Quirky And Or Queer Quirky And Or Queer

“I want more ownership in the way I choose to present my drag and persona.”

In this episode, I sit down with Conor McNeil, also known as Cobra Clawfield. Cobra is the newly crowned winner of the Swine 2019 at Halifax Pride and is fresh on the Atlantic Canada drag scene. Conor and I talk about his experiences of otherness, his inspirations, his hopes for his artistry, and the process of owning your own story. This interview and episode is a reminder to celebrate your otherness.

Check out Conor on Instagram @cobraclawfield and @conmina.

“I tried to fix myself, even though there is nothing to be fixed.” 

Trevor Seyforth joins Quirky and Or Queer to talk about disability, being gay, and growing up in rural Nova Scotia. Trevor and I grew up in the same town, just separated by a few years and educational institution dividing lines. Trevor is one of the fittest people in the province and you can check out his discipline and dedication to fitness in a video from 2014, Trevor Seyforth - A Man On a Mission. 

Trevor just graduated from Acadia University and moved to the city this summer. He has the whole world ahead of him. Check out his instagram at @TrevorSeyforth. 

“Im asking people by my very existence to drill back down into everything they think they know and relearn it. I have had to do that first and foremost myself.”

Laura Shepherd is a deeply involved and dynamic community advocate who grew up in Massachusetts, but has called Nova Scotia home for many years. I have known Laura for some time, always appreciating her presence and energy from a far, but never really getting to know her. Interviewing her for QAOQ was an incredible privilege. Laura writes, performs, and speaks with grace and wit. In this episode she shares her views on otherness, her experiences of transitioning, her time spent in civil service, and her love for her children. You can find Laura’s contributions to the Nova Scotia Advocate at https://nsadvocate.org/2019/04/03/laura-shepherd-trans-people-friends-and-visibility-a-call-to-arms-in-arms/. 

This episode is best enjoyed while wearing headphones! 

“If you can mix something with humour, the memory will stick around longer.”

Brittany Campbell is a comedian, a writer, a podcaster, and an entertainer. We sat down in Halifax, NS and talked about all things comedy, her work with the Canadian Armed Forces Cadets, and her experiences growing up in PEI. She has an eclectic background and a unique perspective on the world. She performs throughout Atlantic Canada and will soon call Edmonton, AB home. 

Take a listen to our interview, with a few clips from her live comedy, and hear for yourself how Brittany Campbell is intelligently inappropriate.

www.brittanycampbellcomedy.com

IG: @twolesbiansandacat

“I literally walked into the navy office and walked out and went to massage school. I feel pulled to help people that aren’t comfortable with their own bodies and the element of touch.”

Mase is a massage therapist, a yoga teacher, and a compassionate superstar of a human. They find space outside the confines of the patriarchal gender binaries enforced by society, while working with others to help them find more compassion and space inside their own bodies. 

We spent time together in Three Fathom Harbour and talked about life, gender, Newfoundland, and how to be more comfortable in our bodies. I hope you listen and appreciate Mase as I do, as someone who is making the world a better place through touch, love, and honest expression. 

“We are evolving as a society, we are evolving as people, we are evolving in our culture, so let go of that old mind frame.”

What does it mean to be accountable? This week’s episode has me interviewing Teo Ferguson. Teo and I reconnected a couple of months ago after a period of conflict, which resulted in me cutting him out of my life. He reached out to me and the experience has helped me learn a lot about what it means to be accountable to others and to myself. 

Besides the topic of accountability, we talk about gender, dating, family dynamics, and Teo’s experience of otherness. Teo is passionate, outgoing, creative, and he is pushing the boundaries of what is expected of young queer men of colour.