PODCAST

Fruitbowl: An Oral History of Queer Sex

Qubed Media, LLC

First person stories of queer coming of age. Gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans and genderqueer people.

health & fitness sexuality

All Episodes

00:55:18

S4E1 - Justin, 48. Providence, RI

Fruitbowl: An Oral History of Queer Sex ·

2022/01/27

Raised by feminists who had strong opinions about women’s rights, pro-choice advocacy and lesbian visibility, Justin knew early on his sexuality wasn’t pre-determined. But even in liberal college-town Providence, RI he was a target of less-evolved classmates. When presented with his first opportunity for sex experimentation, he chose the D and hasn’t looked back. But ambivalence about masculine tropes and romantic love kept him from finding community with other gay men. It wasn’t until he

en-US

01:02:08

S3E21 - Saira, 30. Wilmington, DE

Fruitbowl: An Oral History of Queer Sex ·

2021/12/24

This episode features a voice that will be familiar with Fruitbowl fans: our very own host with the most, Saira B.! After just a few minutes of listening, you’ll soon learn why Saira (who, BTW, uses ALL the pronouns) is the perfect person to represent the amazing diversity of experiences of Fruitbowl interviewees. Raised in Wilmington, Delaware to academic parents who trusted their kid to explore cities like Philly and NYC all by herself, Saira was always informed about his body’s different

en-US

01:00:58

S3E20 - Adam T., 37. Barre, VT

Fruitbowl: An Oral History of Queer Sex ·

2021/12/08

Adam grew up in what he describes as a “Rated R household.” Prince was an early emissary of carnal pleasure who made a deep impact on Adam as a future professional musician. His parents split when he was 2 but his mom remarried and both his dad and his stepdad represented two different versions of masculinity. But homosexuality was still a taboo subject so Adam had to educate himself through early experimentation with friends and porn. After graduation, instead of coming out, he shut the door on

en-US

01:26:06

S3E19 - Mike, 33. Austin, TX

Fruitbowl: An Oral History of Queer Sex ·

2021/11/24

As a first generation Vietnamese-American, Mike felt an obligation to make the most of his opportunities that his immigrant parents fought so hard to provide him. But even though his family was part of a robust Vietnamese community in Sugarland, TX (a suburb of Houston), Mike still felt like an outsider. Unlike most of his friends, he wasn’t fluent in Vietnamese and his emerging sexuality only made him feel more separated. Even after leaving for college and coming out to his family, Mike maintained

en-US

00:56:16

S3E18 - Donovan, 46. San Diego

Fruitbowl: An Oral History of Queer Sex ·

2021/11/03

As a kid, Donovan loved to dance and even took lessons beginning at age 9, but growing up in San Diego, he soon realized that the many military bases in the area fueled a toxic culture of masculinity and homophobia and any behavior outside the norm put a target on his back. Once, after seeing a movie, he was called a faggot and assaulted. So even though he had some early experimentation with same sex intimacy, he didn't officially come out until college. Married now and living in Palm Springs,

en-US

01:07:00

S3E17 - Andre, 31. Chicago

Fruitbowl: An Oral History of Queer Sex ·

2021/10/12

Andre can’t remember a time when people thought he was straight. Raised as a girl by an independent single mom who took a “tough love” approach to parenting, Andre grew up with a rich inner life but had few friends. “Lesbean” was the preferred insult in grade school, so Andre made up a fictional boyfriend in order to avoid talking about sex. Even after entering college and coming out as trans, Andre identified as asexual until he met his first girlfriend when they were the only ones who showed up

en-US

01:08:55

S3E16 - Dan, 46. Seattle

Fruitbowl: An Oral History of Queer Sex ·

2021/09/26

Dan grew up just north of Seattle and his adolescence was uniquely queer-positive in that it featured supportive parents and plentiful queer friends even in high school. But Dan had his share of challenges including insecurities about sexual performance, penis size and a long journey to discovering his preference for polyamorous relationships. An early education in flirting came courtesy of a friendly dominatrix. And Dan describes some fun role playing as a "boy" with his Daddy and Big Brother

en-US

01:10:23

S3E15 - Karilla, 28. Portland

Fruitbowl: An Oral History of Queer Sex ·

2021/08/26

Karilla’s story, in so many ways, reflects the common stages of personal growth that so many queer people go through: in our early years, insecurity about our sexuality and adults who fail to help guide us; during high school, sitting on the sidelines and watching as our friends perform all the typical hetero coming of age rituals; in college, painful memories about first love and the lessons we learn from heartbreak; and choosing our family and finally accepting and loving ourselves. And did I

en-US

00:28:30

S3E14 - Ryan C., 37. San Francisco

Fruitbowl: An Oral History of Queer Sex ·

2021/08/12

For those of us who are more, ahem, “mature”, being out and proud during our adolescence was just not an option - especially in Colorado where Ryan spent most of his coming of age years. In his interview, Ryan does a good job of articulating what it’s like when your body tells you you’re gay before you can even admit it to yourself. Sometimes surprising things can happen when a Tony Little VHS tape is near by. Ryan also describes being a part of Gainer culture and the different ways our bodies can

en-US

01:11:00

S3E13 - Nathan S., 29. Portland

Fruitbowl: An Oral History of Queer Sex ·

2021/07/31

Nathan's story is, at once, extremely unique and totally relatable in that he comes from an Egyptian-American family but was raised in an insular Christian community in New Jersey where being gay was a red line that was not to be crossed. The youngest of his family with two much-older sisters, Nathan didn’t always fit in as the leader of his high school bible club. Fortunately, his best friend, Michelle, was the leader of the school’s Straight/Gay Alliance. Years later, Stephen would ask Michelle

en-US

00:33:32

S3E12 - Patrick, 32. Ojai, CA

Fruitbowl: An Oral History of Queer Sex ·

2021/07/04

You'd think living 2 hours from LA would provide plenty of opportunities for a queer kid to explore queer culture; but when you live in a trailer on an abandoned citrus orchard with limited introductions to other people and spotty internet, eighty miles can seem like a million. Nonetheless, Patrick eventually learned about sex and found other queer people, in spite of his mom's objections. A first experience with a mustached stranger from craigslist left a deep impression and, ever since, Patrick

en-US

00:52:29

S3E11 - Elliott, 27. Portland

Fruitbowl: An Oral History of Queer Sex ·

2021/06/21

Elliott was raised in Caspar, Wyoming and has packed a lot of living in their 27 years including their own coming out, marriage, divorce, navigating their gender journey as well as figuring out their relationship to their faith, kink and the apps. Elliott also has a lot to say about the act of "squirting" and how to achieve it with a willing partner and also best practices for negotiating intimacy with cis men who might not be experienced with sex with trans people. We also decided that Elliott's

en-US

00:41:26

S3E10 - Alex, 36. Long Island

Fruitbowl: An Oral History of Queer Sex ·

2021/05/02

Alex grew up in Huntington, NY on Long Island for the first part of his adolescence and, at first, it almost seemed like a fairy gay-mother was watching out for him: a gay-friendly sex education class; a meaningful introduction to a trans woman; and a promising acknowledgement of gay life from his mom were all early examples of acceptance of gay life. But things with his family soon went south when they moved to Florida and in his early 20s he had to separate from them and make his own way. His

en-US

00:28:00

S3E9 - Erik, 43. Tacoma, WA

Fruitbowl: An Oral History of Queer Sex ·

2021/04/19

Erik came out early to a supportive family and an older sister who was also gay, but it took him a while to find his queer crew: one that honored creativity and alternative options for a gay kid who didn’t necessarily fit into the typical identity of musicals and Madonna. Instead, Prince was an early influence on Erik’s queer life in addition to his musical tastes. An unrequited love in high school proved difficult to shake. Fortunately, Erik’s best friend, a lesbian, convinced him to snap out of

en-US

00:33:33

E4 - GETTING FRESH with FRUITBOWL: Meet Saira B. &...

Fruitbowl: An Oral History of Queer Sex ·

2021/04/01

en-US

00:54:02

S3E8 - Shavit, 31. Israel/NYC

Fruitbowl: An Oral History of Queer Sex ·

2021/03/25

Shavit was raised on a jewish Moshav in Israel and knew from an early age that he preferred men. When he came of age, his dad took him on a week-long road trip in Europe in order to have “the talk.” The week ended in a Roman hotel room with access to porn. But even though sex wasn't stigmatized in his communal community, being gay was definitely not embraced as an option. Fortunately, Shavit’s parents shipped him off to Jewish camp in the states every summer during his high school years. This

en-US

00:34:41

S3E7 - Tai, 34. NYC

Fruitbowl: An Oral History of Queer Sex ·

2021/03/18

Raised in Connecticut, Tai was often singled out by other kids because of his Chinese heritage. His parents split up when he was young and his mom came out as a lesbian which, predictably, made his own coming out pretty smooth with his mom and her partner but not so easy with his dad. Even though he knew he was gay pretty early on, Tai didn't have sex until college and, once he bottomed for his first boyfriend, he just kept on doing it until later in his 20s when he got the hang of topping. He has

en-US

00:57:46

S3E6 - Salvador, 39. Oakland

Fruitbowl: An Oral History of Queer Sex ·

2021/03/07

Salvador (who identifies as genderqueer and uses he, she and they pronouns) was raised in Whittier, California, between LA and Orange County. Growing up, he didn’t know that their twin was also queer, so most of her sexual explorations were conducted in secret: checking out queer erotic fiction and books about gay sex at the library and cruising the local mall’s bathrooms. The summer between their first year and sophomore year of high school, he struck up a romantic friendship with a football

en-US

01:02:49

S3E5 - Paul, 61. Chicago

Fruitbowl: An Oral History of Queer Sex ·

2021/02/11

As a gay man who came of age in the 70s, Paul has had a front row seat for the highs of the sexual revolution, the excesses of the 80s as well as the lows of the AIDS crisis. A self-described “snoop,” Paul discovered a sex manual in his parents bedside nightstand drawer and, as an early bloomer, experimented with masturbation from an early age. After a struggle with addiction, Paul rediscovered the joy and affirmation of masturbation and decided to start his own jack-off club in Seattle after

en-US

00:48:41

S3E4 - Nathan, 37. San Francisco

Fruitbowl: An Oral History of Queer Sex ·

2021/01/29

I have a deep archive of interviews I am turning into podcast episodes and I'm planning on working hard this year to share them with you. I confess to not knowing what order I will share them. I kind of make it up as I go along. But after finishing the first three for this season, I knew we needed to hear from someone who DIDN'T grow up in a hostile and/or religious fundamentalist environment. But just because Nathan's mom accepted his sexuality from the very beginning - and at a young age - that

en-US

92 results

Fruitbowl: An Oral History of Queer Sex

All Episodes

Similar Podcasts

Доктор Тройняшкин

Доктор Тройняшкин

The Dry Eye Treatment PODCAST

Dry Eye Treatment

Différent et alors ?

PATRICK SULAY

Kyle Kingsbury Podcast

Kyle Kingsbury

The Real Weight Loss Coach

Matty Lansdown