Sounds Fake But Okay

Ep 157: Aspec Activism feat. Gentle Giant Ace

November 08, 2020 Sounds Fake But Okay
Sounds Fake But Okay
Ep 157: Aspec Activism feat. Gentle Giant Ace
Show Notes Transcript

Hey what's up hello! This week we chat with Marshall aka Gentle Giant Ace about how he became an ace activist.

Episode transcript: https://www.soundsfakepod.com/transcripts/aspec-activism-feat-gentle-giant-ace    

Check out Marshall's work:

Twitter: @AceGentle   

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsw6zzoKlskACsfRs0sZ20g   

acesandaros.org    


Donate: patreon.com/soundsfakepod    

Follow: @soundsfakepod    

Join: https://discord.gg/W7VBHMt    

www.soundsfakepod.com

Buy our book: www.soundsfakepod.com/book

SARAH: Hey what’s up hello. Welcome to Sounds Fake But Okay, a podcast where an aro-ace girl (I’m Sarah. That’s me.)

KAYLA:… and a demi-straight girl (that’s me, Kayla)

MARSHALL: And I’m the Gentle Giant Ace, AKA Marshall

SARAH: talk about all things to do with love, relationships, sexuality, and pretty much anything else that we just don’t understand.

KAYLA: On today’s episode: Gentle Giant Ace.

ALL: — Sounds fake, but okay.

SARAH: Welcome back to the pod.

KAYLA: M’aricopa?

SARAH: M’arshall. Obviously. M’arshall.

KAYLA: Sarah's getting much better at my own segment than me and it is embarrassing for us all.

SARAH: Also, m'ascne.

KAYLA: Because that's what you're currently experiencing?

SARAH: Yes.

MARSHALL: Oh, this is fun.

KAYLA: I can't think of any. Um...

SARAH: You're cancelled. Goodbye.

KAYLA: M'arionette?

SARAH: Why? I hate that. Okay --

KAYLA: I saw a Russian nesting doll in my room and my next logical thought was, "that's in the same family of objects as a marionette".

SARAH: Why do you have Russian nesting dolls in your room? Okay, anyway, it doesn't matter.

KAYLA: I don't know. Just kinda there.

SARAH: Before we dive in too deep, we do want to note that next week, Kayla and I are taking a week off, because someone is moving, and it's not me.

KAYLA: It's me. I'm moving. But you're also flying, or travelling that week.

SARAH: I'm also gonna be coming back to Michigan. We're gonna be like ships in the night, guys.

KAYLA: It's true. It's so sad.

MARSHALL: That sounds like a very fun drive.

SARAH: Yeah. So just FYI to the kids. Next week is off, we'll be back the following week.

KAYLA: Don't expect us. Don't stay up.

SARAH: Don't. Alright, Kayla, what are we talking about this week?

KAYLA: This week we have a very special guest, and it's Marshall, AKA the Gentle Giant Ace. And so that... I mean, that's what we're talking about, is we're talking about Marshall.

MARSHALL: This is so cool.

SARAH: Thank you for joining us!

MARSHALL: Thank you for having me.

KAYLA: Yeah, first of all, thank you for joining us. Do you want to give, I guess, a quick introduction for anyone that for some reason doesn't know you?

MARSHALL: Sure. Thanks for having me on again. Well, not again, but thank you for having me. (laughing)

SARAH: I tracked that. I followed.

MARSHALL: My name is Marshall Blount -- like B-L-O-U-N-T, not the other blunt -- Marshall Blount. I am from Erie, Pennsylvania, I am 27, and going on 28 in 2021.

KAYLA: Why do I think every person I know from online is my age? You're like the 5000th person in the ace community from online that I just assume is the same age as me.

SARAH: Do you think everyone just has the exact same birthday as you?

KAYLA: Sarah, I feel like we all know that's not what I meant, and I don't need this from you, you sassy sausage. (Sarah and Marshall laughing)

MARSHALL: So I was born in February, February '93 -- are y'all close?

SARAH: '97. We're '97 babies.

KAYLA: We're bay-beeees.

SARAH: We're basically children.

MARSHALL: So y'all are at the end of the Millennial / Gen Z cutoff?

KAYLA: We're Zillennials, is how I self-identify.

SARAH: Yeah, we're at the cusp. We're kind of in between generations.

MARSHALL: I was in kindergarten by '98.

SARAH: Can't relate. '98 I was useless. I was a blob in '98. Anyway. Where were we?

KAYLA: We just interrupted Marshall.

MARSHALL: Oh, no no no, it's fine. I mean, anything about the 90s is so much fun to talk about.

KAYLA: Oh, simpler times.

MARSHALL: Oh, definitely. Way better than now. But yeah, I was born in Erie, Pennsylvania. I came out as asexual in the year 2015 -- 2016? Yeah, 2016. What a time to come out, too. But yeah, I became an activist over time basically because of the experiences I was having in my local nightlife scene. And basically how blatant acephobia is, just in general. It really made me want to get out there and just have a voice within ace advocacy.

KAYLA: Yeah, definitely. I super want to get into that. Because I feel like everyone sees you online, doing stuff online and local activism, so I'm super interested in your ace realization story, and kind of... what really got you into activism and what you're doing, so. I'm excited to learn.

SARAH: Was that a question? Are you asking him?

KAYLA: No, that was just a preface to what I will be asking at a later time.

SARAH: Okay. Is that time now?

KAYLA: Which is... now. (laughing) So you mentioned that you came out around 2016, which is wild, because I was nowhere near anything ace at that time. It's just do weird to think about. Do you kind of have a moment you remember of realization, or a process you went through of realizing, oh, this is what I am?

MARSHALL: I think it was the moment where I came out to my sister-in-law, where I was like, "I don't know what my identity is". It was just out of nowhere. And basically she shared a link with me -- to, I think it was AVEN? It was actually first at one of the places where she worked at. Then I ended up being led to AVEN. Which, when I saw the definition, I actually came back to her, and said, "yup, that's me."

KAYLA: (laughing) "That one."

MARSHALL: That's definitely me. Aromantic came on a little bit later, but the finding of your language is just amazing.

KAYLA: Yeah. That's wild that your sister in law knew what it was and knew to point to it. I feel like usually it's the story of you can't find anyone around you who knows what you're talking about, so it's really cool that you had someone in person that was able to be like, "here you go, try this one". And you were like "yes, please".

MARSHALL: Oh, definitely. She was like, it's your journey, it's something that you can definitely explore without people getting in your way. If you're hearing this Daeja, shout outs to you.

SARAH: We love ya, Daeja.

MARSHALL: But it was just one of those moments where, finally, after all these years, I find just a way to describe myself. Because I spent my entire teens and my early 20s just... not really saying much about my sexuality, I just went by the assumptions of other people, in a way. It was much easier. Until I found out that I was asexual, so I was kind of like, "finally".

SARAH: Yeah. When straight's the default, it's easy to be like yeah, I must be that.

MARSHALL: Yeah, I really must be straight, when inside I know that I was something different, but I couldn't put my hand on it.

KAYLA: Yeah. I feel like that's something common I've seen people talk about, is either just assuming that they're straight or thinking I'm some sort of queer, but none of these words quite fit for me. Because they've never heard of asexuality, but they know that they're different. And then once you find a word, they're like oh okay, yeah, that makes sense.

MARSHALL: Definitely. And I didn't know there was a bigger number of people who identified as ace at the time. I was like, what if I'm just very few? But 1% of the world's population, if not more, is just like, amazing.

KAYLA: It's a lot more than you think, 1%.

SARAH: Yeah, it sounds like such a small number, and I think we often talk about how kind of small and niche the community can be, but I think when you look at hard numbers, there's a lot of us. We could take over the -- guys, let's just form a political party, and...

MARSHALL: Yeah, and just take over everything.

SARAH: And just take over.

KAYLA: They talk about the gay agenda, but what about the aspec agenda? What about the aro and ace agenda, though?

MARSHALL: Right, we're not just gonna stop that the states, we're just gonna continue on beyond the states. And maybe the moon, one day.

SARAH: Yeah. Let's.

KAYLA: There's water there. It's wet.

SARAH: The moon is wet. Moon's wet.

KAYLA: The moon is wet. You guys?

MARSHALL: The moon is very wet. I wouldn't wanna drink the water, though.

KAYLA: It's the WAM. The wet-ass moon.

MARSHALL: Yes, the wet-ass moon.

KAYLA: That should've been the M! The m'oon. The wet m'oon.

SARAH: Well, it's too -- we're nine minutes in, Kayla. It's too late.

KAYLA: Very disappointed in myself.

SARAH: I'm also disappointed in you.

KAYLA: Alas.

MARSHALL: Oof.

SARAH: So, obviously, you had this experience with your sister in law. Was the coming out experience for you... was it kind of smooth sailing with your family or the people around you, or did you kind of feel like you had to hold people's hand and walk them through it?

MARSHALL: I'd say with some people it was like walking with them, walking them through the definition of asexuality. And it's kind of like... I think it's the fact that a lot of it was from not knowing who asexual people are. And finding out that your family member is asexual... the majority of my family is very supportive right now. My mom particularly being a staunch ally.

KAYLA: Oh my god, I saw the cake that she made for you for ace week and it was so cute.

MARSHALL: Yeah, she started at like 6am, and ended at around noon, I think? On the process.

SARAH: Dedication.

KAYLA: So cute. My mom didn't make me a cake for ace week. What the hell, Sandy?

MARSHALL: Maybe better luck in 2021.

KAYLA: (laughing) I guess.

SARAH: I'll shoot her a text, I'll remind her.

KAYLA: I wish you would.

MARSHALL: Yes. Like, all moms must make their kid a cake for ace week.

KAYLA: Rule number one of the aspec agenda is... you have to make us cake.

SARAH: Mom cakes required.

KAYLA: Mom cakes required. If you don't have a mom, go collect another one.

SARAH: My mom's not a particularly good cook. I guess my mom's better at baking than cooking.

KAYLA: You could have your dad do it, I guess.

SARAH: I think my dad would emerge with a better cake. Sorry Mom, but it's the truth.

KAYLA: We could just do the Great Costello Bake-Off, and have each member of your family...

SARAH: My sister would win.

KAYLA: I know, I know.

SARAH: Alright. Glad we've established this.

KAYLA: Anyway, this has been the cake segment of today's episode.

MARSHALL: Oh, definitely. And taking over the world, too.

KAYLA & SARAH: Yes, yes.

SARAH: It's just the dessert for after we've done that.

MARSHALL: Yeah, definitely. Hopefully even now that we know that we may have a brighter future, I'm definitely going bigger and brighter with the cake next year.

KAYLA: Just the biggest cake you can make.

SARAH: Absolutely. Four tiers. You know how in weddings, they have the bride and groom, or the groom and groom, or the bride and bride, on top of the cake?

MARSHALL: Yes.

KAYLA: The bride and bride.

SARAH: What should we have?

MARSHALL: Maybe space.

KAYLA: Just one person.

SARAH: A golden retriever?

KAYLA: A smaller cake?

MARSHALL: Or just space. The sun, the moon, Mars.

SARAH: A tiny moon.

KAYLA: That's wet.

MARSHALL: Yes. Pluto, every planet in the solar system.

SARAH: (laughing) Stop saying that the moon is wet.

KAYLA: The moon is wet, and I feel like we didn't make as big of a deal of it as we should have.

SARAH: It's barely wet.

MARSHALL: We won't have enough to really make a city out of it.

KAYLA: I mean, Sarah... who among us... isn't barely wet?

(all laughing)

SARAH: Alright Kayla, move on, move on.

KAYLA: Oh man, where do I want to go with this next? Well it's good to hear that it was smooth sailing with your family mostly, that's always very good to hear. But you mentioned that things were happening kind of in your local community, or nightlife, and things that were not as wonderful, and that kind of pushed you to activism. So what were the things that you were noticing that were happening around you?

MARSHALL: I'd say definitely... I started going out to my local LGBT bar, LGBTQIA+ bar, around the time -- a little bit after I came out. And when I started to openly identify as asexual, I definitely noticed a kind of, like, "oh, you can't be that, because you haven't tried anything yet or anything". And it seems like when people find out you're asexual, the boundaries of respect just go 100% down. People just don't care if they hurt your feelings or not. I experienced it a lot where, as people even within the acronym, where it's like the straights versus the gays in terms of like -- we were playing pool. And a person would say that out loud. And I'm kind of like, I'm not straight. They can intersect, however, we have our own community, which I tried to explain. And over time... it gets tiring. I started wearing my flag to the bar, I actually brung my ace mug to have beer in, to kind of say F.U. to the aphobes out there. But at the same time, it got to the point where it was actually... there was also a confrontation where a guy was literally being downright rude for no reason. He was like, "is there a pill you take for that?"

KAYLA: Oh, Jesus.

MARSHALL: The common aphobic experience. And I was like, you can go screw yourself. In a way.

KAYLA: Like what, is there a pill you take to be gay? Like, what the fuck kind of question is that?

MARSHALL: Yeah. It was bizarre. And even the people that were around him, they disagreed with how he went about it, but at the same time they thought I was overreacting. However, I'm like, if I was a person of a certain community, this would be an outrage. But because I'm asexual, it's no big deal, you're just a person who doesn't care.

KAYLA: Oh, yeah. If someone said that to some random white gay guy, then everyone would be up in arms.

SARAH: If a straight person said that to a gay person, they would be pissed. But it's okay for a queer person to say to an ace person? Like, what? No.

KAYLA: That's what I've been thinking about a lot with like... it was really nice to see during ace week, Stonewall, and GLAAD, doing events and stuff. But it's like, when other stuff happens the rest of the year, which death threats on Twitter, or really shitty stuff... if that happened to gay people on Twitter, the world would explode. But it happens daily to ace people and everyone's kind of like, "I didn't see anything". And it's like, okay, if we were anyone else, this would be the biggest headline, and yet.

MARSHALL: A big deal. Yeah, and it's definitely something that has really pushed me into activism, because it's kind of like... if you're not definitely going to speak up for me, I'm just gonna go out there myself. Constantly you do get a rash of aphobia, especially because now, what we're dealing with with the pandemic, I've not had a lot of social interaction with people. Which, to me, it really gave me a rest from aphobia in person. But it has increased over on the internet, because people have more time on their hands.

KAYLA & SARAH: Yeah.

MARSHALL: Like you said, it's really... I appreciate GLAAD for following me. Shoutout to GLAAD. But I want you to see my full experience. Don't just follow me because I got the proclamation for PA for ace week.

KAYLA: Right. Which, also, congrats. But yes.

MARSHALL: Thanks. It just came in the mail yesterday, too. It just came in the mail yesterday.

KAYLA: Oh my god, that's so exciting.

SARAH: Oh, so fancy.

MARSHALL: So it was a good sign. Probably a good sign of things to come, but. I'm working on 2021 this year.

SARAH: Yeah. So when you kind of started with activism, how did you... how did that take shape, when you first started in being like, I want to do things in this community. How did you go about that?

MARSHALL: I definitely think engaging with fellow ace folk, especially in Facebook groups, now Twitter, and just connecting with ace organizations. Getting involved in Asexual Outreach was one of the things that really got me going, because it was an organization that inspired me to even go further in activism. It's just something that... someone asked me, "is this something that you're going to stop doing?" I'm like, activism... when you're in it, it's gonna be something you do forever. You're just gonna become a legend within the community.

SARAH: It's not like you retire from activism.

KAYLA: Yeah. Like the way you do it might change, but it's not like you're gonna...

MARSHALL: Yeah. And being a Black asexual person, that never stops, because my existence alone is very... it's like a conversation piece with other people. Which, at times I wish it wasn't, because of course you want your chance at self care. At the same time, if it's a positive interaction, I don't mind it.

KAYLA: Yeah, absolutely. But I love that you kind of just decided that okay, I see a problem, I want to fix it, so I'm gonna do activism now. I feel like so many people, especially now, are like, I don't know how to get involved, I don't know what I can do, I'm just this tiny ace person off here alone in whatever town I live in, and it kind of feels like you can't do anything. But you clearly show that you can just decide one day that this is what you're going to do and then you just do it. And then you get a proclamation for Pennsylvania. Easy, right? (laughing) No, it's not easy, but you know what I mean.

MARSHALL: Yeah, it's definitely something that I want people to know that you can get involved, in a sense that, it can be at your range. You don't have to be every single day, every hour of the day and stuff, but. That's why, working with Asexual Outreach, with acesandaros.com, which is a website we just launched, and basically we have a segment of the website which gives you tools of how to become an activist. And also a chance to see where your community groups are across the country and Canada, which is something that I wish I had earlier. But it's better late than never.

KAYLA: Yeah, definitely. I feel like when ace week was coming up especially, I saw people being like, "I don't know how to celebrate ace week, what am I supposed to do for it?" And it's like you can post on social media once or just have a party by yourself. It really is, like you said, at your own range, what you are able to do and what you're comfortable doing.

SARAH: Eat a cupcake alone in your house. It doesn't matter.

MARSHALL: Or just simply wear something purple. It feels like Pride 2.0, where we just go all out for Pride and our experiences, talking about our experiences and stuff. But ace week, as time goes on, is going to evolve, for instance, beyond awareness. It already is a celebration, but the celebration part and education part is going to expand.

KAYLA: Yeah. This year I saw that ace week put out an article about why they changed their official name from Asexual Awareness Week to Ace Week, because they were like, we want it to be about celebration, too, not just us doing the heavy lifting of education, which I thought was super cool.

MARSHALL: It's definitely about giving a chance for even activists in the community to just relax, and celebrate. I told my mom that when I put my phone down, it doesn't stop. When I go to the grocery store, someone's gonna see my ace patch which I always wear on my hat. And being in PA, the good thing is I live in a city -- the city of Erie is more inclusive in the sense that people are more curious about it than are automatically very rude about it. You do have people who are just very, "what is that? why is that important to you?", that type of thing. Sometimes when you tell them, they're like "oh, now I get it". But I think the more visibility that goes on into the future, it may be easier to be an activist in this field. But at the same time, I hope as time goes on, we get prominent ace characters on TV, more ace characters in books. Not to say that non-ace people can't have something to relate to, but to show that we're here in the first place.

SARAH: Yeah. And it also takes the burden off of every individual aspec person to have to explain to every individual person who's curious, or who's like, "what the hell is that", it... takes the emotional burden off of us.

KAYLA: Yeah. Because it's like, I feel like if someone were to ask an ace person, "oh, teach me about asexuality", there's this dichotomy of like, I know this is gonna take a really long time to talk to you about, and I'm tired, and that's stressful, but also feeling bad of like, here's an opportunity to educate, I don't wanna give this up. So if that -- like Sarah said, if that burden could be lifted, it would be so much easier.

MARSHALL: That's why the loss of Todd Chavez on Bojack was... it was a loss in the sense that we have someone on TV on a big streaming service such as Netflix. It was a well-watched and well-loved show, and a lot of people were able to discover their asexuality through Todd. That type of experience, I hope that grows into the future. And more so, I hope these writers come to us when it comes to having an asexual character on TV. We don't want a repeat of House, which even though it was 2012, it still affects us in the 2020s.

SARAH: Yeah. And even in 2012, I didn't know I was ace or aspec in any way at that point, but I had heard of asexuality. And I think if I had seen that episode of House, it could've been detrimental to my understanding of what all of it meant.

MARSHALL: Yes. That is the type of thing that we're still gonna have to fight, in the future. In different communities, we're still fighting misconceptions, but asexuality is the community that... it's not new, however, a lot of people still don't know about it. So in a way, when that person is on TV, maybe have a small introduction about who we are, and provide resources for that particular episode. That would be nice to actually be able to provide resources around the time that that person comes out as ace on TV, or when they're introduced onto the show. But just to have that on TV, having Todd on TV alone, and seeing the part where he was meeting up with people within the community, that was just very refreshing and very inspiring.

SARAH: And they did consult with aspec people on that, and that's part of the reason why they did such a good job, was because they had those aspec voices contributing to it.

MARSHALL: Yes. And the character... what went wrong, I think, with House, was that House has to be right all the time. He has to be right, he's the doctor.

KAYLA: Just by the nature of that show, it was just never gonna go well.

MARSHALL: Yeah. I was a ER person, growing up in the late 90s, early 2000s, I was a ER person, then Grey's Anatomy. I tried to get into House, but House has a very egotistical attitude that really turns off anyone.

KAYLA: Yeah, I remember by parents watching House when I was younger, and I was like, this man just seems very angry. He's very angry all the time.

SARAH: I only ever watched House in film school. (laughing)

MARSHALL: Wow.

KAYLA: Why?

SARAH: Sometimes you just gotta watch an episode of House for class.

MARSHALL: Wow.

KAYLA: I mean, I guess.

SARAH: Anyway. I've watched a lot of weird things for school, don't worry about it.

MARSHALL: House is definitely something that... he's definitely a problematic character. And that is very problematic to show him being right all the time. In reality we know that doctors are not right all the time. We know that they make mistakes. There have been many moments in that show, throughout its runtime, that doctors have made mistakes. But in this particular episode, it was really harmful that they made House "right" about asexuality.

SARAH: Yeah. I think part of the harm, too -- and this is a small pivot, but we're gonna get back on track -- with those shows, is that they're kind of idolizing the doctor, and what they do. And it's like yes, doctors do very good things, but they're also human people. And I think when you have these characters that are always right, or always convinced they're right, and  it's not always shown that that's a bad thing, it can be very harmful. And so any times that they might attempt -- even if it's well-meaning -- to have certain representation, it's just not gonna work, because there's a fatal flaw in the way something's being presented. And part of the thing with House is that he's an asshole, and that's the thing about House.

KAYLA: And that's it.

SARAH: But at the same time, you also need to have other characters holding him accountable, otherwise people will get the wrong idea from it.

MARSHALL: Exactly. It was just so interesting... I tried to watch the episode, but even now, though time has moved on since then, there was vaguely any effort to debunk on House. And it was just like, wow. If this was any other community, it would be, rightfully so, just madness.

KAYLA: I mean yeah, once again the ace community is just, if anything happens to us, the ace or aro community, everyone's just like meh.

SARAH: I always just think of it as -- as you mentioned, Marshall, ace and aspec people have been around forever, but the community itself is still gaining speed and traction. And so we're kind of where the gay community was in like, the 60s. And that's just kind of where we're at now. And so I think it's... y'know, it's a constant fight, but here we are, fightin' the fight.

MARSHALL: I'd also like there to be a prominent ace activist. Coming from someone from the Midwest... I'm western PA, we consider it a mixture of the east coast and the midwest, but...

SARAH: It's pretty Midwesty. I've been there.

MARSHALL: Yeah. Erie is very... even our grid system is very midwest. But to have someone from the midwest, who now all of the sudden plays a prominent role in ace activism, it's just like... it brings a lot of questions, in the sense that, "how do you know? did something happen to you?" that type of thing. Whereas unfortunately my city tends to be a few decades behind on a lot things. But hopefully, because of the advent of the internet, which plays a very important role in ace activism, and the community in general, hopefully we will bring a lot of communities up to speed about who we are.

KAYLA: Yeah. I mean, that's something I'm worried about moving, is I'm so used to living in where me and Sarah went to college, Ann Arbor, which is like, Liberal Town USA, and then I moved to Connecticut to the same city where Yale's campus is, which is another university campus, so obviously it's super liberal. And now I'm moving, for the first time, to the south, to a different place in the country. And I'm like, I don't know what people are like there, I don't know what they think about people like me. And I'm very out online, so if anyone searches for me online, they're gonna find out what I am, so... yeah.

MARSHALL: Which state are you moving to?

KAYLA: I'm moving to Louisiana.

MARSHALL: I've been to Louisiana before.

KAYLA: I've been to New Orleans before, which was super nice, but I'm moving to Baton Rouge. So hopefully it's fine, I mean there's a college there, too. I don't mean to stereotype the entire south or anything, but it's just that unknown. It's scary.

SARAH: Different culture, don't necessarily know what to expect.

MARSHALL: Yes. It's unpredictable. I've been to Mississippi twice being openly ace, and I've worn my buttons there, and oddly no one really batted an eye to be as I walked through, probably because I was in the capital. I was in Jackson.

KAYLA: Yeah. That's the good thing, is I'm moving to Baton Rouge, which is the capital of Louisiana, so it's bound to be a bit more, I don't know, open or liberal, but... I think it's just the thing of moving to a new place, and meeting all of these new people, and then if they were to look me up on anything, it's right there, is just...

SARAH: It's just that added layer of moving stress.

KAYLA: I even told my boyfriend, because he's a very supportive boyfriend and likes to brag about the podcast and my accomplishments and things. And I told him the other day, maybe don't talk about it to your new friends at work at first, and let them find things on their own. I know you like to brag, and that's very sweet, but maybe we just don't talk about it at first, and they can find it, and we see how they react. Because I just don't need that right when we move.

MARSHALL: Do you find that -- I shouldn't be the one asking the question, but it's kind of like where...

SARAH: Please do.

KAYLA: (laughing) How dare you come onto our podcast and ask us questions?

MARSHALL: It's like the experience I experienced with people, where they're known to be allies, but they tell other people that I'm asexual. Where it's kind of like, that's still technically outing. It's for my safety, until we really know these people and they get to know who I am, let's not really bring it up.

KAYLA: Yeah. I had an instance of that when I started dating, not my current boyfriend, but a different boyfriend -- ugh. He knew I was demi, obviously, because we were dating, it was in my dating profile. But before I met his friends, he had mentioned it to his friends. And then the first time I met them, they just asked me a bunch of questions about it. And then they also just had a lot of views on social issues that I did not share, so I was like, these are probably people I never would have brought this up to, because now I have to go through this long conversation with them. And it's like, yeah, I know I am out, technically, and that anyone could find this information out about me, and I did have my entire questioning process documented online, and I get that that's my fault. But just... shut your mouth sometimes.

MARSHALL: It's, like some people say, it's over these internet streets. I can't go back to being assumed straight. Most of my family, even the ones that don't know that I'm asexual, they're eventually going to find out if they wanna look me up. Not particularly nervous about it, well, 'cause my mom is someone you don't wanna mess with. So I'm not really nervous around them. But at the same time, it's just the thought of explaining it to them. And the gaslighting, even if it's not intentional, it can be really rough. And again, it's like when we come out as ace -- and even if we're not out -- it's like the boundaries just collapse between us and allos. Because it's kind of like, when they meet an ace person, it's like, "oh, here's my ace friend". It something they can parade around.

SARAH: Like, "here's an interesting fact".

KAYLA: Yeah. And also asking you invasive questions, about "have you ever had sex? do you masturbate?" Suddenly, when someone finds out you're aspec or arospec, suddenly they feel like they can ask you any question.

MARSHALL: It's automatic. Especially when you're around a group of people, people always say, why don't you talk about it? In this society, things come up about sexuality. Period. It could be anything from marriage to kids, etc. It's like, if I even stop talking about it, it's gonna be brought up anyways. I don't want it to be assumed. It's not fair, where other people can be out about themselves, but for me, I have to be quiet about it. At least it'll be my chance to explain about my identity. Not so much of the other person, "let me explain for you". I'm like, no. Let me explain to them, then, if I want them in my life, I can go about my business.

SARAH: It's gonna come up regardless, because society is obsessed with sex and romance. And you're gonna have to deal with it at some point. It's not like all aspec people go into every conversation being like, "hi, I'm aspec!" Like, that's not how it works.

MARSHALL: Yeah. That's not how. That's not how I interact with people every day. When I go to the grocery store, I just say, "hey, I noticed that these potatoes are on sale."

SARAH: (laughing) You walk up to the employee and you're like, "the sign says that this is $1.00, but the sticker says that it's $1.25 -- also, I'm ace -- what's the correct price?"

MARSHALL: Yeah. "Do I like sour cream, or do I like cottage cheese? Oh, by the way, I'm asexual. Maybe sour cream." But in general, when I go out with people, it just doesn't come up. But it eventually does get a little sneak in here and there. That's just the society we live in.

SARAH: Well, and that's why I -- I don't like referring to people as "brave" for being out, I hate that concept personally -- but I do appreciate the fact that when you go in public, you wear your ace patches and buttons and stuff. And you open yourself up to that possibility of having those conversations, even though they might be hard. And I obviously don't expect every aspec person to do that or to feel comfortable doing that.

MARSHALL: Oh, definitely.

SARAH: I don't do that. But I think it is really great that you're just like, look, I'm here. I'm here. I'm ace. If you want to ask me about it, be polite, but sure.

MARSHALL: Yes. It's like, I always say that being an activist is not everyone's cup of tea. And if it's not your cup of tea, that's okay. Just being you, for example, is showing the world that there are different people here.

KAYLA: You're definitely not under any obligation to be super public about it, or to put in the initiative to do anything political, or create any media, or anything. You are just as valid and important if you just want to sit and do nothing. That's dope.

SARAH: Your existence in and of itself is a protest against the system.

MARSHALL: Just being born into this world, being who you are, is a big F.U. to the "normalcy" of the world. And it may seem that we are in dark times, but I do see things progressing into the future. Especially for ace representation and awareness. I told my mom, one of my rules of being an ace activist is I don't take every interview that's thrown at me. Because I feel like there are some publications that can be very malicious in their intent. That's just another thing that you potentially have to worry about when you are an ace activist.

SARAH: Don't ever talk to DailyMail. Just don't.

MARSHALL: Yeeeaaah. Don't. That is a no-no. Like, I loved working with fellow ace people in the media, and also to work with people who I know I can trust with information. But if it's, let's just say, for example, if it was Fox News, I'm not gonna go on Fox News. My bad if I'm not supposed to mention them on here.

SARAH: You're fine.

KAYLA: You can fully shit on Fox News on this podcast.

MARSHALL: But I would never ever set myself up -- not even myself up -- it's a shame that a space like that even exists. The fact is, they're made specifically for people who have a one view way, and I would never want to put myself in that position where I'm battling someone about my very existence.

SARAH: It's a propaganda machine that pushes their own worldview, and if you don't adhere to that, it's not gonna go well for you to try to engage in a real discussion with them. It's just not gonna work.

MARSHALL: You have to have some sort of... you have to be very coherent for these types of conversations. And it's just like, even people who I know that are not "liberal", they are interested in learning about my identity. But at the same time, they have to understand why I'm going against a lot of their.... people who they vote for. It's because they do outwardly threaten the existence of our community. So that's why I'm always vocal on Twitter and Youtube.

KAYLA: Yeah, definitely. So, I'm gonna pivot. You mentioned that you love working with other people in the ace community. So we've talked a lot about how you've interacted with people outside the community, but what has your experience been, I guess, within the community, both online and whatever in person organizing you've done.

MARSHALL: On the internet it's been overwhelmingly positive. Except the time where I had to call out a group that was literally okay with fetishizing Black and Asian women.

SARAH: Oof.

KAYLA: Ouch.

MARSHALL: So I had a huge problem with that, and I literally left that group. I literally -- oh, this might petty -- but I literally friended the admin of the group, then I posted this long status saying how it's wrong that you don't listen to Black and brown voices, and how we often get ignored, and it's enough. And they immediately unfriended me. And I was kinda like, okay.

KAYLA: Oh, that is very good.

MARSHALL: As a result, we did create a space for Black aces on Facebook. But that was like the only fairly negative experience online with a fellow ace person. However, it's been a really positive... AceCon was positive. AceCon ended on a virtual yacht, which was amazing.

SARAH: We were dancin'.

KAYLA: Dance party on the yacht.

MARSHALL: It was so much fun. Yasmin and David and Michael, they did their thing with AceCon. And also just in general, like other activists. I really just love interacting with people, with y'all and A OK podcast.

SARAH: It's so great to just talk to other aspec people. And just like, exist in the same space. It's wonderful.

KAYLA: I feel like there's this circle of other activists and creators that we've gotten to know through the internet, and it was so nice --

SARAH: We somehow infiltrated it.

KAYLA: Yeah, we somehow were like, "and us too, hello". But it's very nice to just have that core group of people that you know, if any shit went down, you could be like, sound the alarm.

MARSHALL: It's just like, what makes me upset is that there are not a lot of Black men who are openly asexual, in a sense. Because of the, also the cultural expectations and the stereotyping we face. But it's just nice to be able to be out, about being an asexual Black guy.

SARAH: Your intersecting identities, the fact that you are an asexual Black man, is something that I really wanted to hit on. Because obviously, Kayla and I are two white girls who have this podcast, so it's very much from the perspective of two white girls. So I guess, I just wanted to know, what has your experience been on the whole as a Black asexual man and the ways that those identities have come together, for good or for bad?

MARSHALL: I do think that this year alone, the increasing interest in activism has brought a lot of Black ace voices out. Especially with the Black Lives Matter movement, and how big it is in the ace community. Now that that has increased, I feel like there has definitely been a growing voice of Black and brown aces. It's something that... it definitely also fights the stereotype that asexuality is a white thing, when really it's a community with everyone in it. Anyone can be asexual, of any race, religion, creed, etc.

KAYLA: Yeah, I think it's kind of -- when you look at the face of asexuality, it looks very white. I think you just see more prominent ace people that are white, and there's more I think...

MARSHALL: Yeah.

SARAH: And then Yasmin said, "hold my beer".

KAYLA: And then Yasmin said, "MOVE OVER", and then Marshall said, "now ME".

MARSHALL: Yeah, now me. Especially since, I'm happy that I'm able to do this from Pennsylvania, a state like Pennsylvania, where... not to say that there aren't spots in the state where there aren't progressives, but I'm from Erie, where the county is just a sea of... not really diverse. The city's the only diverse...

KAYLA: I mean, I think you would expect all of the activists to come from New York, or San Fransisco, or other countries. So I think it is super promising just to show other ace people that you can come from anywhere, and you can still succeed and be fine, even if some of the people around you are not very savory people.

MARSHALL: Yes, you can do it.

SARAH: And even in those supposedly safe queer spaces, not every space is going to be full of accepting people. And no matter where you are in the country, where you are in the world, you'll be able to find people who support you. And there might be people who are against you, but fuck em. But like, don't because ace.

KAYLA: But don't. I mean, unless you want to.

SARAH: Unless you want to. Consensually. Y'all get it.

KAYLA: But if they're being mean to you, you probably don't wanna. That sounds toxic, you know?

SARAH: Wouldn't recommend.

KAYLA: Would not recommend. Whatcha gonna do.

MARSHALL. Yeah. But I think 2020, despite what's been happening, it's definitely a year going forward for the ace community. Especially for Black and brown voices within the community. Hopefully my presence here will be an inspiration for people who come along in the future that are Black and brown in the ace community to use our voices. Because it's very powerful.

SARAH: Mm-hmm. Is there anything that you feel like you wish the community would do better to serve Black and brown aspecs?

MARSHALL: I'd say just listen to our experiences. There's been many times where it's just like, assumptions, or people projecting their views of what we go through, particularly in the United States. But listening would definitely help, and just like not getting away. Simply just because someone is, for instance, liberal, doesn't particularly mean they hold all forward-thinking views. There's been many times where I've been gaslit by people who, personally, I thought were progressive, but they just turned out, no.

SARAH: They're progressive when it's convenient for them.

MARSHALL: For them, yes. Exactly. And I'd say going forward, definitely just listen to our experiences. We have a lot of stories to be told. Basically just listen. It's that simple.

SARAH: Follow Marshall on Twitter.

KAYLA: Follow Marshall on Twitter, follow Gentle Giant Ace on Twitter. And I feel like, along with listening, and something that I've been having to learn a lot through this year... and just like, I grew up in a very conservative place. And just as I've grown up, and kind of --

SARAH: How many percent white is your hometown?

KAYLA: My hometown is 99% white.

MARSHALL: Oof.

KAYLA: The other day, l was in Target, and I saw a Black person, and I was genuinely shocked. Because you never see anyone of color in my hometown. I was literally shocked to see a Black person -- I went home, and I told my boyfriend, I said, there was a Black person at Target. And I don't mean that in a racist way, I mean that in a way that I am shocked that in this town, a Black person was in Target. Anyway, back to my point, I feel like not getting defensive, or trying not to get defensive, is very important.

MARSHALL: Yes.

KAYLA: I think in the ace and queer space, we feel like we're super progressive, and like, "oh no I couldn't possibly be racist, I'm queer. Of course I'm not racist." And it's like no, we all have some implicit -- every non-person of color has some implicit racism, and if someone tells you that something you're doing is not great, no matter how great you think you are, maybe listen to what they're saying.

SARAH: Right. And just because you're a part of a marginalized community as a member of the aspec community doesn't mean that you can't harm other people who are members of other marginalized communities, or maybe a member of yours AND another, y'know. If you're talking about a Black ace friend, you can definitely still harm them. Just because you have been marginalized in a certain way doesn't mean you can't bring harm unto others, so watch yourself.

MARSHALL: Definitely.

KAYLA: Watch your mouth.

MARSHALL: Don't you dare. (laughing) Do you want me to mention my Youtube channel?

SARAH: Please. Hey, Marshall, tell us about your Youtube channel!

(all laughing)

MARSHALL: This may sound odd, but I actually started my Youtube channel as a hometown channel, where I literally just go around and set my camera on video, and literally show scenes of my hometown.

KAYLA: That sounds so relaxing. That sounds so nice.

MARSHALL: It is. And actually, one day I was sitting at a local Starbucks, and I was like, how come I can't... if someone else can be in front of a camera and tell their experiences, why not me? So I literally started off my phone, of my ace videos, then I progressed onto my Canon camera. So that was definitely a project that -- it's not easy to work on, because I'm not really a big fan of being in front of a camera. It's like, I'm a photographer as well, so I take pictures. But at the same time, it would take me at least between two to ten takes to do a video on average.

KAYLA: Mood.

SARAH: Yeah. Excellent, everyone hit him up on all -- everywhere.

MARSHALL: Yeah. You can find me on Youtube at Marshall John Blount, just my real name. And you can find me @GentleGiantAce on Twitter, and Marshall John Blount on Facebook.

SARAH: Excellent.

KAYLA: Hit him up.

SARAH: One final question for you.

KAYLA: We'll add links to all of those things in the description of this episode so that you can go click click click, and it's all there.

SARAH: Yeah. One final question for you. Will you be our new best friend?

MARSHALL: Definitely.

SARAH: This is a crucial question.

KAYLA: Yes, got another one. We've caught another one.

MARSHALL: Yes, it would definitely be rude to say, "oh hell no".

SARAH: Yeah, imagine if you were just like "no, fuck you".

MARSHALL: Like, no.

KAYLA: It would make it interesting, I guess. It would make for an interesting end to the episode.

MARSHALL: It would be like an episode of Maury, Maury Povich. Like hell no, I won't be your friend.

KAYLA: Marshall's like "hell no, *Leaves Zoom call* Goodbye".

SARAH: Like, "this has been a great interview, I'm OUT."

MARSHALL: Yes. But as a Pennsylvanian, we are very talkative and very friendly. Contrary to popular belief, some people believe that we are kind of like back woods, but at the same time...

KAYLA: It's that midwest, it's that midwest charm.

SARAH: It's that midwest thing where you're like, oh, I'm gonna leave, and then you don't actually leave for like an hour, because you're just talking about something.

MARSHALL: You don't leave. That's how it is. We could spend an hour talking about the weather, that's how people in PA -- specifically in Erie -- are. We could spend a half hour to an hour on weather.

SARAH: The weather's constantly changing. There are no rules.

MARSHALL: It is. No. It's like fashion.

KAYLA: There really is so much to talk about.

SARAH: Now I live in LA, and it's like, the weather never fucking changes, I'm so bored.

KAYLA: What do you do for small talk?

SARAH: I don't know, I haven't been outside since March.

KAYLA: That's very fair.

MARSHALL: Same.

KAYLA: I guess you haven't really had any small talks recently.

SARAH: Also, they just don't small talk as much when it's not necessary, because they're like, "I'm from the coast".

KAYLA: "I'm busy."

MARSHALL: "Ask my agent. Ask my agent."

SARAH: "Please direct all queries to my agent."

MARSHALL: (laughing) That's a stereotype... I mean, it's not good to stereotype people, but that's the stereotype I have of people from California. It's kind of like, "ask my agent. Call my agent." And I"m kind of like, you have an agent?

SARAH: Yeah. 

KAYLA: Where can I get one?

SARAH: I mean, I work for a manager, so I take no offense to any of that. As a person who's from Michigan who now lives in LA, and works currently in the representation business, I think that's very funny. Like, I don't take offense. I will rip Californians to shreds, because look. They rip Midwesterners to shreds, and they have no respect for us, so what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna have no respect for you right back. You already have an eighth of the population, get over it. 

KAYLA: This episode has really taken a turn. 

MARSHALL: Like, pizza... I bet you can't find a good pizza in Los Angeles.

KAYLA: That's probably true. 

MARSHALL: Comparing to anywhere east of the Mississippi River. It's easy to find pizza in this area, a good one, but I can't imagine going to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sacramento, and being like, "oh they must have good pizza". 

SARAH: Yeah. I miss Detroit-style pizza so much. 

KAYLA: I don't. 

SARAH: Fuck you. That is gonna be the first thing I eat...

KAYLA: Sarah, can I tell you?

SARAH: What?

KAYLA: We did get Detroit-style pizza tonight. We did. I didn't eat it. 

SARAH: And I can't even have it?? Ship it to me!

MARSHALL: Damn. 

KAYLA: I can send -- I'll ship it to you. 

SARAH: I expect a delivery in three to five business days. 

MARSHALL: Do y'all have, I know in Erie we have something similar, which is called Greek dogs. It's like a Greek chili on top of a hot dog. 

KAYLA: We have coney dogs. 

SARAH: Yeah, it sounds like a coney dog. Yeah.

MARSHALL: Erie, we're known for our... we have a brand called Smith hot dogs, and people literally get them mailed across the country. 

KAYLA: Oh my god. That's so funny. 

MARSHALL: Because a lot of people, a lot of people live across the country. Erie, unfortunately, has been declining in population the last 40 years. However, the love for the city kind of hasn't. So people were like, order local foods. 

KAYLA: That's how I feel about local Michigan stuff. We have Faygo and Vernors, that are Michigan, Midwest pops. And it's like when I move, I will be ordering that. 

MARSHALL: Pops. Yeah, we say pop. It's not soda. 

KAYLA: Yes, it's pop. 

SARAH: I refuse to use that word here in California. 

KAYLA: The S word.

SARAH: The S word. I will do anything to avoid -- I will be like, a soft drink. This, it's a beverage. A Coke. 

KAYLA: This carbonated beverage. 

SARAH: I literally just won't say it. I'm like, too bad, guys.

KAYLA: It's a naughty word. Soda is a naughty word. My dad called it soda the other day, and I was like, where were you born? It's like you weren't even born here. 

MARSHALL: Like, where? How dare you say that word. 

KAYLA: I literally was so pissed at him. I was so mad.

MARSHALL: It ruins my day when someone says soda. 

SARAH: It's banned in my household. I have a friend who's from Michigan who says that, and I'm like, that's not correct. 

KAYLA: You're just obviously not having Michigan pride if you say that word. 

SARAH: You're stabbing your people in the back.

MARSHALL: But PA people, because our state is so big, and half the state is geared towards the midwest, and half the state is geared towards the east coast. I grew up saying pop, sub, we spell "diner" with a o. 

KAYLA: What? I don't know that one.

MARSHALL: Yeah, that's a thing that we do in Erie, the Erie area of the state. 

KAYLA: I've never heard of that. 

SARAH: That's a fun fact. 

MARSHALL: It's interesting. 

KAYLA: The more you know. 

MARSHALL: Erie even looks different from other cities in Pennsylvania. Where other cities look like they've been around since the 1700s. Where Erie is mainly -- they do have the houses from the 1700s here, but it's mainly post-1950s developments and stuff. But whenever I leave Erie, I cannot figure out my way around certain parts of places. Like, if I lose any contact with the lake, that's how connected I am to -- I just lose all sense of direction.

SARAH: It's like when you're in Chicago, it's the same thing. "Where's the lake? How do I know where to go without the lake?"

KAYLA: The lake is there. 

MARSHALL: Like, how dare you, Omaha, for not having a Great Lake?

SARAH: I know. Like, what? 

MARSHALL: How dare you. 

SARAH: Yeah. The thing with being in Michigan is that the lakes are in every direction, except south.

MARSHALL: Yeah. 

KAYLA: That's so true, it's not very helpful. 

SARAH: Except south. Well --

KAYLA: The south is Ohio. 

SARAH: If you're in Detroit, Canada's south. But. 

MARSHALL: Yeah. 

SARAH: Yes Kayla, that is how it works. 

KAYLA: I guess. 

SARAH: Kayla's losing her mind. Okay, anyway. 

KAYLA: I guess. I'm very bad at directions. 

SARAH: This has been the midwest segment of this podcast. 

MARSHALL: Definitely. I love it. 

SARAH: Excellent. Alright. Kayla, what's our pod for this -- what's our pod for this week? What's our poll for this week?

KAYLA: What's our poll for this week, hmm. I don't know.

SARAH: Is Gentle Giant Ace your favorite person ever, yes or yes?

KAYLA: No, no, we can't do polls like that every time we have a guest! We can't do a poll like that every time we have a guest. 

SARAH: Why not?

KAYLA: Because. Maybe, what are some ways that you have gotten involved in ace activism, no matter how big or small? 

SARAH: Yeah. Maybe you can find some inspiration in the replies. I don't know why I pronounced it like that, I regretted it immediately. 

KAYLA: Ace and aro activism, sorry. I meant ace and aro. 

SARAH: Okay, cool. So for beef and juice, I personally am not going to do any beef, because we are recording on Wednesday, November 4th, and if I went into beef, it would snowball. 

KAYLA: Who knows what would happen. And no one needs any negativity at this time. 

SARAH: So I'm doing good vibes only. I will start us off -- I wrote some things, where'd they go? I just have a note on my computer that says, "JUICE ONLY, BABY". So that's where we're at. Okay, I have several juices, we're gonna quickfire. Playing Among Us with Kayla and step-Dean and their friends who I have never met, and losing every time. The episode of Dear Hank and John I listened to this morning. Receiving meaningful texts from friends. My sister is getting a puppy on Saturday, her name is Rosie, and I would die for her. Jamaal Bowman's dancing. Also, like... listen, guys. The world's gonna keep going. Good or bad, it's happening. We know that for sure. So like, just let that percolate in the brain. That's my juice. Kayla, what's your juice?

KAYLA: My juice is that -- so I'm leaving this Saturday. Today is Wednesday, I'm leaving Saturday. And for the past week, I think my cat has known we are leaving, because she's just been trying out all of the different seats that she hasn't really sat in while she's been here since March. So she's just been trying out a lot of different chairs, a lot of different sitting areas in the house, and she's just... you see a tiny cat in a large armchair, and you're like, ugh. How cute. 

SARAH: Relatable. I, too, like to sit. 

MARSHALL: Sitting's awesome. 

KAYLA: I also like to sit. But my dog has like 5,000 dog beds in the house, and she recently stole one of the smaller ones. And she just corls up in it, and puts her little head on the side, and it's so cute. So that's my juice. 

SARAH: Unbelievable. Wonderful. Alright, Marshall, what is your juice? 

MARSHALL: I just wanted to say to everyone that the world does go on, and as long as we stick together, we're gonna be okay. 

SARAH: Indeed. Well-spoken. 

MARSHALL: And have a pop. 

SARAH: And have some pop. 

KAYLA: Have a pop.

SARAH: Guys, it's okay. Just have some pop. 

MARSHALL: Yeah, it's pop. Don't have soda, don't have soda, have pop. And cake, of course. 

SARAH: I will accept soda pop. I will not accept it without the pop. 

MARSHALL: Exactly. 

KAYLA: Pop has to be in there.

MARSHALL: Yeah. It's the only way, pop. Pop 2020. 

KAYLA: Pop 2020, that's so true. 

SARAH: Pop 2020. Cornpop 2020? That was a thing? Anyway, wow. Okay. We also have a Patreon, I'll add those later because it takes too long to go through them. It's Sarah from the near future. You know, I don't have to announce every time that I'm doing this at a different time when I do, but honestly, I know the audio's gonna sound different. I might as well just acknowledge it. It's me, from the near future, here to bring you our patrons. We have two new $2 patrons, Lindsay and Oliver Faust. Thank you to both of you for your donations, we appreciate you. Our $5 patrons are -- please hold as I hydrate. Jennifer Smart, Asritha Vinnakota, Austin Le, Perry Fiero, Dee, Quinn Pollock, Emily Collins, Bookmarvel, Changeling MX, Derrick and Carissa, Simona Sajmon, Jamie Jack, Jessica Shea, Ria Faustino, Daniel Walker, Livvy, Madeline Askew, Lily, James, Corinne, AliceIsInSpace, Skye Simpson, Brooke Siegel, Ashley W, Savannah Cozart, Harry Haston-Dougan, SOUP, Amanda Kyker, Vishakh, Jacob Weber, Rory, Amberle Istar, Rachel, Kate Costello, John, Ariel Laxo, Ellie, Tessa, and MattiousT. Thanks for joining the party, bud. We appreciate you. Our $10 patrons are Arcnes who would like to promote the Trevor Project, Benjamin Ybarra who would like to promote tabletop games, anonymous who would like to promote the spooky Halloween (still!), Sarah McCoy who would like to promote Podcast From Planet Weird, my Aunt Jeannie who would like to promote Christopher’s Haven, Cassandra who would like to promote their modeling Instagram @liddowred, Doug Rice who would like to promote "Native" by Kaitlin Curtice, Maggie Capalbo who would like -- uhh, what's the word? I forgot. English. Promote! Her dogs -- (laughing) Jesus -- Leia, Minnie, and Max, H. Valdís, Purple Chickadee who would like to promote ichliebevogel.wordpress.com, Barefoot Backpacker who this week would like to promote being able to say "I love you" in platonic relationships and not be misinterpreted by subtext. I heartily agree. Ashlynn Boedecker, who is @shlynnbo everywhere, The Steve who would like to promote Ecosia, Ari K. who would like to promote the horror movie reviewer NyxFears -- fun -- and Maddie, who would like to promote the Union series by T.H. Hernandez. Our $15 patrons are Nathaniel White - NathanielJWhiteDesigns.com, my mom Julie who would like to promote Free Mom Hugs, Sara Jones who is @eternalloli everywhere, Dia Chappell who would like to promote the Underrealm series by Garret Robinson, Andy A who would like to promote being in unions and the IWW, Martin Chiesel who would like to promote mental health, Miranda Denton who would like to promote Casa Q, and Dragonfly who would like to promote hydrating. Don't forget to drink some water, guys. Just drink a little bit of water. Alright, back to past Sarah. I know you did just kind of promote the idea of hope, but do you have anything that you would like to promote before we go, because some of our patrons get to promote things, so we like to just offer that to our guests as well. 

MARSHALL: Oh, awesome. Feel free to check out my Youtube channel at Marshall John Blount, B-L-O-U-N-T, where I talk about a lot of random things and ace topics. And also check out acesandaros.com, which is a website that I'm proud of at Asexual Outreach. 

SARAH: Yeah boi. Excellent. 

KAYLA: Hell yeah. And I will link those all. 

SARAH: We sure will. Thank you for listening, and thank you again to Marshall for joining us, we've been meaning to have you on forever and it finally happened. 

MARSHALL: Thank you for having me on. 

KAYLA: We did it. 

SARAH: Tune in not next Sunday, but the following Sunday, for more of us in your ears. 

MARSHALL: Get some rest. 

KAYLA: And until then, take good care of your cows. 

SARAH: Yeah guys, please, let us rest (laughing).