Fruitbowl: An Oral History of Queer Sex

For queer people, our sexuality is not something that just switches on one day. It reveals itself over time - usually during adolescence - and the experience is often internal and private. Our first explorations into physical intimacy with other people often serve as a kind of test to see if we like it and help us start to define the role that sex will play in our lives as adults.

Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify. Who was your first crush? That first intense infatuation with someone special? A famous actor? A singer? An Athlete? Or was it someone you knew like another student at your school, a hot neighbor or a teacher who gave you extra attention? Whoever it was, first crushes are often the first indication that we have queer tendencies. This can

Help support independent queer media. Get exclusive access to an UNCUT version of this episode with more than 30 extra minutes of stories by joining Fruitbowl’s Patreon community. Learn more at fruitbowlpodcast.com/donate Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify. Note: the descriptions of this episode were altered to avoid censorship by the major podcast platforms. America’s

Patreon members get exclusive access to an UNCUT version of this episode with 20 extra minutes of stories. Learn more at fruitbowlpodcast.com/donate Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify. Many of us grew up in families and communities that never once acknowledged the existence of queer people: no exposure to queer authors, filmmakers, artists. Pornography is often the first me

Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify. Now we’re getting down to the nitty gritty. For this first episode we’re going back to the beginning of our coming of age when we had no clue what sex was or what it even meant. Maybe we heard about it from our parents, our friends or maybe we even went to a library. Many of us got the wrong information or maybe it just didn’t make

Femininity and queerness go hand in hand; that’s the conventional wisdom, anyway. So it follows that our mom’s should be supportive, non-judgmental, embracing of our idiosyncrasies and accepting of children who don’t conform to conventional expectations of gender. But it doesn’t always work out that way. In this episode, Dave introduces a collection of stories about moms wh

There are as many cliches about fatherhood as there are about queer people. Dads are little league coaches, the leaders of prayers, the final word in family debates, trusted voices of wisdom who guide their children through adolescence and prepare them for adulthood. Join Dave as he introduces a chorus of queers who describe their complex relationships with their fathers and what t

Welcome to Season 5 and a new episode format! Instead of just one person’s story, Season 5 episodes will present a variety of different stories and anecdotes from the Fruitbowl archive centered around a common theme. In this inaugural episode we focus on stories about families and hometowns. Adam describes being bullied and what happened when he eventually allowed himself to enjo

Breona is a professional sex therapist and author who lives not far from her hometown of Mt. Vernon, WA: home to the annual tulip festival. Growing up, Breona didn’t have many resources to answer her questions about sex. An early investigation to online porn was discovered by her parents and inspired her mother to have The Talk with her, but questions remained about being “in l

Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify John C. has had an unpredictable professional career and sexual history. He grew up in the deep south with racist family members and neighbors. Sexual experimentation with a friend happened early on, but, later, in college, things got complicated when a coworker raped John after a night of drugs and drinking. Jealous partners during his ye