Transgender Woman Talking E.E. Loewen

In this week's installment, Elle talks about a recent tattoo she got commemorating her graduation from therapy school. In addition, she reflects on some of the history and conversation in and around body modifications, including the perjorative accusation of "mutilation". Elle references her tattoo artist, Adrianne Marcella, as well as the work that she got done on her forearm for her transition ceremony in 2022 (read more here).

Please take a minute to send Elle an email at twatpodcasting@gmail.com to ask questions, make constructive suggestions, or name possible guests.

To inquire about psychotherapy with Elle, please fill out a request form on her website at: www.estherloewen.com

On this episode, Elle brings back her book report format, exploring her reactions and thoughts about Taylor Jenkins Reid's masterful novel, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. Among the themes included in this monologue are: reflections on allyship, the difficulty of being in the closet, how names and labels for the queer experience have changed over the years, the ways in which the dangers and societal expectations have shifted in even the last 70 years, the importance of feminism, and the fabulous and informative podcast "Bad Gays".

Many thanks for tuning in to the program, for your constructive feedback, and encouragement. Continue to send it to twatpodcasting@gmail.com.

If you'd like to become one of Elle's clients in therapy, and you are in the state of California, please reach out to her on her website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠www.estherloewen.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ and click on "Therapy".

In this episode of the program, Elle talks about some of her understanding of religious trauma or spiritual abuse. As a former pastor and lifetime member of the Seventh-day Adventist Christian denomination, she resonates very strongly with many of the experiences folks identifying as victims of religious trauma describe. In the program, Elle also reflects on some of her understanding of trauma in general from a therapist's perspective, as well as some of the symptoms that people who have been hurt by religion go through.

Some of the resources mentioned on the episode this week include:


Sacred Wounds religious trauma support group (Elle leads this weekly with one of her colleagues on Wednesday mornings at 10am on Zoom) - email for the link
Bessel Van der Kolk - "The Body Keeps the Score"
Gabor Mate - "The Myth of Normal"
EMDR Trauma Therapy
Marcos Torres and the Hunger Podcast on religious trauma / take the quiz here

As always, thank you so much for listening to the program, for your constructive feedback, and encouragement. Continue to send it to twatpodcasting@gmail.com

If you'd like to become one of Elle's clients in therapy, and you are in the state of California, please reach out to her on her website: ⁠⁠⁠www.estherloewen.com⁠⁠⁠ and click on "Therapy".

Nex Benedict was a 16 year old trans child who used he/him/they/them pronouns and lived in Oklahoma outside of Tulsa. Early in February, they were bullied to death in the girls bathroom at school. Before passing, video and text messages were captured from Nex reflecting on the experience of the fight that took his life and the years of harassment and bullying that led up to it. Many folks have been struck by his unjust and untimely passing - including bad actors and bigots like the head of Libs of TikTok who was recently appointed to an Oklahoma position overseeing library books. For most queer folks, however, Nex's killing evokes painful memories about our own traumas -- and the deaths of our queer siblings over the years including especially Matthew Shepherd, Brandon Teena, Brianna Ghey, the Q Nightclub Shooting, The Pulse, O'shae Sibley, and on and on and on.



In this episode, Elle shares her feelings that come up after hearing of Nex's death -- as well as short recordings taken from the Vigil in her town. She finishes the episode with an invitation to take constructive action to push back against the hate.

Some resources shared and mentioned on today's podcast include:


Therapy with Elle
"A Warped Version of the Bible Killed NEx Benedict" by Serene Jones
The work of Kevin Garcia, "Bad Theology Kills"
The work of Jeffrey Marsh

As always, thank you so much for listening to the program, for your constructive feedback, and encouragement. Continue to send it to twatpodcasting@gmail.com

If you'd like to become one of Elle's clients in therapy, and you are in the state of California, please reach out to her on her website: ⁠⁠www.estherloewen.com⁠⁠ and click on "Therapy".

Elle talks about some recent experiences she's had with haters, and how she chose to respond. She reflects on some of the principles she's used in the past (and present) for shaping reactions, offering a matrix of priorities that may arrive in a variety of priorities depending on the situation. The themes and topics addressed in this episode include Nex Benedict's death, verbal and physical threats, intimidation, personal safety, blocking and deleting on social media, attending to self-respect, getting our needs met, fighting for justice, ghosting, reconciliation, forgiveness, intimacy, and leaving good reviews :)

Thank you once again for listening to the program, for your constructive feedback, and encouragement. Continue to send it to twatpodcasting@gmail.com

If you'd like to become one of Elle's clients in therapy, and you are in the state of California, please reach out to her on her website: ⁠www.estherloewen.com⁠ and click on "Therapy".

This week's show features an interview recorded some time ago with one of Elle's coworkers at the LGBTQ Center of the Desert in Palm Springs, Bekki Lorton. They are a nonbinary person who shares their experiences on the path of self-discovery and self-love. In addition to doing community work at The Center, Bekki also worked with exotic animals in a zoo. Learn more about Bekki and their work here: https://thecentercv.org/en/about-us/our-people/bekki-lorton/

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If you have a story or insight relevant to the work of Transgender Woman Talking, and would be willing to sit for an interview, please reach out to Elle at twatpodcasting@gmail.com.

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To learn more about therapy with Elle, please visit her website at: ⁠www.estherloewen.com⁠ and click on "Therapy".