Who Gets To Parent? That is the title of a new web series from queer couple Timmia and Pere DeRoy, and it is a question they are both answering and posing to audiences, during Pride month this year. It feels especially timely to have this conversation, as we see a terrifying amount of hate, discrimination and misinformation being spread about the LGBTQIA+ community, through legislation, extreme media outlets, and certain public figures.
Our founder Asha Dahya, hosts a monthly podcast series for Reprofilm.org, an organization that began as a film festival in 2020, and now advocates for reproductive health, justice and bodily autonomy through film and conversation. She had the opportunity to interview both Timmia and Pere to talk about their journey to parenthood, as well as the medical bias they had to navigate, and the cultural barriers they faced along the way.
Two episodes from the series were made available to subscribers of the ReproFilm periodical, a monthly newsletter that includes a short film, a podcast interview, resource links, and recommendations of organizations you should be supporting. You can also watch an episode on the homepage of the ReproFilm website during June.
For a bit of background, Timmia is a theatre and film developer. She was a founding member of the Trinidad and Tobago PRIDE Arts Festival, former Director of the School for the Arts at the Trinidad Theatre Workshop, and former Marketing Manager at the CaribbeanTales International Film Festival.
Originally from Guyana and now residing in Kansas with her wife, Pere is a doctoral student in the Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies program at the University of Kansas. Pere’s current research explores the impact that healthcare systems have on reproductive pregnancy-related outcomes for Queer and Trans (Black, Indigenous, people of color). Not only are they incredibly accomplished and smart, THEY are the experts in their own lived experiences, and this is a narrative we need to see more of in the world, especially when it comes to reproductive decisions.
One of the most fascinating aspects of this conversation was the way they both talked about intentional parenting, and parenting as a verb, not just a noun. As you’ll hear in their story, having a supportive community and medical team can make a world of difference, and the couple also recognize the value in representation on screen for others to know what is possible, despite the odds stacked against them. And this is why they made the series, which you can hear in the Instagram preview above.
We also were pleasantly surprised to hear that the state of Kansas, where they are based, has some pretty progressive measures in place to protect reproductive rights and help queer folks access care. Let’s not forget that Kansas was the first state to protect abortion rights in law a mere 2 months after Roe v Wade was overturned in the June 2022 Dobbs Supreme Court decision, in a voter ballot measure.
Who gets to parent? Timmia and Pere DeRoy answer this question with nuance, beauty, and with the aim of showing other queer couples how to navigate they journey as they did.
Listen to the full conversation on Reprofilm podcast, which you can subscribe to on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and everywhere you get your podcasts. Happy Pride!
