, especially as the 2023 Criminal Queerness Festival is just around the corner, corporate pinkwashing, and what the future of the queer community might look like (oh...and Padma Lakshmi).
Recommended:
National Queer Theater
Criminal Queerness Festival
Mentioned:
Gay Bar: Why We Went Out - Jeremy Atherton Lin
Top Chef

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Bluesky
YouTube
Email: [email protected]
Music:
Majestic Earth - Joystock

Next Episode

2023 Criminal Queerness Festival (w/ Danielle Levsky, Andrew Kushnir, and Wotjek Rodak)

In this episode, Deep Dive is partnering with National Queer Theater to bring you a conversation with the three playwrights whose projects are being showcased at this year's Criminal Queerness Festival at the Lincoln Center for Performing Arts in New York City beginning Wednesday, June 21st, and running through Friday, June 23rd.

Acclaimed by the New York Times, the Advocate, and Thrillist – the Criminal Queerness Festival, founded in 2018 by the co-founder and artistic director of National Queer Theater Adam Odsess-Rubin and Egyptian playwright Adam Ashraf Al-sayeeg, has become an annual internationally focused theater festival aimed at lifting up queer and trans stories from around the world – with an emphasis on places and regions that might pose challenges for queer people and queer artists, for a number of reasons.

This year’s focus is on Ukraine and Ukrainian playwrights and stories.

Joining me today are the writers of this year’s highlighted works.

Danielle Levsky has written and is starring in her play War and Play: A Clown Odyssey of Survival, which follows two clowns - Vira and Nadiya - as they navigate the horrors of Russia’s war on Ukraine. This will feature at the festival on opening night, June 21st.

Wotjek Rodak is the writer of the play The Chimera. A staged reading of this play, inspired by the memoir of Herculine Barbin, describes the reality of today’s Poland through metaphor - telling the story of an intersex person living in 19th century France. This will feature at the festival on Thursday night, June 22nd.

And, Andrew Kushnir is the writer of the play The Division – which tells the story of the gay grandson of a famous Ukrainian watchmaker, who, in the face of Russia’s ongoing invasion, and in pursuit of answering big questions, confronts a contentious family history. This will feature at the festival on Friday night, June 23rd.
Recommended:
Spotlight on LGBTQIA+ Pride at Lincoln Center for Performing Arts
National Queer Theater
Criminal Queerness Festival
Mentioned:
Critic Turned Clown
We Support LGBT Ukraine Fund

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Follow Deep Dive:
Bluesky
YouTube
Email: [email protected]
Music:
Majestic Earth - Joystock

Deep Dive with Shawn - Joshua Rosenberger - The Sex Education of Shawn C Fettig (And What Does "Queer" Mean?)

Transcript

Dr. Joshua Rosenberger: The Sex Education of Shawn C Fettig (And What Does "Queer" Mean?)

[00:00:00] Joshua: But the way the funding was coming through the state at the time, and Mike Pence was the senator, governor, I should know better. I went to school in Indiana. Governor, governor. He, he had declined to receive federal funds for HIV stuff around this sort of homophobia and, uh, going to gay stuff. And they had a huge outbreak.

[00:00:20] And