Estradiol Illusions

Bisexual Erasure

It's Pride Month, which comes with the obligatory discourse on kink at Pride (absolutely, which we covered in last year's episode on Bloodsisters), cops at Pride (absolutely not, ACAB for life), and the concept known as "bi-erasure."
As a person who uses gay, straight, and bi all interchangeably, ITM has some unique perspectives on this tedious discourse. A staunch opponent of gatekeeping, she questions the very notion of a hierarchy within our letters LGBTQ.
Long story short for those who don't want to commit to the episode: never let your own identity or sense of self be defined by someone else. You are bi enough. 

Transgender Storytime: The Gauntlet

ITM continues her dating & sexuality commentary with an episode on The Gauntlet, her rubric for deciding whether to go out with a potential suitor. Often deemed a person with unattainable standards, ITM feels it's all pretty basic stuff like not being a creep, overly sexual, or assuming that a simple swipe to the right is all you need for a ticket to ride. 
Here is a picture of the show notes, if you can read Ian's handwriting. Pretty simple rules to live by! 
 

A Requiem for ”How Are You?”

ITM loves Tinder, a dream come true for a liberated transsexual as the dawn of hot girl summer lies ahead. Tinder is full of beautiful people of many genders, but it's also a place where boring fuckboys come for their pound of flesh.
Ian unpacks the most tedious opening of them all, the "how are you" maneuver farted into the void to deflect the burden of courtship. Casual relationships need not be meaningless interactions, an important reminder to view yourself as the catch that you are.
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Jay Northcott, Big Brother Canada 10

We are delighted to welcome Jay Northcott to discuss their time in the Big Brother Canada house. Jay is a nonbinary theatre director and drag performer based in Toronto, who made quite the impression ahead of their week two eviction, setting the stage for the epic week three house flip that shook up the entire game.
Jay shares so many fascinating insights into the gameplay, as well as the unique challenges presented to LGBTQ houseguests. Ian & Jay talk quite a bit about the season as a whole, one of the all-time greats for BB North America.
 
You can follow Jay on Instagram @jaythemcott and on Twitter @jaythemcott
Be sure to check out our prior BB CAN 10 coverage, including an interview with Kyle Moore.
Headshot courtesy of Jay Northcott. Production still courtesy of Big Brother Canada & Global Television Network

Downton Abbey: A New Era

We're back at Downton for an episode on the new film Downton Abbey: A New Era. Ian was unfortunately not a big fan of the movie, with its excessive subplots and bizarre adventure to the south of France, though she did enjoy the plot set at Downton and the newcomers. Ian does her best to untangle the messy web of the film, providing analysis for how it fell short of the first feature.
 
Ian's review of the film: https://ianthomasmalone.com/2022/05/downton-abbey-a-new-era-is-too-stuck-in-the-past/
Previous episode on the first film: https://ianthomasmalone.podbean.com/e/downton-abbey-1569517256/
Episode all about Thomas Barrow: https://ianthomasmalone.podbean.com/e/downton-abbey-character-study-thomas-barrow/

Transgender Storytime: Pesky Bisexuality

An episode all about Ian's jumbled-up bisexuality, colloquially known as the leg hair spectrum (masculine of Ian's not too feminine center). Ian talks about what bisexuality means to her, how no one else can define your own sexuality, and how it's perfectly okay to "pick sides" in the sexuality equation. Ian just mostly wishes she wasn't 90% heterosexual, but who would really choose to be attracted to men anyway? 

Tinder While Trans: Standards

An episode all about dating apps! ITM shares her experiences as a single trans woman, navigating the complex webs of cis men, polyamory, T4T, and all the other fun stuff Los Angeles has to offer. Whatever you're looking for, it's important to make sure you're holding yourself, and your potential romantic partners, to standards that fulfill your needs.

Kyle Moore, Big Brother Canada 10

We are absolutely delighted to welcome Kyle Moore to the show. Kyle's Head of Household reign in week three of Big Brother Canada 10 will go down as one of the most exciting in BB history, a botched backdoor attempt on Josh Nash that resulted in an epic house flip. Kyle found himself evicted by key ally Steven "Gino" Giannopolous in a similar backdoor effort the following week.
Kyle talks about his experiences in the game and his thought process during his time as HoH, an extensive perspective on the challenges of strategizing within the BB CAN house. Ian & Kyle also talk about mental health and how mindfulness plays into the rigors of the game. TTTE fans will also enjoy a Theodore Tugboat reference at the end of the episode, a beloved figure in Kyle's native Halifax.
Ian's article on BB CAN, which has a heavy emphasis on Kyle's HoH week: https://ianthomasmalone.com/2022/03/big-brother-canada-is-the-best-reality-show-on-television-right-now/
Kyle hosts the Life's a Wreck Podcast, which focuses on mental health. You can check out Life's a Wreck here or wherever you get your podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/lifes-a-wreck/id1471732336
Kyle also has a clothing line, Better Tømørrøw, which he wore many times throughout his tenure in the BB CAN house. You can pick up your own Kyle merch at: https://www.bettertomorrow.world/ 
Headshots courtesy of Kyle Moore
Production still courtesy of Big Brother Canada & Global Television Network
 

The Job of Songs

We are delighted to welcome Lila Schmitz to talk about her new documentary The Job of Songs, a delightful film centered on the music scene in Doolin, Ireland. Ian & Lila talk about the power of music in communities, mental health, travel culture, open communication, and so much more! Lots of laughter as ITM shakes off the interview rust. 
The Job of Songs premiered at DOC NYC 2021 and will be having its wide release later this year. To learn more, please visit https://thejobofsongs.com/home 
Ian's review of the film: https://ianthomasmalone.com/2022/03/the-job-of-songs-makes-the-case-for-good-old-fashioned-human-connection/
 
 

Transgender Storytime: What’s in a Name?

The day has finally arrived. ITM the bisexual is learning more and more that she's probably more like ITM the heterosexual. Yuck. Boys are gross, and most of them tend not to want to date trans women named Ian Thomas. Again, yuck, but here we are.
Ian does her best to unpack the mess that is her dating life, being confronted with the realities of modern romance and the ways her identity comes into conflict with our swipe left/right binary. Bit of a struggle! You've been warned.
 
 

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Grab your porgs and your blue milk! The Last Jedi is a bit of a polarizing film, to say the least. Rian Johnson brought plenty of fascinating ideas to the sequel trilogy's middle entry, its best by a mile. Ian talks about what she liked about the film, what she would have changed, and the characterization of Luke Skywalker, diving a bit into Luke's appearances in The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett.
Ian's original 2017 review of the film: https://ianthomasmalone.com/2017/12/the-last-jedi-offers-aimless-entertainment/
Ian's write up of The Phantom Menace that is mentioned in the episode: https://fansided.com/2019/12/16/star-wars-phantom-menace-best-prequel/
 

Transgender Storytime: Breakups

We're back! ITM talks about some personal news that rocked her post-Rankin/Bass holiday festivities. Breakups are terrible. Transgender people can go through much of our lives thinking we're unlovable, which certainly does not reflect reality. ITM offers some reflections that might be useful for trans or cis people in similar boats. There's always a new adventure on the horizon, as long as you keep throwing yourself out there.
Episode image is a picture taken two days after the bombshell news. 

The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus

Our journey into the Rankin/Bass cinematic universe continues with the 1985 special The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus their final production to use traditional stop-motion animation. Based on L. Frank Baum's 1902 novel of the same name, the film is a pretty bizarre Santa origin story that often feels more like a riff on The Lord of the Rings than holiday entertainment. Despite it's weirdly complex narrative and confusing characters, the special is a ton of fun to watch, even if it delivers a much weirder brand of festive cheer.
This is almost certainly our final holiday episode of the season. Be sure to check out all of our Christmas coverage from 2020 & 2021. From all of us at Estradiol Illusions, we wish you a very pleasant holiday season and thank you for spending a bit of it with us. 

A Miser Brothers‘ Christmas

Our holiday coverage continues with A Mister Brothers' Christmas, the 2008 follow-up to the 1974 gem The Year Without a Santa Claus. Featuring returning voices Mickey Rooney and George S. Irving as Santa Claus and Heat Miser, the film aims to recapture the magic of the Rankin/Bass stop-motion classics. Unfortunately, the film never quite comes together as anything more than a nostalgia production with some truly horrendous music. Ian does her best to unpack what went wrong and why she's still happy that it exists.

It‘s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie

We're back in the Muppets Extended Universe with the 2002 television film It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie. With a plot that's strikingly similar to the 2011 cinematic film The Muppets, adult-themed humor, and some uneven celebrity cameos from NBC Universal properties, the film occupies a weird place in Muppets lore. A strong performance from Joan Cusack goes a long way toward buoying a production perhaps best known for suggesting that Kermit's existence played a role in one of the defining tragedies of the 21st century.
Be sure to check out all of EI's holiday coverage! 

Pinocchio‘s Christmas

Into the weeds of the Rankin/Bass holiday catalog! Pinocchio’s Christmas is a bizarre special, serving as both an adaption of the 1883 novel and a more traditional Santa-infused holiday narrative. There is a lot going on, with multiple villains and plotlines converging on the poor wooden boy. Ian does her best to unpack it all.
 
Be sure to check out all of our holiday-themed episodes!