Breaking Tortillas Together: Race, Racism, Gender & Community

Host: Ez (he/him) w/ Special Guests Piece Kent (he/him) and Angel Ixchel Pineda (she/her)

This week on Tranzmission, we’re holding space for a powerful conversation on race, racism, gender, and community — centering the lived experiences of CALD trans and gender diverse people. We’re joined by Pierce Kent founder of gender affirming underwear brand Dys4ick and Angel Ixchel Pineda, local burlesque performer and comic, who share their stories, cultural perspectives, and reflections on navigating identity at the intersection of race and gender. Ez also reads a poem and a short essay from When Language Broke Open: An Anthology of Queer and Trans Black Writers of Latin American Descent, bringing in additional voices that speak to culture, identity, and resistance.

Together, we unpack how racism and transphobia show up — both in broader society and within LGBTQIA+ spaces — and explore conversations around whiteness, white fragility, and accountability in community reading from “What is white fragility and why white trans women adopt it” by Tara Knight. This episode also makes space for care, cultural connection, and what it means to build solidarity and repair. This is an honest, reflective, and necessary conversation about how we show up for each other and what it takes to create communities that are truly inclusive, supportive, and accountable.

🔗 If you'd like to listen back to the unedited episode - with the music - head to our On Demand website. And don't forget to follow our socials at Facebook and Instagram.

Timestamps and Links:

• 00:00 - Acknowledgement of Country
• 00:20 - Welcome to Tranzmission
• 01:26 - Community News and Events
• 04:47 - Pierce Kent from Dys4ick: Introduction
• 05:10 - Dys4ick collaboration w/ Sock Draw Heros
• 10:14 - Navigating Race and Gender Identity: Pierce - Māhū kāne, Ez - Charrúa
• 12:38 - Experiences of Racism
• 18:58 - Community: Supportive vs Exclusionary
• 19:46 - Ez Reads: When Language Broke Open: An Anthology of Queer and Trans Black Writers of Latin American Descent
• 21:03 - Polluted Imprints In A Neurodivergent Mind by [Julia Feliz[(https://medium.com/@jd.feliz)]
• 26:06 - Ocean Home by Zoë Gamell Brown
• 27:52 - Angel Ixchel Pineda: Introduction and Journey - AM to PM by Christina Milian
• 32:04 - Racism and Transphobia
• 42:31 - White Fragility: "What is white fragility and why white trans women adopt it” by Tara Knight
• 44:57 - White Women's Tears: Keeping the POC community down/silent
• 47:08 - Advice: Empathy, Accountability, Discomfort, and Listening
• 52:12 - Further Reading: Links in notes
• 53:05 - Action Statement: What's Next? What can you do?

Community News and Events Links

• Holdsworth House Brisbane Closes Its’ Doors
• KIKI's Drag Night @Season Three Friday 1 May, 7-11:30pm
• Shelf Lovers’ Drag Storytime - May @Shelf Lovers (GHA cottage) Saturday 2 May 2-3PM

To continue engaging with the ideas explored in this episode, here are some recommended readings:

• How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
• Decolonizing Therapy: Oppression, Historical Trauma, and Politicizing Your Practice by Jennifer Mullan
• Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches by Audre Lorde
• Unapologetic: A Black, Queer, and Feminist Mandate for Radical Movements by Charlene Carruthers
• Black on Both Sides: A Racial History of Trans Identity by C. Riley Snorton

Other links:

• Sock Draw Heroes
• Dy4ick Training Wheels
• MĀHŪ: A TRANS-PACIFIC LOVE STORY
• House of Alexander

Support Services

• QLife - 1800 184 527
• QC LGBT Mental Health Services
• Open Doors Youth Services Inc.
• LifeLine - 13 11 14
• Beyond Blue - 1300 22 4636
• How to Support Transgender & Gender-questioning Youth
• Transgender Map

Get Involved

• Trans Justice Project
• Meanjin Peoples Pride
• Parents of Trans Kids Speak Out
• Protect Trans Kids QLD

4ZZZ's community lives and creates on Turrbal, Yuggera, and Jagera land. Sovereignty was never ceded.

Produced and recorded by Ez at 4zzz in Fortitude Valley, Meanjin/Brisbane Australia on Turrabul and Jaggera Country and audio and cover image edited by Tobi for podcast distribution for Creative Broadcasters Limited.