Piquing Duck

Despite appearing third in the gender and sexual minorities’ acronym LGBTQIA+, Bisexuality still largely remains a mystery both to the Queer and Straight communities alike. Individuals who identify as Bisexual often find it harder to gain acceptance and understanding from their peers and find themselves accused of being unsure, greedy, or latently either straight or Gay. Even pop culture over the years has had trouble making either heads or tails of Bisexuals when even one of the most beloved ensemble cast in Sex and the City professed their ignorance, confusion, mild disgust, and ignorance about the sexual “sub-species”. So what is truly their deal? In this episode of Piquing Duck, we discuss issues surrounding Bisexuality and the misconceptions therein with our two wonderful guests: Stephon Reynolds, a Black American man who identifies as Bisexual, and Raven, a White American man who has had Bisexual experiences. How have factors such as their race, professions, preferences, religion, and even living abroad affected their Bisexual identity? We find this out and more as they also answer 10 questions one ought to never ask a Bisexual. Enjoy this fun, interactive, and informative episode.

It is a known fact by now, as many of the world’s singles move to digital platforms to try and find their happily ever after, that online dating is far from easy. Factors that daters might not have to face in the real world all converge on dating Apps and turn what is meant to be a simple getting-to-know-you process into an uphill battle for respect, understanding, and even sanity at times. Add to that, variables like sexual orientation, race, being a foreigner in a country with a different culture to your own, language barriers, and overall preferences, issues like racism, sexism, fatphobia, xenophobia, and outright discrimination arise.  These are realities that many Black and Queer daters have to face in the West, realities that are often amplified and worsened by the unique experience that is living, working, and dating as a Black Queer person in China. In this first installment of Black Queer Voices in China for the Piquing Duck podcast, I have an insightful, fun, and enlightening conversation with Allen Bradshaw, a Texas native who has lived in China for four years, and knows all too well just how much the struggle is real!

Self-described as a “grunge queen”, Joshi or Slayme Winehouse as she is known to her massive fan base in Beijing, is a preeminent drag performer in China’s capital, who, though young in the craft, has blossomed into a fully-realized concept queen who serves more than just pretty-in-a-dress looks that have come to be synonymous with the art of #drag globally. In this week’s episode of #piquingduck, Joshi dishes on his experiences exploring the art of drag, what inspired him to delve into it, and what drag means to her as a #UK native, a country that has had a long tradition of pantomime, a form of drag expression to some, and how all these factors converge into the #queer-straight binary in terms of identity and artistic expression. She also shares her thoughts on the current season of #RPDR, the infamous toxic fandom of the show, and how #American concepts of drag and gender and sexual identity politics might diverge from those of the rest of the world.

It would seem that every well-heeled cosmopolitan girl has a gay best friend, something that even the media has long upheld. 

From Sex and the City's Carrie Bradshaw to the iconic 2000s sitcom Will and Grace, both on and offscreen, it would appear that the Gay guy-Straight girl alliance is beyond formidable, and science has also gone to great lengths to explain it according to an article published by Scientific American. But as iconic, and some might argue important, as this Gay Best Friend (Forever) or GBFF might be, does it serve the purpose we all seem to believe it does? Is it always a mutually beneficial relationship or does it tend to skew in the favor of one of the parties involved? To answer these questions and more, this episode's guest is long-term Beijing Expat Boitha, who not only has many deep and meaningful relationships within the Beijing LGBTQIA+community as a staunch Queer ally, but also offers up a fresh perspective on the GBFF dynamic as an African who grew up in a mostly conservative country nurturing such relationships, but also witnessed her own mother's bond with her GBFF in a less accepting time. 

Michael Johns, better known to the Beijing community as “The Gaymer Tamer” thanks to his extensive efforts in the city organizing fun gaming activities for the Queer community, shares his experience with past traumas both caused by family and friends and how he has navigated his way through a long journey of healing, while also giving advice to others on how they too can hold those who cause harm to them accountable. All this and more in this second episode of Piquing Duck, with host Mark Allan Karanja Ngina.

When people come across the term “chosen family,” they often associate it with loose conglomerations of LGBTQIA+ individuals who choose to “hang out” and “have fun” in ways they wouldn’t with their otherwise uptight or less understanding families. But the concept of a chosen family for many in the international Queer community is far more than that. These communities that do function as families indeed can be a fun distraction from the harsh realities of life, but also they can be a source of knowledge, support, shelter, financial assistance, and even actual surrogate families for those in the Queer community who have been ostracized by their own biological families.

I talk about this and more with my friend Zach Bomberger who is a great community organizer and mobilizer in Beijing, China, as he explains what the term “chosen family” means to him, the Queer community in China,  and offers his perspective on how to not only preserve these most important of units but also our mental wellbeing in the current global climate.

Ever wonder whether there are any Queer folks in the Far East? Well, we exist. From India to the Pacific Islands, we are the silent minority the world so often forgets. But we are vocal and active, and want to share our wonderful experiences with the world!