Ep 114: A Decade in Review
[00:00:00]
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.
SARAH: Talk about all things to do with love, relationships, sexuality, and pretty much anything else we just don't understand.
KAYLA: On today's episode, the 2010s.
BOTH: Sounds Fake But Okay.
[Intro Music]
SARAH: Welcome back to the pod!
KAYLA: M’ariachi band.
SARAH: Okay.
KAYLA: Have I done that one?
SARAH: I think maybe.
KAYLA: It's good anyway. Guess where we are?
SARAH: Kayla and I are looking lovingly into each other's eyes.
KAYLA: It's true, in my childhood bedroom.
SARAH: Behind Kayla's head is a nice Bazinga poster.
KAYLA: It's terrible.
SARAH: A Big Bang Theory poster in which Penny has been severely photoshopped.
KAYLA: Photoshopped. There is a cat.
SARAH: There's a cat.
KAYLA: Who Sarah finally got to meet.
SARAH: That's true. I named her and now I got to meet her.
KAYLA: It's true.
SARAH: As you can probably hear from my voice, I'm sick.
KAYLA: Yay.
SARAH: I just took some drugs.
KAYLA: Yeah.
SARAH: I had to miss my family's Christmas on Saturday. I had a fever.
KAYLA: But not missing this. Not missing this.
SARAH: Priorities. Well, I don't have a fever anymore.
KAYLA: Well, fine.
SARAH: So, yeah, apologies for my voice, but what do you want me to do about it? There's nothing that can be done.
KAYLA: She already had a lozenge.
SARAH: I already had a lozenge.
KAYLA: I watched it all happen.
SARAH: She did. We had to wait until I was done with it before we could talk.
KAYLA: We really did.
SARAH: What are we talking about this week?
KAYLA: Today, this week, is a decade in review.
SARAH: It sure is.
KAYLA: Like Spotify, but it's us this time.
SARAH: Yep.
KAYLA: Yep.
SARAH: Here we are.
KAYLA: Yes.
SARAH: Living our lives.
KAYLA: Mm-hmm
SARAH: Kayla is not drinking big juice, but she is drinking an entire two liter of Faygo Red Pop.
KAYLA: Well, I did put it in a cup, because drinking out of a two liter is difficult.
SARAH: That's fair.
KAYLA: But, yes.
SARAH: Embracing the Michigan one.
KAYLA: Well, I'm only back in Michigan for so long, and red pop is really only here.
SARAH: It's really only here. Okay, so we already said what we're talking about this week, but cat is making noise.
KAYLA: Welcome to my life.
SARAH: Yeah, so we're just going to talk about the past decade, as everyone else in the universe has done. And we're just going to talk about cool things that happened. We're sticking with positivity up in this page, because fuck that shit.
KAYLA: Well, that's not very positive.
SARAH: Fuck negativity.
KAYLA: Well, okay.
SARAH: It's like a double negative.
KAYLA: Yeah.
SARAH: But yeah, so we're going to talk about some queer stuff. We're going to talk about some just personal stuff. I only wrote down one, so we're going to wing it.
KAYLA: For personal stuff?
SARAH: Yeah.
KAYLA: I wrote down nothing.
SARAH: Cool.
KAYLA: How old was I at the beginning of this decade?
SARAH: Twelve.
KAYLA: What grade was that?
SARAH: Seventh. Well, for me it was seventh. Wait. You were thirte… No. We were about twelve.
KAYLA: I'm older than you.
SARAH: I know.
KAYLA: By like half a year.
SARAH: We finished seventh grade and started eighth grade.
KAYLA: See, here's the thing. I feel like I've seen a lot of people in their thirties that have done like, here's what I did in this decade, but I feel like it's early… easier when you're older.
SARAH: Well, yeah, that was something that I wrote down…
KAYLA: Because we've done too much. Because we did like a thousand years of school.
SARAH: I wrote that down where like we're at that specific age where it's like major life changes because you're going from being a child to being an adult.
KAYLA: Yes.
SARAH: And it's wild.
KAYLA: See, I really… I mean I could talk about all the things I've done this decade, but it's too many.
SARAH: Too many. We'll get to that.
KAYLA: Okay.
SARAH: Okay. We're going to start with some cat shaking her head. We're going to start with a coughing.
KAYLA: Coughing
SARAH: We're going to start with some queer things. And I thought the best place to start would just be let's talk about all the places in this world. Stop making faces at your cat.
KAYLA: I think she was about to run because she was wiggling her booty.
SARAH: Wiggle that booty. Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle.
KAYLA: Okay.
SARAH: Um. Du du du du du….
KAYLA: No, no, no, no, no.
SARAH: Um. But I figured we'd start by talking about places where same-sex marriage has been legalized because a lot of places have legalized it in the past ten years. So, this is per the Human Rights Watch. Are you ready?
KAYLA: Uh huh
SARAH: I need to take a drink of water.
KAYLA: Oh, we're doing it fast.
SARAH: Alright. June 2010, Iceland. July 2010, Argentina. At least I think it was July. I can't read Spanish. And the site that I'm getting this from, the Human Rights Watch site, is linking me to the laws themselves in the country's native language, so I'm just doing my best. November 2010, Portugal. I successfully translated that Portuguese. Thank you. June 2012, Denmark. April 2013, France. May 2013, Brazil. August 2013, Uruguay. October 2013, New Zealand. March 2014, England and Wales. December 2014, Scotland. January 2015, Luxembourg. Also, January 2015, Slovenia. June 2015, United States. June 2015, Mexico. Although in some states there are some hoops to jump through, but federal courts cannot legally deny the injunction that is required to do a gay marriage. It's a little complicated, but legal. November 2015, Ireland. April 2016, Colombia. Although marriages have been taking place since 2013. March 2017, Finland. August 2017, Malta. Even less sure on the month for this because I super don't speak Maltese. October 2017, Germany. December 2017, Australia. January 2019, Australia, Austria, sorry. December 2017 was Australia. January 2019 was Austria. They're just back-to-back.
KAYLA: Yeah
SARAH: I struggled. May 2019, Taiwan. June 2019, Ecuador. And upcoming, Costa Rica's law goes into effect in 2020. Hi!
KAYLA: What? I will put you outside.
SARAH: What do you want? Also, some countries, in case you're wondering, Billie is just... Yeah, I'll let you out.
KAYLA: She's going to go outside.
SARAH: I'm going to let you out. Also, for the sake of being thorough, I'm also going to name the countries that legalized it prior to this past decade. Because good things have been happening there too. Marriage is all over the place. Belgium, Canada, Norway, South Africa, Spain, and Sweden already had legalized same-sex marriage.
KAYLA: Those are like the... That makes so much sense, those are like the countries that I feel are like the best.
SARAH: I mean...
KAYLA: At least like Sweden and Canada.
SARAH: South Africa had same-sex marriage, but they also had apartheid, so you know...
KAYLA: Well, you know. Did you know, as of at least a couple years ago, 25 states still allow people to marry their cousin?
SARAH: Wow, that's several states.
KAYLA: The first cousin they have.
SARAH: The very first cousin.
KAYLA: The very first one, but only the very first one.
SARAH: Only... not the second one?
KAYLA: Yeah
SARAH: Oh, wow. That's interesting.
KAYLA: It's not the states you would think.
SARAH: What states are they?
KAYLA: Like...
SARAH: Is it like California?
KAYLA: Yes, and like New York, and Jersey, and Connecticut. It's honestly the Midwest that doesn't have that many.
SARAH: Probably because we were like, let's stop this.
KAYLA: Yeah, anyway.
SARAH: Anyway, my god, my cousin's dog just followed me on Instagram.
KAYLA: Her dog should follow me on Instagram.
SARAH: I think it's a brand-new Instagram.
KAYLA: Well…
SARAH: Also, places where civil unions were made legal in the past decade. Also, part of the Human Rights Watch. Andorra, Cyprus, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Israel... Hungryal? Wait. I can't read.
KAYLA: Ma’am
SARAH: Sorry. Greece, Hungary, Israel. Kind of. It's more of a common law marriage situation. Because you have to be legally married. The only people who can legally marry people are religious organizations. And they're like, no. But it's a… common law marriage you can still adopt kids and stuff.
KAYLA: Sure
SARAH: Italy, Liechtenstein, Slovenia, Northern Ireland. But also, why do you guys need to go all the way out of the UK? I mean, Ireland, I mean if they join Ireland because of this Brexit situation, give us the same sex marriages. Places that's been legalized prior to this decade. Italy, Croatia, Czech Republic, Switzerland.
KAYLA: Wild
SARAH: Same sex… sex decriminalized in a ton of places. Including, but not limited to, this one was hard to find on the cohesive list. So, this is just some examples. Seychelles, Belize, Trinidad, Tobago, India, Angola, and Botswana. So, you can fuck there without...
KAYLA: That's nice. That is good.
SARAH: It is good. I think all of those things are good, and a lot of people fought for some shit.
KAYLA: Mm-hmm
SARAH: Yeah. But, then you say, with Sarah, same sex marriage is great, but it doesn't necessarily directly impact all Aspec people. This is an Aspec podcast. Well to that, ladies, gents. Oh, I just said it wrong. Guys, gals, and non-binary pals. I heard recently someone said, ladies, gentlemen, and those who are smart enough to know better.
KAYLA: Yeah, that's funny. On our D&D podcast, Into the Gridge, you should listen to it. It came out this decade. It's ladies, gentlemen, and those not constricted by binary forms of gender, I think.
[00:10:00]
SARAH: Nice.
KAYLA: Yes
SARAH: You know what bothers me?
KAYLA: No.
SARAH: In the musical Kinky Boots, in the finale, there's a line with it, and it's a very queer musical.
KAYLA: Very.
SARAH: And there's a line where it's like, ladies, gentlemen, and those who have yet to decide. And it's like, but that still follows the binary.
KAYLA: Does it rhyme with something? Is that why they did it?
SARAH: No.
KAYLA: Okay, well then that's dumb.
SARAH: Like, why can't you just change it to those who are neither, you know?
KAYLA: Well, that's a little bit older for a musical, I guess.
SARAH: I know. Okay, anyway, this is a positive episode of the podcast. So, to that I say, let's talk about some Aspec things that happened this decade. Not as many, but we're getting there. Okay? So, in 2010, we got an Ace Flag. Pretty cool. You can leave it outside your house. Or your apartment. Or your condo. Or your…
KAYLA: Hut?
SARAH: Hut
KAYLA: Shed?
SARAH: Trailer? Or...
KAYLA: Mobile home.
SARAH: Mobile home.
KAYLA: Tiny house.
SARAH: Your slaughter, like your boat house?
KAYLA: Houseboat…
SARAH: Houseboat
KAYLA: Is actually what that's called. Actually.
SARAH: That's cool. 2010, we also got an Awareness Week. Thank you, Sarah Beth Brooks. That was all her. 2011, aros got a flag. Now you can leave both of them outside your houseboat.
KAYLA: But only your houseboat.
SARAH: Only your houseboat. In 2013, the DSM was amended and a lot of things were good in the amendments that year regarding queer stuff, but specifically if they were regarding aspec stuff, they included an exception for ace people unregarded to be hypoactive sexual desire disorder, basically saying like, if you're ace, you don't necessarily have to be this. This is a separate thing. And in 2017, they started this podcast, which is very, very important in the history of asexuality.
KAYLA: I would say so, yes.
SARAH: Am I missing anything?
KAYLA: For asexuality?
SARAH: Yeah, I mean, I'm sure there are other smaller things, but I was just trying to hit on the big ones.
KAYLA: Yeah, I mean, I think, I know there were several documentaries that came out, some good, some not as good.
SARAH: Hashtag this is what asexual looks like.
KAYLA: That's true, that was this decade. I mean, Yasmin just had her magazine come out.
SARAH: Yeah.
KAYLA: That was this year, so this decade.
SARAH: Yasmin existed this decade.
KAYLA: She did.
SARAH: Tim Gunn came out as asexual. Kind of.
KAYLA: Yeah, that's true.
SARAH: There was an asexual person who ran for office in the thing. That was cool. And like, are we a little behind other queer communities? As I just spent 45 years listing countries that legalize same-sex marriage. Yeah, but you know what? We're on a different path. We're doing well. The visibility is up.
KAYLA: Yeah, I mean, I feel like every day I see a new article that's like, this is what asexuality is. And you know, obviously they're not all perfect, but.
SARAH: Yeah. Did you know that in 1976, David Bowie mentioned asexuality in an interview he did?
KAYLA: That's wild. I did not know that.
SARAH: I know, it is wild.
KAYLA: But yeah, I think, I mean, AVEN started in, what, 2001? Yeah. And so that was really like our starting point, and this is like our second decade of life as like a real online type community.
SARAH: We can vote now.
KAYLA: We can vote now. We can probably drink almost. Not yet.
SARAH: Not yet. Not in America. Also, they recently changed the laws that you can't buy like tobacco products or like tools and stuff until you're 21. Totally went under the radar.
KAYLA: I mean, it's not going to stop anyone.
SARAH: Oh, it's not. But like, because of all the impeachment stuff that's been going on, like it just totally flew under the radar.
KAYLA: That's wild. How many presidents have we had impeached this decade? Two?
SARAH: This decade? Zero. One. Decade.
KAYLA: When was Clinton?
SARAH: In the ‘90s.
KAYLA: Oh, I'm an idiot.
SARAH: Nixon didn't officially get impeached, but that was the ‘70s. And then it was Andrew Johnson's in the what? 1860s, 1870s?
KAYLA: For some reason I thought Bill Clinton was within this decade, decade seems a lot longer than it is. When you say decade, it seems like a long time.
SARAH: Were you thinking of your entire lifetime?
KAYLA: Yes. Yes, I was.
SARAH: Has Bill Clinton, was that even in our lifetime?
KAYLA: I don't think so. The first president I remember was Bush.
SARAH: Me too.
KAYLA: The second one
SARAH: Well, no, I think Bill Clinton was a president when we were alive, but I don't think his impeachment...
KAYLA: I don't know. The first president I remember was...
SARAH: Bill Clinton... oh, he was impeached during our lifetime. Andrew Johnson was impeached in 1860.
KAYLA: When was Clinton impeached?
SARAH: December 19th 1998.
KAYLA: Okay, so we were like one years old.
SARAH: Yeah
KAYLA: Nice.
SARAH: We were Un bébé.
KAYLA: Un bébé, together, we were one baby.
SARAH: Together, we were one baby.
KAYLA: But yeah, it's like our second big decade of life, so I feel like there has been a lot of very small victories this decade.
SARAH: Yeah
KAYLA: They are very good
SARAH: I think it's good. And we don't necessarily have same-sex marriages legalized, like something of that caliber, that like went big of a thing necessarily in the face of the community. But we're making strides. Making waves. You want to know some other fun things that are queer that happened this decade?
KAYLA: I do.
SARAH: These are all kind of specific to America, because I'm an American.
KAYLA: That's where we live.
SARAH: And obviously everything is about us, so I have this bias. But if you're not from America, please tell us about queer things you've had in the past decade, wherever you're from. Okay, 2010. Don't Ask, Don't Tell was revealed. For those of you who don't know, Don't Ask, Don't Tell was in the military where it's basically like, no one will ask you if you're gay, but you also can't tell anyone if you're gay or you're queer or whatever. It was under Bush, and it was bad. 2012. Kirsten Sinema is the first openly bi person to be elected to Congress in Arizona. Like, not in Arizona, but she's from Arizona. 2012 also, Tammy Baldwin is the first openly gay person to be elected to the Senate in Wisconsin. They're both still, you know, still there.
KAYLA: Wow
SARAH: 2017, all single occupancy bathrooms in the state of California must be gender neutral. I was recently in California, and there were single stall bathrooms, and they were gender neutral, and I was like, I love it. Yes! 2018. A trans black woman and a trans black man, their names are Felipe Cunningham or Felipe Cunningham and Andrea Jenkins, they were sworn into the Minneapolis City Council, making them the first to be elected into public office in the US. I realize I just wrote the first to be elected, the first trans folks to be, I believe is what it was. But also, they're black, which is exciting.
KAYLA: That is exciting
SARAH: I’d love people of color on this pod! 2018, Danica Roem became the first openly trans person to serve in the state legislature, that was in Virginia. 2019, the United States held their first ever gay candidate for the presidency, Pete Buttigieg, obviously. I was listening to Love It or Leave It, I'm going over to Kayla's house this morning.
KAYLA: They were talking about the wine cave?
SARAH: They were… he also talked to Pete Buttigieg and he made him, John Lovett does this thing where he puts presidential candidates through his Queen for the Day quiz. Where he basically lists a bunch of things that he would do if you were queen for a day and he makes them agree or disagree.
KAYLA: Okay
SARAH: And one of the questions he asked Pete Buttigieg was which Chris, like Hemsworth, Pratt, Pine.
KAYLA: Pine, obviously.
SARAH: Well, and he was like, Chris Pine is the one in Star Trek, right? And he was like, yep. And he was like, oh, but Chris Pratt was in Parks and Recreation, there's an Indiana connection, I have to say Chris Pratt.
KAYLA: Yeah, but he sucks.
SARAH: I know. But… and John Lovett was like, well, that's wrong. But I would like to put it on record that Pete Buttigieg said he would fuck Chris Pratt.
KAYLA: Oh my god.
SARAH: And then he goes, I can't look at you for the rest of this interview.
KAYLA: Oh my god.
SARAH: That was some comic. Anyway, 2019, 50th anniversary of Stonewall. New York City announces it's going to put up a monument in Garnet Village honoring Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera. All these things are good.
KAYLA: Yes
SARAH: A small sampling of good things make good things happen. I went to multiple gay weddings.
KAYLA: I've been to none.
SARAH: Well…
KAYLA: I did go to my first Pride. And as did you.
SARAH: I did that also. I've been to...
KAYLA: You came out?
SARAH: Yeah.
KAYLA: This is getting into the personal stuff.
SARAH: It is. I've been to three gay weddings in the past couple of years.
KAYLA: I haven’t been to any ever.
SARAH: Two straight weddings.
KAYLA: Oh, I don't even know how many weddings I've been to this decade.
SARAH: Also, another thing. We saw the rise of queer television and film content. This is by no means an exhaustive list.
KAYLA: No
SARAH: But here is just a small sampling of some of the content. Are you ready?
KAYLA: Yes
SARAH: Euphoria, Killing Eve, Sense 8, One Day at a Time, Schitt's Creek, because I had to get that reference in there, Modern Family, Glee, Broad City, Transparent, VEDA, Pose, Orange is the New Black, Shadowhunters, Bojack Horseman, that ace representation, yes. American Horror Story, Steven Universe, The Fosters, Adventure Time, Legend of Korra, Good Luck Charlie, Andy Mack, which is a TV show on Disney Channel where a character was like, hey, I'm gay.
KAYLA: Mm-hmm
SARAH: Bachelor in Paradise?
KAYLA: Question mark?
SARAH: Queer Eye, Grace and Frankie, The Politician, moving on to movies. There are more TV shows, but those are the only... You could also say Stranger Things and stuff, but I was just talking about major plot points.
[00:20:00]
KAYLA: Yeah
SARAH: Moonlight, Call Me By Your Name, Booksmart, The Favorite, Love, Simon, Blues, Warmest Color, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, which I thought was very good, but I don't see it. The Mythic education of Cameron Post, Dirty Computer, which is not technically a movie or a TV show, but it is worth mentioning anyway. Carol, The Handmaiden, Nanette, which is Nanette, which is Hannah Gadsby's Netflix special. I could keep going but I think…
KAYLA: The Favorite? Did you say the Favorite?
SARAH: I said the Favorite.
KAYLA: Okay, good.
SARAH: Rocket Man.
KAYLA: But not on Delta.
SARAH: But not on Delta.
KAYLA: Bohemian Rhapsody, but not really.
SARAH: They fucked that over.
KAYLA: Yeah
SARAH: A lot of movies. As I was looking up lists, there were a lot of movies that I never heard of, but I was like, this is good, because it means they're being made, even if they're not necessarily going wildly popular. Most movies don't get wildly popular.
KAYLA: True.
SARAH: So, yes, very exciting. And also, that gives me just a list of more things to watch.
KAYLA: Oh, because you definitely need that.
SARAH: Yeah. Listen, I have heard from reputable sources, and by that I mean people who I know in film school, which means it’s really good.
KAYLA: Okay
SARAH: But yeah, a lot of queer television and film content. Also, literally everything I have written in the past.
KAYLA: Oh my god.
SARAH: Is either...
KAYLA: So, if you want to see that on a list, call Sarah up and make her a movie.
SARAH: Hey, anyone a producer out there?
KAYLA: Good.
SARAH: If you want it to be more explicitly queer, I'll do it for you.
KAYLA: Mm good
SARAH: A lot of my stuff is just like, it's pretty aro ace
KAYLA: We made an Ace musical this decade.
SARAH: Oh yeah, fuck, we made an Ace musical.
KAYLA: An Aro Ace musical.
SARAH: It is Aro Ace.
KAYLA: We made that this decade
SARAH: It's also just like queer in general, a bi
KAYLA: There's also a bi.
SARAH: I love queer television.
KAYLA: Okay
SARAH: It's so good.
KAYLA: I'm trying to think if I can think of any other ones.
SARAH: I mean, there's definitely more, but those are just the main ones. I just listed out to me and there are many lists I looked up.
KAYLA: I can't think of any.
SARAH: Fun times. And I know a lot of this is just mainstream media shit, which people are like, some people might be like, what is that now? Mainstream media sucks, but it's so important in our nation and mainstream media. And we've made such large strides in the past ten years because I'm looking at this list of movies and TV shows and most of them have been in the past 25 years.
KAYLA: Yeah. I know I had a professor that made… she makes documentaries, but she made one in the ‘90s and then she made one, I think in the nots or whatever the fuck they're called. And they were documentaries about queer television shows. And the 90s one was super easy. You had queers folk and you had the original Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and like…
SARAH: Ellen.
KAYLA: Ellen? Yeah. Ellen. And stuff like that.
SARAH: An argument could be made for Golden Girls, but it was not in the 90s…
KAYLA: I don't remember. But anyway, she was talking about how she had made these documentaries and it was just about like, it was basically a timeline of like, here's when gay characters were emerging on TV. And she was like, I don't know what to do now…
SARAH: Will and Grace.
KAYLA: Will and Grace. That's a big one.
SARAH: Will and Grace also was really big…
KAYLA: But who cares? It's terrible. But she was talking about how she was planning on making one for now and she was like, but it's impossible. Like so much media is being made now that it's impossible to get them all. So, she was asking us, like, which ones are the most important to you? Like, what do I need to include?
SARAH: Those, definitely those
KAYLA: Okay. I said Bojack Horseman.
SARAH: Bojack Horseman? I would say she has great pan characters.
KAYLA: Okay, shut up. But I think it's just really interesting because the media landscape is so fragmented now. And you can get like, you know, a million different streaming platforms and a million different people making media.
SARAH: Yes
KAYLA: There really is just like a ton of places to find stuff. I mean, thinking like the amount of just like web series there are that people make independently that have great representation. Like, is the quality of the film like filmmaking incredible? No, but like, those are queer people making queer stories.
SARAH: Yeah, this was one of the things I mentioned on the podcast that got deleted but there's a guy named Brian Jordan Alvarez who, he has been recently posting these videos that are like 45 seconds each that are just divorce parts 1 through 14.
KAYLA: Oh, it's like the guy on Twitter. Okay, have you seen the guy on Twitter? This is the gay representation I needed for this segment. The guy on Twitter who has been doing this thread of videos of him telling a story about this date he went on with his coworker. And every time it's like, you know, the point of view videos, it's like point of view me telling you about my date with Brandon, but we get interrupted because my phone dies. It's been going on for weeks now because every time it's like, but we get interrupted by this or like this happens. And so, it's just this long story of how he went on this date with this guy and then ended up like falling and getting hurt. And they like somehow spend the entire weekend together, but we don't know the end yet. But he's a gay man.
SARAH: Yeah, no, this is so…
KAYLA: I had to find his name.
SARAH: It has gotten extreme because at first he was just talking about how he wanted to get a divorce from his wife because his wife won't kiss him. And then he and his friend keep referring to each other as brother. And then at the beginning were like, don't call me brother. And then now they're at the point where they're like, we should get a paternity test to see if we're brothers. And it's just like devolved. It's incredible.
KAYLA: Let me look up this Twitter thread.
SARAH: But he also did a series of videos a couple of years ago called the Gay and Wondrous Life of Caleb Gallo. And it is so surrealist and absurdist and very funny. And it's quite the time. And I talked about it in the podcast. So, if it got deleted, I'm pretty sure.
KAYLA: So, this is, his name is Caleb Says Things on Twitter, @CalebSaysThings. And it's the first one, POV, you're my coworker, and I'm telling you the first part of an entire weekend I spent with our other coworker. And two, three, four, five, six. We're on part six now. I haven't watched the new one yet because I forgot. But like it's like we sneak into an empty conference room, but then someone kicks us out because they had it scheduled.
SARAH: Oh my God
KAYLA: And there's this whole thing, how you went on a date with Jonathan from marketing.
SARAH: Oh incredible.
KAYLA: It's so funny.
SARAH: Oh incredible. Anyway, gay content. Like I didn't even go to like, go into like queer YouTubers and stuff.
KAYLA: Oh, so many.
SARAH: So many.
KAYLA: And like so many podcasts.
SARAH: So many podcasts. Yes, many good content.
KAYLA: Yes.
SARAH: It's one every second. Very beautiful. Bad things have happened too. Fuck that, I'm not talking about it here.
KAYLA: Yeah, obviously there's still a long way to go. I'm looking at you, specifically Star Wars.
SARAH: Technically she's looking at me right now.
KAYLA: I'm looking at Sarah, but metaphorically I'm looking at Star Wars.
SARAH: And Marvel, just anything owned by… any large franchise owned by Disney.
KAYLA: Anyway, we still have a long way to go, but it's happening.
SARAH: Do you want to talk about ourselves?
KAYLA: Yes.
SARAH: Okay, as we've established, at the beginning of the decade, we were 12.
KAYLA: So, what have you been doing since you were 12, Sarah?
SARAH: Doing my best.
KAYLA: Let's see, okay, since we were 12, we...
SARAH: Figured out our sexualities.
KAYLA: Okay, I'm starting at the beginning. We finished middle school. We went to high school. We finished high school. We went to college. We finished college.
SARAH: Graduated from college.
KAYLA: We made a musical. We were on a sports team.
SARAH: I studied abroad. Ha ha ha. I studied abroad.
KAYLA: You studied abroad. I moved to Connecticut.
SARAH: I signed a lease to move to Los Angeles.
KAYLA: You signed a lease. I got a job.
SARAH: I didn't.
KAYLA: You're working on it. What else have we done this decade? We were in several musicals this decade.
SARAH: I wrote a lot of shit.
KAYLA: I was in maybe 15 stage productions this decade.
SARAH: I did not write any, but still…
KAYLA: Well, I was in like two per se, at least two per year in high school.
SARAH: I was not.
KAYLA: At least 15, 15 to 20 probably stage productions. I got a cat.
SARAH: I...
KAYLA: We figured out our sexualities.
SARAH: Yes.
KAYLA: I dated four people.
SARAH: I dated zero people.
KAYLA: Four?
SARAH: Yeah.
KAYLA: Yeah
SARAH: Yeah
KAYLA: Yeah.
SARAH: Yeah
KAYLA: Yeah
SARAH: Yeah
KAYLA: We met.
SARAH: Yeah, Kayla and I met.
KAYLA: We met.
SARAH: We started a podcast.
KAYLA: We started a podcast.
SARAH: You know what else happened in the past decade? I got better at having my own opinions.
KAYLA: Well, I mean that makes sense from 12 to 22, it gets better
SARAH: Here's the thing though, is even like when I was in college, like I was easily swayable like any time someone that I remotely respected said anything to the contrary of what I previously believed. Or even worse, I would just not have an opinion until someone I remotely respected told me what my opinion should be and I have gotten better at not doing that.
KAYLA: That's good. I'm not very good. I frequently go to Sarah and say, what's our opinion on this political thing? Which I mean is fine because I feel like we have pretty similar.
SARAH: And I am more politically informed than you as well so I can give you the political information and you can make it that way.
KAYLA: But it's funny because I will frequently ask, what do we think about this?
SARAH: The other day she texted me and she goes, can you explain the Israel-Palestine conflict?
KAYLA: I wanted the entire thing.
SARAH: And I was like, oh boy.
KAYLA: You did a good job of it though. Yeah, I wanted Sarah to explain the entire thing. We have seen how many presidents in this decade? Two or something? We voted for the first time.
[00:30:00]
SARAH: We voted for the first time.
KAYLA: We became legal to drink. We... I got my first smartphone.
SARAH: I...
KAYLA: Got my first phone and my first smartphone.
SARAH: I got my first smartphone.
KAYLA: I... I think we moved houses within this decade. No. We might have moved houses within this decade. Um...
SARAH: She left a little Buzinga poster on her wall.
KAYLA: Unfortunately, that did happen.
SARAH: I pet my dog a lot. Um... A lot of stuff has happened.
KAYLA: What else have we done?
SARAH: There's a lot of specific moments that stand out, but also like, I don't want to talk about it too much on this podcast
KAYLA: Oh! Okay.
SARAH: Well, no, it's just like a lot of personal things in my life that were good.
KAYLA: I was diagnosed with mental disorders.
SARAH: I found out I'm ADHD.
KAYLA: Yeah, I was…
SARAH: And depression
KAYLA: Within the decade, diagnosed with anxiety and depression. I've had four different therapists at this point. Maybe something like that. Three, four, one, two, five.
SARAH: I've taken a lot of drugs and my drugs have been…
KAYLA: Prozac. Mm-hmm
SARAH: But if you are a drug addict, I'd reduce it.
KAYLA: And it's okay.
SARAH: Yes. A lot of things have happened.
KAYLA: Yes.
SARAH: I don't know what to do with this information. We're about to be in the 2020s. Hindsight it is 2020, am I right, lady?
KAYLA: Your face is stupid right now.
SARAH: I'm just smiling.
KAYLA: We're going to a 20s themed New Year's Eve party.
SARAH: That's exciting. I'm ready for it to be the roaring 20s again, but like, better this time.
KAYLA: When did the depression happen last time?
SARAH: Too many times
KAYLA: It's definitely going to happen before that. No, we're keeping this positive. Never mind. Everything is fine.
SARAH: You know what's going to happen in the next decade?
KAYLA: Mm-hmm
SARAH: You're going to get me pregnant.
KAYLA: That is true. Oh yeah, let's guess. What do we think is going to happen for us? What does it… let’s manifest our next decade.
SARAH: Okay. I would like to make enough money to live off of.
KAYLA: I will… hope maybe have a dog.
SARAH: In 10 years I would like to have a dog.
KAYLA: In 10 years we will be 32. I will be... my sister will be married.
SARAH: In the next 10 years I would like to have something made that I have written on. Made as in I get paid for making it. That would be nice.
KAYLA: Will I be married in the next 10 years?
SARAH: My guess is yeah.
KAYLA: I also have that.
SARAH: I would like to... I don't know, here's the problem. I have trouble imagining myself older than 25.
KAYLA: Yes. Imagining myself older than 30? I've never done that before probably. I can imagine myself between now and 25 and then like 40. I can get old because then I feel like it's easy to imagine that far ahead when we're this young. Because it's like, oh yeah, I'll be old and I'll have a job and I'll have kids.
SARAH: See now that's not my situation.
KAYLA: Yeah, for me at least. Because I don't have to be specific at all.
SARAH: Yeah, I think in my situation it's partially because I'm going into a career where my future is very uncertain. So, I just like… I anticipate to be struggling for a while.
KAYLA: Nice.
SARAH: And after that I have no idea what's going to happen.
KAYLA: I'm guessing I will have moved at least once.
SARAH: Mm-hmm.
KAYLA: Or twice.
SARAH: Let's guess things for each other.
KAYLA: Ooh, guess me.
SARAH: Uh... You're going to have to go do your podcasts.
KAYLA: How many more do you think I'm going to get?
SARAH: Like four.
KAYLA: At least one more. Or two. At least one or two more.
SARAH: I do think you're going to get married in the next ten years.
KAYLA: I think so, probably.
SARAH: Don't make me worry about getting…
KAYLA: Mom. I'm going to put everyone in a really cute one except you.
SARAH: And then me… Oh, oh no.
KAYLA: Yes. You're going to be my flower girl.
SARAH: Oh my God
KAYLA: Because I don't think I'm going to have any... Unless my sister has kids by then, which I can't imagine. Well, I guess it depends when in the next ten years I'm getting married. But I currently don't have any small children.
SARAH: I currently don't have any small children.
KAYLA: This is the bigger problem for my sister's wedding. Because that's happening in the next two years. And we truly, I don't know which...
SARAH: It's not necessary to have a dog.
KAYLA: I think it should be a dog.
SARAH: Yeah, take it as a dog.
KAYLA: My cat. Can I put my cat in my wedding?
SARAH: Yeah.
KAYLA: You know what I love? Is that I will still have my cat. Because she's going to live forever.
SARAH: She's going to live forever.
KAYLA: Let's see, what else will happen? I'll have at least one more podcast, I'll probably get married. At least engaged.
SARAH: I think you will.
KAYLA: Mm-hmm
SARAH: I don't know. I can't even... Now that I'm trying to think of a future, I'm like, I don't know.
KAYLA: What job will I have?
SARAH: A job.
KAYLA: Oh, okay.
SARAH: Making money.
KAYLA: I hope so.
SARAH: Well, who knows what will happen to the social media landscape in the next 10 years.
KAYLA: That's true. So maybe I will.
SARAH: Or maybe you'll have a job that's entirely different from anything you could imagine now.
KAYLA: That's probably what's going to happen if I were to guess.
SARAH: Alright, what's going to happen to me in the next 10 years?
KAYLA: You're going to make... You're going to, I think, be a writer for a TV show.
SARAH: Okay. Like, are we talking like a staff writer?
KAYLA: I think...
SARAH: That’s the lowest
KAYLA: I think you'll at least be a staff writer.
SARAH: Okay. I realize not everyone understands the hierarchy.
KAYLA: How old are showrunners usually?
SARAH: Um... Being a 32-year-old showrunner would be a young showrunner.
KAYLA: I think at the end of the decade you're going to be a showrunner.
SARAH: Really?
KAYLA: Mm-hmm. I think you'll have made an indie film.
SARAH: Hmm.
KAYLA: Yes.
SARAH: Interesting. With what money.
KAYLA: Yeah. And you'll have a dog.
SARAH: Okay, that's fun.
KAYLA: Yes.
SARAH: That's exciting. What do we think is going to happen to our listeners? I think good things to all of them.
KAYLA: Which one? Good
SARAH: Good things are going to happen to all of them
KAYLA: A lot of them are going to graduate high school and college.
SARAH: Mm-hmm. I think a lot of them are going to come to better terms with their sexuality. I think a lot of them are going to be better communicators in their relationship.
KAYLA: Mm-hmm.
SARAH: I think that's good.
KAYLA: Yes
SARAH: I think they're going to be able to watch a lot more queer content on TV.
KAYLA: I agree. I think those of them that want to, a lot more of them will be able to come out if they want to. And it'll be an easier time for them.
SARAH: Mm-hmm. I think that having aspec characters in things may not necessarily be the norm, but it will definitely be more common than it is now.
KAYLA: I agree.
SARAH: Which is nice for all of us.
KAYLA: 32 is so old.
SARAH: If for only the reason that I will write them into everything I do. Yes.
KAYLA: Are you going to cast me in your things?
SARAH: You are not a professional actor.
KAYLA: Not yet.
SARAH: Oh, in the next ten years you're going to become a professional actor? That's news to me.
KAYLA: At least give me like a job.
SARAH: Doing what?
KAYLA: I don't know!
SARAH: Social media for my show?
KAYLA: Yeah! Give me that one.
SARAH: Um, but yeah. And if these… okay. Here's another thing.
KAYLA: 32?
SARAH: Yeah, I know.
KAYLA: Is so old
SARAH: Don't be offensive to our listeners who are 32 and over.
KAYLA: I'm so sorry, but you're ancient!
SARAH: That's so mean!
KAYLA: They know what I mean.
SARAH: You're knowledgeable and wise.
KAYLA: What's that like?
SARAH: Here's the thing. I am going to say, as we kind of wrap up our discussion of this decade and the next, um, if this past decade was shitty for you, first of all, I'm sorry. Second of all, I hate the old adage that's like, it gets better.
KAYLA: Yeah
SARAH: But like, also it does.
KAYLA: Yes
SARAH: And you can make it better for yourself. And as you get older, you will get a better grasp on who you are and the kind of people you want to run yourself with.
KAYLA: You also just get more like, autonomy to do whatever you want.
SARAH: Yeah, you do. And so, I think even if this past decade has been a bitch to you, I hope you can still look at the good things that did happen in the past decade, whether it was like, small moments in your life, or like, same-sex marriage was legalized in a bunch of places, or, you know, we got an ace flag, or blah blah blah. Um, and I hope the next decade is better for you. And I hope that even if this past decade was good for you, I hope that it just keeps getting better.
KAYLA: I agree.
SARAH: Ernest is a fuck.
KAYLA: Wow. The emotion. The raw emotion.
SARAH: Um, this is our last podcast episode of the decade.
KAYLA: Yeah!
SARAH: Um, just an FYI that we will be taking next week off.
KAYLA: Sarah is moving away.
SARAH: I am moving to California.
KAYLA: We're going to be on opposite coasts.
SARAH: Mm-hmm. Uh...
KAYLA: Now we're a big podcast, because we have headquarters on each coast.
SARAH: Yeah. Um...
KAYLA: Fancy.
SARAH: But yeah, I hope that all of you have had good holidays, are continuing to have good holidays. I hope no one is killing their family. Um...
[00:40:00]
KAYLA: Unless they deserve it.
SARAH: Yeah. And if they deserve it, I hope you don't get caught. Um...
KAYLA: I agree.
SARAH: Um... Thank you for being with us on this journey so far in this decade.
KAYLA: Yeah.
SARAH: And I hope you continue to join us as this podcast grows older and wise
KAYLA: Yes.
SARAH: I mean, we're a toddler now.
KAYLA: We are a toddler. And we're hoping to do more fun things in the next year, the next decade.
SARAH: Indeed.
KAYLA: So, keep an eye out.
SARAH: Yep. Our poll for this week, I think, should be, tell us about...
KAYLA: Your decade.
SARAH: Your decade. Good things that maybe happened where you're from for queer communities, things that happened to you individually, or if you don't want to tell us, just think about it. Because there were some things I didn't tell you because it seemed unnecessary.
KAYLA: No, I want to know them.
SARAH: Well, no. It's just like, I was watching John Green's most recent VlogBrothers video, and he was talking about the best days in his past decade.
KAYLA: How would I remember that? How would I possibly remember that?
SARAH: He was saying that some of them he's not going to mention. The birth of both of his children is a major thing, but he didn't want to go into detail on that. That's what mine is like. I didn't birth any children, but just little things. I'm just like, oh, that was a nice time. People listening will be like, what? I don't get it. And that was kind of a little bit of the inspiration of some of the things that I talked about here. So big ups to John Green, thank you. I'm actually looking at you have the Baltimore stars on your bookshelf right now. Yeah. Oh, I'm sorry.
KAYLA: Is that an angelical?
SARAH: Angelico, sorry, I'm reading things off his bookshelf, that's not useful to you. But yes, tell us about your decade, good things that have happened. Keep it positive. Let's keep it positive. Let's not be negative, because that's not a good way to end the decade.
KAYLA: No
SARAH: Some people would argue that the decade doesn't end until December 2020 because there was no New Zero, but that's fine.
KAYLA: Exhausting.
SARAH: Exhausting. All our social media. Oh, beef juice, so sorry.
KAYLA: Oh, Jesus.
SARAH: Here is my beef. I have beef. I saw Star Wars…
KAYLA: It was bad. That's also my beef, is how bad it was.
SARAH: But that's not my beef.
KAYLA: Is your beef that everyone thinks it's bad and it's not?
SARAH: Okay. I don't want to get too much into my opinions on it on this pod. I will say there were things about it that I liked, there were things I felt something different on, there were things I didn't like. The only thing I will mention specifically, because it's relevant to the topic of this podcast, is I stand by aro ace Ray. And there are some things that happened. I don't want to spoil.
KAYLA: There's a lot in the movie that I think sexuality especially was handled extremely poorly.
SARAH: Yeah
KAYLA: But anyway, I thought it was a bad movie.
SARAH: Kayla thought it was a bad movie, I still enjoyed it. Anyway, but when the movie came out the internet fucking blew up.
KAYLA: Because it's bad.
SARAH: It just came out. Raelos were mad, anti-Raelos were mad, families were mad, every last person was mad. And I know I'm a hypocrite because I've gotten this mad about other stuff before. But most of the other things have been like, I'm mad because Joss Whedon has made it seem like the Black Widow is less of a woman because she can't have kids. And that's fucking offensive to women everywhere. But I am a little bit more objective on Star Wars because I didn't get into it until college, and so I don't have the nostalgia factor.
KAYLA: Yeah, that’s fair
SARAH: And I am into fandoms, like I understand the attachment to certain characters and stories, and I understand that their arcs mean a lot to you. And as I said earlier, y'all have heard me come after what was done to Agent Vultron. So, it's not having an opinion that I'm against as long as that opinion isn't hurting anyone. And I do think there are plenty of valid things to criticize about this film. Before this podcast, me and Kayla were civilly discussing them. But y'all need to calm the fuck down.
KAYLA: Well, okay, here's where I think it's justifiable that people are angry. A, it's the last one.
SARAH: Yeah.
KAYLA: Like it's the last, last one. This was the grand finale, and it wasn't grand. So, I think, and also a lot of people do have a lot of nostalgia that goes with it. I also think one of the main reasons I'm angry is because Disney owns it now. Disney has infinite amount of money and infinite amount of resources. There should be nothing stopping them from making the best movie of all time.
SARAH: Well, see, but that's where I think that anger might be misdirected. Like, direct that anger at Disney. Because yeah, Disney fucking is sucks
KAYLA: Well, no, that's why, like that's who I'm mad at the most is Disney.
SARAH: Well, a lot of people on the internet are like, JJ Abrams ruined it. And people are like, no, Rian Johnson ruined it. I will never forgive either of them. They're both horrible people.
KAYLA: Oh, I'm more mad at Disney above anyone else.
SARAH: That's fair. I think that's fair. But to the people who are like coming after like the writers and the directors and it's like, take a deep breath. This is supposed to be for fun. And look, I have a film degree. I understand the urge to analyze film. I understand the urge to be critical of film. And I don't think being critical of film, especially of films and franchises that you love, is a bad thing. I think it's a good thing to be critical of the things that you love. But you don't need to be like threatening people's lives on Twitter.
KAYLA: That’s a lot
SARAH: I know that Twitter discourse is never the same as real life discourse. And this is as true with Star Wars as it is with politics and shit. So, what I'm seeing on Twitter and Tumblr and stuff is the vocal extremes. And the majority of people who watched it aren't pissing themselves in anger. But for those of you who are very entrenched in this fandom or other fandoms, you can have really strong opinions. And I get that feelings run high. But also, we're here because we love this thing. And we're not here because we have a shared hatred of something. So, we can disagree on things and not fucking come after people and call them horrible people…
KAYLA: Yeah
SARAH: For this thing about a movie that you don't like or that you disagree with them. We don't have to agree. We don't have to be best friends. As long as your argument is coming from a genuine place and a good place and it's not like, I don't like Ray because she's a woman. Like take a deep breath. Stop yelling at JJ Abrams that he ruined your childhood. It might get heated at times, but you don't need to end relationships over it.
KAYLA: Have you seen that happen?
SARAH: No, but I've seen people get so insane that I could see it happen.
KAYLA: Yeah. I mean, I think I'm mostly mad at Disney and a lot of the writing I was not a fan of, but I am also well aware that it was probably written by a committee.
SARAH: Yeah, there were two writers credited, but who knows who else? I'm sure they got a shitload of notes from up high in Disney.
KAYLA: Disney obviously had a heavy hand in this. And like I contribute everything I don't like about the movie to Disney, not the writers, not the directors. I know that. I know whose fault it is.
SARAH: Right, and I think a lot of people are really coming after J.J. Abrams, and he was one of the writers, but like... Oh, wow, this is interesting. Sorry, I just looked it up. Directed by J.J. Abrams, screenplay by J.J. Abrams and Chris Theriot, story by George Lucas.
KAYLA: I mean, George Lucas did always mean for there to be 9 films.
SARAH: I know, but now I'm wondering how much of the story is George Lucas, and how much of what happens is J.J. and his other writers.
KAYLA: I mean, I think probably the grander plot is George Lucas.
SARAH: And the specifics are more... yeah, but even then, still, like...
KAYLA: Doesn't make it better, though. George Lucas was ancient and worked his story when it was a different time.
SARAH: And J.J. Abrams is not known for good endings.
KAYLA: Did you read the tweet where when he turned in the final script, he was like, the ending is bad? He literally was like, the ending is bad.
SARAH: It's really funny.
KAYLA: And it is bad, is what I can say, but the ending is very bad.
SARAH: But I just think people need to take a deep breath. You can have opinions, but also stop. Like, take a Xanax, meditate for like an hour, and then come back. And when I say meditate, I don't mean like, stew in your anger, I mean like, float in the sky like a Jedi and calm your motherfucking self down. That's my beef. My juice is... my beef is I'm also sick. My juice is... that. We're about to enter the Roaring Twenties, but better. Impeachment!
KAYLA: Oh okay.
SARAH: Impeachment is great.
KAYLA: Uh, yeah. My beef, I think, is also Star Wars, but we just talked about that. I think my juice is that it's almost Christmas. And also, impeachment, which I realize, it doesn't mean you get out of office, I get it. That does not mean I can't be excited.
SARAH: He still has his scarlet letter of I on him.
KAYLA: That does not mean I can't be excited about like, what a fun time it is to have a president impeached. Like, it's a good time.
SARAH: Is it bad for America? Yes. But even if he didn't get impeached, Donald Trump would still be bad for America.
KAYLA: Yeah, I mean, like, honestly, it doesn't change much except for like, it gives me something to be happy about.
SARAH: Yeah, and like, it brings to America's attention the shit that Donald Trump has been doing and not get influenced by Star Wars shit in this game.
KAYLA: True.
SARAH: So, that's the tea. Um, if you want to tell us about your beef, your juice, I was about to say tell us your civil thoughts on Riders of Skywalker.
[00:50:00]
KAYLA: Don't. Honestly, I don't mind it like that.
SARAH: Honestly, don't. Um, hit us up @SoundsFakePod everywhere. Again, we're taking next week off, so don't attack us when we don't have a podcast next week. We also have a Patreon, patreon.com/soundsfakepod. Our $2 patrons are Keith McBlaine, Roxanne, AliceisinSpace, Anonymous, Mariah Walter, Jonathan, Christopher T Verdieri, Patrick Jackson, Andrew Yang, Ninny, Courtney Jones, Eric B, Amanda Juntenon, Maddie and Purple Haze. Our $5 patrons are Jennifer Smart, Asthritha Vinnakota, Austin Le, Drew Finney, Peri Fiero, Dee, Megan Rowell, Quinn Pollock, Emily Collins, Tim, Ryan Lutcieti, Bookmarvel, Changelink MX, Derek and Karissa, and Simona Simon. Kayla has the hiccups.
KAYLA: I have the hiccups.
SARAH: Our $10 patrons are Kevin and Tessa @DirtyUncleKevin and @Tessa_M_K, Arcness who would like to promote the Trevor Project, Benjamin Ybarra who would like to promote tabletop games, Anonymous who would like to promote Halloween, Sarah McCoy who would like to promote podcasts from a Planet Weird, my aunt Jeannie who would like to promote Christopher's Haven. Our $15 patrons are Nathaniel White and NathanieljwhiteDesign.com, my mom Julie who would like to promote free mum hugs, Sarah Jones who is @eternalloli everywhere, and Dragonfly who would like to promote taking a chill pill.
KAYLA: Oh, good.
SARAH: Thanks for listening. Tune in, not next Sunday, but two Sundays from now.
KAYLA: Tune in next year.
SARAH: Next year. Tune in next year… says it’s 2020.
KAYLA: Shut the fuck up.
SARAH: For more of us in your ears.
KAYLA: And until then, take good care...
SARAH: Kayla got cut off somehow, not sure how that happened. Also, I sounded like I was underwater for this whole episode. We're all doing our best. Take good care of your cows, kids.
[END OF TRANSCRIPT]