Myelin & Melanin

Join us for an exclusive interview with actress, comedian, and MS advocate, Rain Pryor. We reflect on her father, the legendary Richard Pryor, and his MS journey. Connect with Rain on Facebook and Instagram @rainpryor. Purchase her book, Jokes My Father Never Taught Me: Life, Love, and Loss with Richard Pryor on Amazon. As always, you can find us on the web at myelinandmelanin.com, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @myelinmelanin. You can also subscribe to us on YouTube. Consider supporting us through our Patreon -- http://patreon.com/myelinmelanin. Patrons can gain access to exclusive content, discounts, Myelin & Melanin swag & more. Your support helps us offset the cost of maintaining our website, paying for our remote recording technology, music, podcast & merchandise production, and more. Also, if you enjoy the podcast, please take a minute to leave us a 5-Star rating on Apple Podcasts. Stream the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play, and everywhere you listen to podcasts. Peace!    

Join us for a conversation with DEI leader, Jimi Vaughn about containing and defining the space, as well as what it means to have a seat at the table in a society rampant with ableism. Connect with Jimi on his website: http://jimivaughn.com and Instagram @jimi_vaughn. As always, you can find us on the web at myelinandmelanin.com, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @myelinmelanin. You can also subscribe to us on YouTube. Consider supporting us through our Patreon -- http://patreon.com/myelinmelanin. Patrons can gain access to exclusive content, discounts, Myelin & Melanin swag & more. Your support helps us offset the cost of maintaining our website, paying for our remote recording technology, music, podcast & merchandise production, and more. Also, if you enjoy the podcast, please take a minute to leave us a 5-Star rating on Apple Podcasts. Stream the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play, and everywhere you listen to podcasts. Peace!  

It's our Season 4 Premiere! This season, we're focused on "taking up space". What does it mean for people with Multiple Sclerosis? Join us for a conversation with Damian Washington as we unpack this important concept. Find Damian on his website: damianwashington.com and on his vlog: http://youtube.com/nostressms As always, you can find us on the web at myelinandmelanin.com, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @myelinmelanin. You can also subscribe to us on YouTube. Consider supporting us through our Patreon -- http://patreon.com/myelinmelanin. Patrons can gain access to exclusive content, discounts, Myelin & Melanin swag & more. Your support helps us offset the cost of maintaining our website, paying for our remote recording technology, music, podcast & merchandise production, and more. Also, if you enjoy the podcast, please take a minute to leave us a 5-Star rating on Apple Podcasts. Stream the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play, and everywhere you listen to podcasts. Peace!

Welcome to Realm 10 -- the last Realm in our second ever intimacy series, "This Part: Intimacy & MS". It's just us today -- no guests. Join us as we recap this exciting intimacy adventure. Access intimacy, BDSM, pleasure activism (deference to adrienne maree brown), sexual superpowers, kink, trust, communication, surrender...we covered all the things over these past several weeks. This series really opened our eyes to how broad the concept of intimacy is. It's limitless, really. We end the series with a discussion of Sara Youngblood Gregory's VICE article "Chronic Pain Made My Sex Life Better, Not Worse" (https://www.vice.com/en/article/j5y77y/chronic-pain-and-sex). It's a perfect way to end and reframe the way we think about chronic illness, disability, and sex. As always, you can find us on the web at myelinandmelanin.com, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @myelinmelanin. You can also subscribe to us on YouTube. Consider supporting us through our Patreon -- patreon.com/myelinmelanin. Patrons can gain acc

What's your love language? How does that relate to intimacy? Today we are joined by intimacy coach and AMFT Sade Ferrier and boudoir photographer, body coach, and fellow MSer Keyonna Renea. Don't miss this dope chat. Sade Ferrier, M.S., is passionate about spiritually-infused intimacy that brings joy instead of shame. Her audio courses and workshops encourage couples to develop an expanded understanding of sexual intimacy in relationships. Sade also practices as an associate marriage and family therapist in Suwanee, Georgia, with a special focus on sex therapy. Find Sade on Instagram @myintimacytherapist. Her website is www.myintimacytherapist.com Keyonna is a portrait and boudoir photographer, coach, and wellness advocate "empowering women to live their one delicious life and thrive." She's also a fellow MSer. You can find Keyonna on IG @keyonnarenea or @diagnosed.determined. You can also find her at www.keyonnarenea.com You can find us on the web at myelinandmelanin.com, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @my

BDSM, domination, submission, kink -- all the things. Welcome to Realm 8. Today we are joined again by the Dominatrix (and fellow MSer), Mistress Magenta, and writer Sara Youngblood Gregory. How does creativity fit into the world of kink and disability? Let's talk. Mistress Magenta is an American dominatrix living on the Gold Coast of Australia. Find Mistress Magenta on Twitter @MistressMagenta. Check out her website at www.mistress-magenta.com.  Sara Youngblood Gregory is a lesbian poet and culture writer. In addition to serving on the board of the lesbian literary and arts journal Sinister Wisdom, Sara is published in Vice, Jezebel, and The Huffington Post, among others. Find her on Twitter @s_youngblood_g or on Instagram @sinister.spinster. Check out her website: https://saragregory.org/ Patrons have access to a bonus continuing conversation about lifestyle kink relationships, aftercare, subspace, and more.   You can find us on the web at myelinandmelanin.com, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @myelinmelan

Kink is exciting. It has definitely opened up new realms of possibility for us. Having said that, it really highlights the importance of consent, communication, and most of all TRUST with the partners you are engaging with. This is amplified when you are disabled (and otherwise marginalized). We are joined again by Roxanne Chanel Murray to unpack these ideas. In an upcoming episode with Mistress Magenta and Sara Youngblood Gregory (10/17/2020, Ep. 105, Realm 8), we discuss "breath play" and kink (among other things).  This conversation brought up painful memories of the death of Daana's friend Kelly Dwyer in October 2013. It is believed that Kelly was killed while engaging in breath play and kinky sex with a manipulative, deceitful, and dangerous (unbeknownst to her) partner -- a sociopathic predator -- a person who later dumped her body in the woods after her death. You can read her story here: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kelly-dwyer-death-solving-the-mystery-behind-wisconsin-womans-disappearance/ Reflecti

Welcome to Realm 6. We're digging in ever deeper, y'all. Today we are joined by English MS Warrior Roxanne Chanel Murray. We chat about sex, kink & BDSM. How does MS fit in? Tune in!  Roxanne is an English MS warrior and Fashion Stylist who advocates for the visibility of people of color in the UK to be included and considered more in the MS narrative. Roxanne also joined us in Episode 87 -- check out her MS story there. Check out her podcast "Spilling Tea With Roxy" wherever you listen to podcasts. Connect with Roxanne on Instagram @multiplesclerosisfashionista. You can also find her on YouTube. You can find us on the web at myelinandmelanin.com, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @myelinmelanin. You can also subscribe to us on YouTube. Consider supporting us through our Patreon -- patreon.com/myelinmelanin. Patrons can gain access to exclusive content, Myelin & Melanin swag & more. Your support helps us offset the cost of maintaining our website, paying for our remote recording technology, music,

We're continuing our conversation with Mistress Magenta -- an American dominatrix living on the Gold Coast of Australia. She also has MS. You don't want to miss the rest of this tantalizing discussion. Find Mistress Magenta on Twitter @MistressMagenta. Check out her website at www.mistress-magenta.com.  You can find us on the web at myelinandmelanin.com, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @myelinmelanin. You can also subscribe to us on YouTube. Consider supporting us through our Patreon -- patreon.com/myelinmelanin. Patrons can gain access to exclusive content, Myelin & Melanin swag & more. Your support helps us offset the cost of maintaining our website, paying for our remote recording technology, music, podcast & merchandise production, and more. Also, if you enjoy the podcast, please take a minute to leave us a 5-Star rating on Apple Podcasts. Stream the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play, and everywhere you listen to podcasts. Peace!  

We told you we were going deep. Today we are joined by Mistress Magenta -- an American dominatrix living on the Gold Coast of Australia. She also has MS. You don't want to miss this tantalizing discussion. Find Mistress Magenta on Twitter @MistressMagenta. Check out her website at www.mistress-magenta.com.  You can find us on the web at myelinandmelanin.com, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @myelinmelanin. You can also subscribe to us on YouTube. Consider supporting us through our Patreon -- patreon.com/myelinmelanin. Patrons can gain access to exclusive content, Myelin & Melanin swag & more. Your support helps us offset the cost of maintaining our website, paying for our remote recording technology, music, podcast & merchandise production, and more. Also, if you enjoy the podcast, please take a minute to leave us a 5-Star rating on Apple Podcasts. Stream the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play, and everywhere you listen to podcasts. Peace!  

Episode 100! Can you believe it? Join us for Realm 4 of our intimacy series. Today we are joined by our favorite guest co-host, Carlos Kareem Windham. We chat about WAP, intimacy & sexual superpowers. How does shame shape the discourse? Carlos is a frequent Myelin & Melanin guest co-host and the host of Smoke & Mirrors (livestream on YouTube or Facebook). They're also a comic, activist, and fellow MSer. You can find them on Instagram @elcaballonegrito and Twitter @caballonegrito. You can find us on the web at myelinandmelanin.com, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @myelinmelanin. You can also subscribe to us on YouTube. Consider supporting us through our Patreon -- patreon.com/myelinmelanin. Patrons can gain access to exclusive content, Myelin & Melanin swag & more. Your support helps us offset the cost of maintaining our website, paying for our remote recording technology, music, podcast & merchandise production, and more. Also, if you enjoy the podcast, please take a minute to leave u

Welcome to our Bonus "after hours" episode. In preparation for our provocative conversation with Carlos Kareem Windham in Episode 100, we decided to pose the following question to all of the guests in this series: "What is your sexual superpower?" Don't miss this enlightening discussion. You can find us on the web at myelinandmelanin.com, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @myelinmelanin. You can also subscribe to us on YouTube. Consider supporting us through our Patreon -- patreon.com/myelinmelanin. Patrons can gain access to exclusive content, Myelin & Melanin swag & more. Your support helps us offset the cost of maintaining our website, paying for our remote recording technology, music, podcast & merchandise production, and more. Also, if you enjoy the podcast, please take a minute to leave us a 5-Star rating on Apple Podcasts. Stream the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play, and everywhere you listen to podcasts. Peace!

Get ready for Realm 3 (Part 2)! We're taking the concept of intimacy further. Today we're joined again by Pleasure Activist, Somatic Sex Educator, and MSer Emily Royce.  Emily Royce is a Somatic Sex Educator and Certified Sexological Bodyworker. Her decade journey with MS has involved many lifestyle and holistic healing routes and she is a Reiki Master Teacher and Kundalini and Yin Yoga Instructor as part of that. But it was not until she stepped into authentic movement via dance, that she discovered her sensuality was going to be key to her healing. This led to a deep dive into the world of Tantra and her current path of service to pleasure activism and making sex accessible to all.  Find Emily on Instagram @chronic.pleasure, or her website http://beloveandbeloved.com. You can find us on the web at myelinandmelanin.com, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @myelinmelanin. You can also subscribe to us on YouTube. Consider supporting us through our Patreon -- patreon.com/myelinmelanin. Patrons can gain access to e

Get ready for Realm 3 (Part 1)! We're taking the concept of intimacy further. Today we're joined by Pleasure Activist, Somatic Sex Educator, and MSer Emily Royce.  Emily Royce is a Somatic Sex Educator and Certified Sexological Bodyworker. Her decade journey with MS has involved many lifestyle and holistic healing routes and she is a Reiki Master Teacher and Kundalini and Yin Yoga Instructor as part of that. But it was not until she stepped into authentic movement via dance, that she discovered her sensuality was going to be key to her healing. This led to a deep dive into the world of Tantra and her current path of service to pleasure activism and making sex accessible to all.  Find Emily on Instagram @chronic.pleasure, or her website http://beloveandbeloved.com. You can find us on the web at myelinandmelanin.com, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @myelinmelanin. You can also subscribe to us on YouTube. Consider supporting us through our Patreon -- patreon.com/myelinmelanin. Patrons can gain access to exclusi

We're still talking intimacy! In Realm 2, we talk with writer Sara Youngblood Gregory about bondage, disability, and liberation. Her article "As A Disabled Person, I Love Bondage. Here’s Why" was published in the Huffington Post in July 2020. Sara joins us again later in the series as well -- we're here for it! Sara Youngblood Gregory is a lesbian poet and culture writer. In addition to serving on the board of the lesbian literary and arts journal Sinister Wisdom, Sara is published in Vice, Jezebel, and The Huffington Post, among others. Find her on Twitter @s_youngblood_g or on Instagram @sinister.spinster. Check out her website: https://saragregory.org/ Check out her article "As A Disabled Person, I Love Bondage. Here’s Why" here: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/bondage-disability-empowerment_n_5f0c6bf2c5b63a72c344df6e You can find us on the web at myelinandmelanin.com, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @myelinmelanin. You can also subscribe to us on YouTube. Consider supporting us through our Patreon -- pat

Intimacy. We're taking you on a journey. Join us for Realm 1 -- today we're joined by Keyonna Renea. We chat about access intimacy, vulnerability, agency, and more. We first discovered the term "access intimacy" on a 2011 post on Mia Mingus' (check her out on Instagram @mia.mingus) blog "Leaving Evidence" -- https://leavingevidence.wordpress.com/2011/05/05/access-intimacy-the-missing-link/ We dig right in and chat about what that concept means to us. Keyonna is a portrait and boudoir photographer, coach, and wellness advocate "empowering women to live their one delicious life and thrive." She's also a fellow MSer. Keyonna opened up our first intimacy series "That Part: Intimacy & MS" -- check out Episode 63 to hear her MS story. You can find Keyonna on IG @keyonnarenea or @diagnosed.determined. You can also find her at www.keyonnarenea.com You can find us on the web at myelinandmelanin.com, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @myelinmelanin. You can also subscribe to us on YouTube. Consider supporting us th

On September 5, 2020, our series "This Part: Intimacy & MS" starts. We're taking you on a journey. Our first intimacy series "That Part: Intimacy & MS" peeled back the layers -- helping us reflect on all of the elements that help one frame intimacy (especially as it relates to MS). In this series -- we're going deeper. Kink, bondage, pleasure, surrender, communication, connection, liberation, trust, disability, empowerment, CONSENT, control -- all the things. What you're listening to today is part of a longer conversation we had with Mistress Magenta -- a dominatrix and fellow MSer. Don't miss this engaging discussion. And get ready for an exciting ride. You can find us on the web at myelinandmelanin.com, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @myelinmelanin. You can also subscribe to us on YouTube. Consider supporting us through our Patreon -- patreon.com/myelinmelanin. Patrons can gain access to exclusive content, Myelin & Melanin swag & more. Your support helps us offset the cost of maintaining

Today we are joined by thought leader and life coach Kianga Ford. We chat about energy, agency, and surrender -- topics that are the perfect precursors to our upcoming series, "This Part: Intimacy and MS". Kianga Ford is a thought leader, coach, facilitator, and speaker. She is the founder of Love & Freedom Education, where she works with curious adults on understanding contemporary masculinity and why it’s essential to the full realization of the feminine rising and to the expression of our deepest human potential.  She is also the co-founder of Becoming Free Humans, a project that explores emergent paradigms for living and working and provides visionary support to the individuals and organizations giving them form. She holds an MA/Ph.D. (ABD) and an MFA from the foremost programs in her fields. She is also a certified Orgasmic Meditation trainer and life coach. She brings the full range of her training in critical inquiry and transformational experience to her live events, online courses, coaching, and

We've partnered with Healthline to host a series of live chats on "Managing Grief After an MS Diagnosis"...⠀ Join us today as we reflect on our most recent chat on the MS Healthline app (on 8/4) in the "Wellness" group! We talked about what it means to reframe your narrative when MS impacts your ability to work. You can find us on the web at myelinandmelanin.com, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @myelinmelanin. You can also subscribe to us on YouTube. Consider supporting us through our Patreon -- patreon.com/myelinmelanin. Patrons can gain access to exclusive content, Myelin & Melanin swag & more. Your support helps us offset the cost of maintaining our website, paying for our remote recording technology, music, podcast & merchandise production, and more. Also, if you enjoy the podcast, please take a minute to leave us a 5-Star rating on Apple Podcasts. Stream the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play, and everywhere you listen to podcasts. Peace!  

We've partnered with Healthline to host a series of live chats on "Managing Grief After an MS Diagnosis"...⠀ Join us today as we reflect on our most recent chat on the MS Healthline app (on 7/28)! We talked about medical PTSD and continuous trauma. It was a very intense chat! Our final live chat is: Tuesday, 8/4, 4PM EST:⠀ - Reframing Productivity and YOUR New Narrative ⠀ ⠀ **A bonus podcast episode will air the Thursday after each chat.⠀ ⠀ The link to download the app is in our bio on IG, or here: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id1040195462?mt=8⠀ You can find us on the web at myelinandmelanin.com, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @myelinmelanin. You can also subscribe to us on YouTube. Consider supporting us through our Patreon -- patreon.com/myelinmelanin. Patrons can gain access to exclusive content, Myelin & Melanin swag & more. Your support helps us offset the cost of maintaining our website, paying for our remote recording technology, music, podcast & merchandise production, and more. Also, i