Bonus: Cruising Podcast Swap — Les Pierres, Love, and Queer Family in the Deep South

Bonus: Cruising Podcast Swap — Les Pierres, Love, and Queer Family in the Deep South

Author: Jaimie Kelton – Queer Parenting & LGBTQ Families'. August 11, 2025 Duration: 1:08:37

While we gear up for Season 20 (September 1st!), I’m sharing something special — an episode swap with the fabulous podcast Cruising. They’re featuring one of my episodes on their feed, and I’m thrilled to bring one of theirs to you. This one’s a beautiful slice of queer history, love, and resilience.

Juanita Pierre and Leslie Martinez opened New Orleans' first Black-owned lesbian bar, Les Pierres, on the corner of Pauger St and N. Rampart St. No one can quite remember the exact date Les Pierres opened, but based on some other stories and dates, we can guess it would have been around 1980. By 1990, they had closed, but their legacy remains. In this episode, Juanita--alongside family and friends--shares memories of the bar, her love story with Leslie, and what it was like raising children as a same-sex couple in the Deep South in the 70s and 80s.

This episode features interviews with Teryl Lynn Foxx, Juanita Pierre, Mike Pierre, and Emelda Sterling.

Subscribe to Cruising on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever else you listen.



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Every family has a story, but the paths taken by LGBTQIA+ parents are often uniquely creative, filled with both profound joy and specific hurdles. The Queer Family Podcast-LGBTQ Families & Queer Parenting Stories is a weekly space where those narratives take center stage. Host Jaimie Kelton, a queer mom herself, guides conversations that are as laugh-out-loud funny as they are deeply moving. Each episode features candid interviews with a diverse range of guests, all sharing the intimate details of how they built their families-from adoption and fostering to IVF, surrogacy, and co-parenting. You’ll hear how these families navigate school systems, healthcare, and everyday social situations, tackling challenges with resilience and humor. This podcast digs into the real stuff of queer family life, covering topics across parenting, health, fitness, and sexuality, all through an authentic LGBTQ lens. The goal isn’t just to share stories; it’s to normalize and celebrate the beautiful spectrum of ways to create a home. Tune in for a sense of community, practical insights, and a powerful reminder that family is about love, in all its forms.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

The Queer Family Podcast – LGBTQ Families & Queer Parenting Stories
Podcast Episodes
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Midwife, parent, nurse, educator, and proud Palestinian Ash joins Jaimie for a powerful, expansive conversation that connects queer birth work, liberation, bodily autonomy, and the politics of modern healthcare. From bec…
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Meet Mark and Eoin, two Irish dads proving that queer family building is both an act of love and of advocacy. Their path to fatherhood took them from Ireland to New York and Texas—navigating surrogacy independently, hono…
From Cult Upbringing to Queer Co-Parenting [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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What happens when you grow up in an evangelical cult, spend years closeted, marry to appease your family, and still find your way to queerness, healing, and chosen family? Therapist and author SC Nealy (they/she) joins J…
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Duration: 57:11
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Duration: 51:14
Kevin and Alim—longtime partners, dads of two, and global citizens—share how they built their family through Canadian surrogacy, what they looked for in an egg donor, and how they talk to their kids about donor conceptio…