In Episode 30 of Queer Storytime, Stevie sits down with Valentina “Vale” Mendoza — a Chicana trans woman, former Wall Street transactional attorney, founder of MeVale, P.C., and a 2026 grassroots congressional candidate running in New Jersey’s 7th District. With a bold platform rooted in economic, racial, and social justice, Vale represents a new generation of political leadership: unapologetically queer, deeply community-grounded, and unwilling to compromise people’s humanity for political convenience.

Stevie opens the episode with a grounding invitation — a reminder to breathe, to reset, and to reconnect with our bodies in a moment when the nation is gripped by fear, fascism, and political instability. From there, this conversation moves between the personal and the political with intention: Vale speaks candidly about growing up the daughter of working-class immigrants, navigating transition, overcoming corporate disillusionment, and finding her purpose through survival, recovery, and community.

Together, Stevie and Vale unpack major questions facing the country today:

• What does liberation actually mean — spiritually, politically, and materially?
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• Is the U.S. Constitution a living document meant to evolve?
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• How do we move people out of fight-or-flight long enough to talk about policy?
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• Where has the Democratic Party abandoned its values — and why is performative allyship a threat?
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• Why is democratic socialism resonating with new generations of voters?
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• How can economic, racial, and social justice be pursued as interconnected goals?
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• What qualifications should be required for elected office?
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• What does genuine representation look like for queer, trans, disabled, working-class, and immigrant communities?
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Vale brings forward a vision for systemic change: worker empowerment, class consciousness, dismantling billionaire influence, addressing disability inequities, and building economic systems that honor human dignity rather than extract from it. She also offers sharp reflections on the political center drifting rightward — and why rhetoric from so-called allies harms vulnerable communities as much as overt hate.

As the episode moves into its reflective closing, Vale and Stevie explore purpose, identity, joy, community, and the spiritual dimensions of political work. Vale shares a message for queer and trans youth, a warning for legislators targeting LGBTQ+ lives, and a truth many of us know intimately: trans people become experts at transformation because our survival demands it.

This episode is essential listening for anyone navigating despair in today’s political climate — and for those seeking grounded, intersectional, justice-driven leadership directly from the communities most impacted.

🔗 QST Resources & Links:

• Support Queer Trans Thriving Mutual Aid Collective's 2025 Rainbow Care Fund on GiveButter
• Find QSTs Website Home at FutureDrStevie.com

📣 Spread the Word, Leave A Review, & Follow QST:

If this episode resonated with you, Stevie encourages you to share it widely! This will also help QST expand to an even bigger audience globally. We would also appreciate you leaving a written/star review to help us build our collective effort to liberate queer and trans people globally.

✨ Join the QST Podcast Community & Get In-Touch:

Looking to see everything happening in our community? Come reach out, connect, and celebrate queer & trans joy together! You can find all QST resources here: https://beacons.ai/qstpodcast

Host: Stevie Inghram, M.S., YT, AWC, NMS-4 (She/They)

#QueerStorytime #TransInPolitics #VoteValli #QueerLiberation #TransRightsAreHumanRights #DemocraticSocialism #QueerPodcast #LGBTQPolitics #TransVoices #ChicanaPride #SocialJusticeNow #ProtectTransKids #AbolishFascism #GrassrootsPower #QueerLeadership #EconomicJustice #RacialJustice #ClassConsciousness

Welcome, dolls, gays, & theys; thank you for tuning in to Queer Story Time. In this episode, Stevie sits down with Dakarai Larriett, a proud son of Alabama, entrepreneur, community volunteer, and U.S. Senate candidate whose campaign was born from a traumatic false arrest. Drawing from a lifetime of lived experience, growing up a Jehovah’s Witness, navigating body dysphoria as a teen with gynecomastia, and building a career before returning home. Dakarai shares how his journey through faith, shame, and resilience shaped his mission to fight for justice, healthcare, and dignity for marginalized communities.

Together, Stevie and Dakarai explore how personal harm transforms into political action. Dakarai recounts the racial and homophobic profiling that led to his arrest and how that experience inspired his Motorist Bill of Rights, calling for greater transparency, access to bodycam footage, and fair policing. The conversation also dives into Alabama’s pressing issues from rural hospital closures and maternal health disparities to education, economic opportunity, and voter suppression, all through the lens of lived experience.

This episode blends intimate truth-telling with bold policy vision, asking what it truly takes to represent people who’ve been pushed to the margins, and how compassion, courage, and representation can change the system from within.

What you’ll hear in this episode

• Dakarai’s childhood in Alabama and faith journey away from Jehovah’s Witnesses toward a welcoming UMC community.
• The physical and emotional impact of gynecomastia and why body-related shame matters to public health conversations.
• The false arrest: dashcam/bodycam evidence, dehumanizing language by officers, and the broken accountability system.
• Why Dakarai turned trauma into activism and a Senate run, and what justice means to him.
• Concrete policy proposals: Motorist Bill of Rights, healthcare access (Medicare/Medicaid expansion), maternal health, education investment, and voter access.
• A candid conversation about representation, the politics of the South, and how to build coalitions that protect the most vulnerable.

🔗 QST Resources & Links:

• Support Queer Trans Thriving Mutual Aid Collective's 2025 Rainbow Care Fund on GiveButter
• Find QSTs Website Home at FutureDrStevie.com

📣 Spread the Word, Leave A Review, & Follow QST:

If this episode resonated with you, Stevie encourages you to share it widely! This will also help QST expand to an even bigger audience globally. We would also appreciate you leaving a written/star review to help us build our collective effort to liberate queer and trans people globally.

✨ Join the QST Podcast Community & Get In-Touch:

Looking to see everything happening in our community? Come reach out, connect, and celebrate queer & trans joy together! You can find all QST resources here: https://beacons.ai/qstpodcast

Host: Stevie Inghram, M.S., YT, AWC, NMS-4 (She/They)

#QueerStorytime #DakaraiLarriett #LGBTQPolitics #CriminalJusticeReform #MotoristBillOfRights #AlabamaPolitics #PoliceAccountability #TransRights #HealthcareJustice #VoteForChange

In this powerful and deeply moving episode, I’m joined by Renee Thibeau, a devoted mother, passionate advocate, and fierce ally to the transgender community. Renee is the proud mom of three incredible children: her oldest, a 25-year-old cisgender daughter; her 17-year-old son, who is autistic and full of love and light; and her courageous transgender daughter — the reason she has stepped so fully into public advocacy.

Renee’s journey began when her ten-year-old child shared that she was a girl living in a boy’s body and, heartbreakingly, had contemplated ending her own life. Faced with this reality, Renee chose love, acceptance, and action. By affirming her daughter’s truth, advocating for her well-being, and surrounding her with support, Renee helped transform despair into hope and fear into thriving.

Now, Renee speaks out publicly to share their story — not for recognition, but because she knows the stakes. Every child deserves to be seen and accepted for who they truly are, and every parent has the power to save a life with love. Through her writing, speaking, and tireless advocacy, Renee proves that empathy and understanding are life-saving acts, and that true success is measured not by accolades but by the lives we protect.

Together, we dive deep into:

• The myths and false narratives fueling anti-trans rhetoric in politics and religion
• Renee’s personal journey as a parent and the unconditional love that guided her through her daughter’s transition
• Stories of support, including her late Aunt Sylvia—a nun whose unwavering affirmation reminds us of the true meaning of faith
• The dangerous hypocrisy of lawmakers who legislate against the LGBTQ+ community while hiding their own truths
• How complacency and societal blind spots have contributed to the rise of harmful cultural narratives
• Why hormone therapy is reversible, but suicide is not — a stark reality we cannot ignore
• What it means to raise trans kids with joy, love, and dignity, while preparing them for futures full of hope

Renee shares her heart, her advocacy, and her unapologetic truth, reminding us that being an ally isn’t passive — it’s about showing up, speaking out, and protecting the most vulnerable among us.

This is a deeply moving, fiery, and inspiring conversation you won’t want to miss.

🔗 QST Resources & Links:

• Support Queer Trans Thriving Mutual Aid Collective's 2025 Rainbow Care Fund on GiveButter
• Find QSTs Website Home at FutureDrStevie.com

📣 Spread the Word, Leave A Review, & Follow QST:

If this episode resonated with you, Stevie encourages you to share it widely! This will also help QST expand to an even bigger audience globally. We would also appreciate you leaving a written/star review to help us build our collective effort to liberate queer and trans people globally.

✨ Join the QST Podcast Community & Get In-Touch:

Looking to see everything happening in our community? Come reach out, connect, and celebrate queer & trans joy together! You can find all QST resources here: https://beacons.ai/qstpodcast

Correction: I misspoke at the end, I meant to say that I have congressional *candidates* running in the 2026 campaign joining us here on QST this Fall 2025. Stay tuned!

Host: Stevie Inghram, M.S., YT, AWC, NMS-4 (She/They)