A Bit Fruity with Matt Bernstein

I get called a “groomer” on Twitter every day — which is weird, because I want nothing to do with your kids. What is it with queers and kids that gets conservatives so livid? Today, we explore The Gay Agenda’s exhausting past — beginning with the present. First, UK drag queen Crystal tells us how she successfully sued a right-wing activist who defamed her as a “paed*phile.” Then, Chelsey Weber-Smith (of American Hysteria) takes us through the last century of American history, where myths about the Scary Queer Predator pop up again and again, and again.Support me on Patreon!Listen to Chelsey’s podcast, American Hysteria.Find more of Crystal.Huge thanks to Blueland for sponsoring this episode! Get 15% off a cuter, more sustainable way to clean at www.blueland.com/fruityFind more of A Bit Fruity.Find more of Matt. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Peter Staley was a 24-year-old, closeted finance guy when he was diagnosed with HIV. Having been handed a death sentence, he quit his job and devoted what life he had left to fighting the homophobic governments that were letting him and his friends die. Peter tells us about living through the darkest years of gay history, the pivotal role of lesbians in the AIDS movement, and the silent mental health and drug battles he grappled with after realizing he was going to survive. Support me on Patreon!Find more of A Bit Fruity.Find more of Matt.Try Rocket Money and start cutting your unwanted expenses!Try HelloFresh for a timesaving, budget-friendly approach to home cooking. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Taylor Swift has the power to swing the presidential election. What if nothing else matters?Support me on Patreon!Find Angela on Twitter, not X.Find more of A Bit Fruity.Find more of Matt.Huge thanks to Blueland for sponsoring this episode. Get 15% off a cuter, more sustainable way to clean at www.blueland.com/fruity Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The podcast discusses the controversy of a Bud Light marketing partnership, the backlash over a commemorative can, the intersection of big brands with LGBTQ+ rights, comparisons to past brand controversies, and the struggles of online creators in navigating political and corporate backlash.

Is there valor in scamming your way through a system that failed you, even if you hurt people along the way? What is the value of the lies we tell ourselves about ourselves? Can you be morally bankrupt and a camp icon? The questions of America, explored with friend of the show Kat Tenbarge.Find Kat on Twitter and Instagram.Find more of A Bit Fruity.Find more of Matt. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

99% of people who transition continue identifying as transgender for the rest of their lives. The very small amount of people who stop or reverse their transitions — known as “detransitioners” — have become the center of a moral panic about children, gender, and medicine. Lucy, a detransgender woman, joins us to unpack what’s real and what’s hysteria.Find Lucy on TikTok, Twitter & InstagramFind more of A Bit Fruity.Find more of Matt.Watch the video of this episode on YouTube.Huge thanks to Blueland for sponsoring this episode. Get 15% off a cuter, more sustainable way to clean at www.Blueland.com/fruity Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are “Queers for Palestine” really like “Chickens for KFC”? No, but understanding intersectional justice can be hard, and sharing memes is easy. Joined by Moe Dabbagh, a gay Palestinian American with family currently in Gaza, we Venn diagram gay liberation and Palestinian liberation. They’re less at odds with each other than you’d think. Gal Gadot makes a cameo. Read Sarah Schulman’s op-ed on pinkwashing here. Thank you to Moe Dabbagh for joining me. Find Moe here. Find more of A Bit Fruity. Find more of Matt.Watch the video of this episode on YouTube.Huge thanks to Blueland for sponsoring this episode. Get 15% off a cuter, more sustainable way to clean at www.Blueland.com/fruity Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The number of kids being homeschooled today is more than double of what it was four years ago, and nobody is making the rules. While the religious right is convinced that political indoctrination is rampant in public schools, we take a look at where teaching is actually flying off the rails. Huge thanks to Blueland for sponsoring this episode. Get 15% off a cuter, more sustainable way to clean at www.Blueland.com/fruityRead Christina’s and Aaron’s Washington Post story here.Find more of A Bit Fruity.Find more of Matt.Watch the video of this episode on YouTube. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At the forefront of today’s anti-LGBTQ movement is one shockingly uncharismatic woman. Journalist Taylor Lorenz helps us understand the rise of Chaya Raichik, a former real estate agent who now makes a handsome living terrorizing queer students and teachers across the country using her Twitter account, @libsoftiktok. We also hear directly from some of her former targets.Buy Taylor’s new book here. Watch the video of this episode on YouTube.Find more of A Bit Fruity.Find more of Matt. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2008, Jenna Karvunidis was looking for ways to involve her distant mother in the life of her soon-to-be child. Fifteen years, thousands of acres of wildfires, and a few plane crashes later, she wishes she could put the genie back in its bottle.Find Jenna here.Watch the video of this episode on Youtube.Find more of A Bit Fruity.Find more of Matt. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices