Blessed Are the Binary Breakers
Religion & Spirituality
Despite growing up in a heavily conservative Christian town, Azura Rose (they/she) was raised by parents who encouraged them to ask questions and explore religion on their own. They are now a Satanist in Toronto, as well as a cosplayer & sex worker. In this episode, Azura discusses the beliefs & activism of The Satanic Temple, as well as what it's like to be a queer, goth, disabled sex worker.
Listen (or read along with the episode transcript) to find out what Satan & Jesus have in common; what was up with all the backlash around Lil Nas X's single Montero; how some of Azura's clients have supported them on their gender journey; and much more.
CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains discussions of child sexual abuse; bullying & religious trauma + threats of hell; mention of grandparent deaths
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Talking Points:
(0:00 - 2:30) Housekeeping
(2:31 - 5:11) Introducing Azura
(5:12 - 10:10) Growing up — bullied for not being Christian; supportive parents; discovering Wicca and Satanism, Lilith & Lucifer
(10:11 - 12:35) Explaining differences between the Church of Satan and The Satanic Temple (TST)
(12:36 - 15:19) Who is Satan for Satanists? — An archetype embodying rebellion against unjust authority; Satanists are atheistic
(15:20 - 18:28) Why TST has a large number of queer & neurodivergent members; parallels between Christian elements & Satanism
(18:29 - 20:59) Backlash Lil Nas X
(21:00 - 25:36) The Satanic Panic of the 1980s-90s — originated in Canada; the McMartin Preschool Trial
(25:37 - 29:43) TST's political activism — reproductive rights, religious rights — more complex in Canada, where TST isn't an official religion
(29:44 - 36:06) How TST's tenets speak to Azura as a sex worker & trans person — "our body is subject to our will alone"
(36:07- 48:59) More about TST: meetups; non-binary interpretations of Baphomet, Lilith, and Lucifer
(49:00 - 55:51) What it's like to be genderfluid and a sex worker — supportive clients
(55:22 - 1:02:48) Closing thoughts: other people's thoughts about your gender or faith don't matter; the need for rights and resources; when seeking to learn about Satanism or sex work, find people who are similar to you and different from you
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Find Azura on Twitter @hellcatazura and at hellcatazura.rip.
Learn more about The Satanic Temple at thesatanictemple.com/pages/about-us
Resources for supporting sex workers:
- https://decriminalizesex.work/
- Human Rights Watch: "Why Sex Work Should Be Decriminalized"
- The Sex Workers Project
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Blessed Are the Binary Breakers is part of the Rock Candy Podcast Network. Find more shows, such as Sacred Tension, at www.rockcandyrecordings.com.
This show's theme song is "Aetherium" by Leah Horn. This episode also makes use of "Camilla" by Jeremy SH Griffith.
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/binarybreakers/message"We’re in this for the liberation” — More from Rev. Krissy on transforming the Church
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What's in a Name Change? — How I became Avery Arden and made it through the legal process
O Beautiful Dust — Lenten Prayers & the Gospels’ genderqueer water bearer
Coming Back to Life — Rev. Krissy is a politically queer UCC pastor
Naming Faith — Eric Sharp is a Pluralist Agnostic & Systemic Therapist
Revisiting Nativity: Was Jesus born in a barn or a house, and why does it matter?
The Binary Breaking Transness of Jesus — Clip from an interview with Joseph Peterson
Numinous Names: Stories of name changes across genders, cultures, and faiths
"His Name Is John": magnAUtism & allyship in Luke 1
The Blending of Pagan & Christian Belief: Black Book's tour of nineteenth-century Russia
The Transcendent Tale of Brigid of Ireland: Celtic Goddess, Catholic Saint, and Voodoo Lwa
Manlike Babies, Cuckolded Joseph, & the Sex Worker Madonna — More from Neville on Morality in Renaissance Art
"I am God and not a man" - Exploring God's gender in the Book of Hosea with Liam Hooper & Peterson Toscano
God Gets Vulnerable: A trans & autistic look at Elijah and the "still small voice"
When a trans traveler and an autistic apostle cross paths: Reading Acts 8 in community
"God's love should not be tainted by the fear of earthly hatred" - April is a proud Catholic Latina trans woman
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