Kelsey Rhodes has made it her mission to shout out Cool Queers doing Cool Shit
Host Kelsey Rhodes // Photo by Kelsey Rhodes
Local podcaster, Kelsey Rhodes, is working to gives a platform to queer voices to share their projects in her show “Cool Queers doing Cool Shit.”
In 2021, Rhodes moved to Kansas City and began to recognize a shift in her life. She was in a cishet marriage, was still reeling from covid, and questioning herself. She began to look to others in the queer community as a way for comfort in a tumultuous period in her life, and decided she wanted to give others the same.
“I was having these pretty personal discussions with queer people about their lives and families, the queer community, and I was learning that queer folks were doing really cool shit.”
Some of her episodes include interviews with Candice Ammori, a climate activist and founder of Climate Vine; Britney Daniels, author of Journal of a Black, Queer Nurse; Ash Williams, a Black, trans abortion doula; and Jasmine Burnett, a social justice architect and engineer, and founder of BlkFeminist Advisors.
“Something that all queer people have is that we’ve actively erased some of the boxes that cishet white supremacy has taught us our life is “supposed” to look like. And there’s some liberation that comes with erasing those boxes.”
During a time when the LGBTQ+ community is facing so much scrutiny simply for existing, Rhodes feels it’s more important than ever for queer creatives to be in the spotlight. Missouri is one of 22 states to have passed a law banning gender affirming care before the age of 18.
“I think that visibility and normalizing queer community is one of the most important tools that we can use to fight against the shame and stigma that really hateful legislators, political leaders, and their followers have really spread, especially into our region of the country.”
Rhodes says her biggest inspiration for her work roots back to, “local organizers who are just really dedicated to doing work that’s centered on a future where we all can live.”
Her biggest piece of advice: “your queer journey, however it is playing out, is exactly how it’s supposed to be. It’s never too early. It’s never too late. There’s never a wrong time.”
Currently Cool Queers Doing Queer Shit is on a season break until early 2024, but she is always looking for queer individuals who would be willing to share their story.
