Episode 114: Melissa Faliveno on "Tomboyland"

en(gender)ed

On this episode of the en(gender)ed podcast, our guest is Melissa Faliveno, author of her essay collection, Tomboyland, a meditation on the influences of geography, desire, and identity on her journey as a queer woman and feminist. We speak with Melissa about how her childhood in Wisconsin shaped her views of her conceptions of sex, womanhood, and her own performance of femininity as an expression of power. Melissa also offers reflections on other markers of gender and identity, including religion, guns, rural identity, and their manifestations in culture, their intersections, and their contradictions.

During our conversation, Melissa and I referenced the following resources and topics:

• The ways in which gender identity, consent, and language is viewed in the queer community
• Guns as a symbol of masculine identity and power
• The connection between womanhood and motherhood and plant parenting as another form of parenting
• Plant Kween, a queer black, plant parent on Instagram
• Black plant parents

---

Thanks for tuning in to the en(gender)ed podcast!

Be sure to check out our en(gender)ed site and follow our blog on Medium.

Join our feminist community of survivors, advocates and allies!

Consider donating because your support is what makes this work sustainable.

Please also connect with us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the show!