December 15, 2020

EP. 192 — How Can Local Politics Be More Gender Inclusive? with Jesse Pierce and Samy Nemir Olivares

Did you know that if you want to represent your block in Brooklyn as a local elected official, you have to mark a gender designation—and the only options are “male” and “female”? This week on Getting Curious, Jonathan is speaking with Jesse Pierce and Samy Nemir Olivares, both elected District Leaders in Brooklyn, all about this gender rule: how it came into existence, why it’s exclusionary, and how we can work to make local seats across Brooklyn and the country more inclusive and equitable.

 

Jesse Pierce is a non-binary queer elected Democratic District Leader in Brooklyn’s 52nd Assembly District. They focus on hyper local political grassroots organizing as a means to transform our politics both locally and nationally.

Samy Nemir Olivares (he/they) is a Puerto Rican-Dominican, queer activist, writer, communicator and District Leader in Brooklyn. Samy advocates for gender, racial and social justice through politics, media and education. Samy works for a national nonprofit for LGBTQ civil rights and produced a documentary about TGNC rights in New York: Stonewall With a T.

You can follow Jesse on Twitter @jessepiercebk and Instagram @jessepierce07. You can follow Samy on Twitter @SamyNemir and Instagram @SamyforBrooklyn.

Find out what today’s guest and former guests are up to by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN.

 

Check out all new Getting Curious merch at PodSwag.com.

 

Listen to more music from Quiñ by heading over to TheQuinCat.com.

 

Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook.

Transcript

Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness & Jesse Pierce and Samy Nemir Olivares   JVN [00:00:00] Welcome to Getting Curious. I’m Jonathan Van Ness and every week I sit down for a 40 minute conversation with a brilliant expert to learn all about something that makes me curious. On today’s episode, I’m joined by Brooklyn Democratic Party District Leaders Jesse Pierce and Samy Nemir Olivares, where I ask them: How can local politics be more gender inclusive? Welcome to “Getting Curious,” this is Jonathan Van Ness. I’m so excited to welcome, we have a very unique episode today because we have not one, but we have two guests and I’m just going to welcome them straight away. We have Jesse Pierce and Samy Nemir Olivares. How are both of you doing today?   JESSE PIERCE [00:00:38] I’m, I’m doing great. Thank you so much, Jonathan.   SAMY NEMIR OLIVARES [00:00:40] I’m doing awesome.   JVN [00:00:41] Oh, my gosh. Well, I’

Recent Episodes

May 31, 2023

In the coming weeks, the Supreme Court of the United States will hand down decisions that could have major implications for LGBTQIA+ rights, racial justice, tribal sovereignty, and beyond.

May 24, 2023

We’re dripping in jewels this week on Getting Curious! What does it mean for a diamond to be “hard”? Are lab-grown gems made to perfection? What’s the difference between rubies and pink sapphires?

May 18, 2023

New Orleans was one of America’s most important cities in the early 1800s. It was also one of the most deadly. This week, to mark the new season of Queer Eye, we’re exploring New Orleans history with Dr. Kathryn Olivarius in a special two-part episode.