Big Dick Energy, Size Queens, and PhDicks

Zeda Grace here. For those who may be listening for the first time, welcome. (Idk why I said that and my mind immediately went to David Cross in “She’s the Man” as the quirky private school dean welcoming Amanda Bynes to Ilyria but my mind will never not be weird.) For those of you who have been around for a while, you should be very unsurprised. Before I get into today’s episode on “Big Dick Energy, Size Queens, & PhDicks”, (I truly cannot believe my mom listens or reads my work): I am positively THRIVING in Atlanta. I love it.  My friend from UNC, who I’ve now known almost a decade, has been introducing me to his entire friend group, many of whom I knew (or rather THEY knew of ME at UNC for having a “truly phenomenal ass. A bubble butt”–his words, not mine) and I gotta say, it’s SO interesting to hear what others opinions are of you. Especially when they’re actually funny and/or good insight that a lot of people never would otherwise provide and they now ACTUALLY know you. He said it was incredibly difficult for people, including his teammates, to “place” me, even back in undergrad. (Validating AF.) Through him, I reconnected with a pal from my FAVORITE African studies class (yes, it WAS a real class), directed by Pierce Freelon, a truly talented dude who is responsible for establishing and bringing a beat lab to different African countries in his free time.  My friend, also an athlete, and a former NCAA Champion (in soccer) and I have been talking a lot of sports psychology, “athlete blues” and biochemical conditioning and performance after professional sports. He played in the MLS for a few years after graduation, and the theme of “when you stop playing, what are you beyond an athlete?” is pretty common. We also mentioned how transgender and genetic discussions in regards to athletics overlap with eugenics connotations and anti-Black and colonialist movements, historically. He’s Nigerian and our whole athletic friend group, including a bunch of the guys he introduced me to from the Atlanta United MLS team (who either grew up with him or overlapped within the professional circuit), went out to Tongue & Grove the other night, and they are all either immigrants or have incredibly diverse ethnicity and nationality, or are from low or unstable socioeconomic situations, so it’s really cool to hear their perspective and the differences in their lives. I also got into a 45+ minute long conversation with a guy who plays for the Houston Astros (MLB team), who also happened to overlap athletically with us at UNC. He, unfortunately, despite being like 6’4” and having beautiful flowing brunette locks, is libertarian. Which, I take to mean that “because he grew up in the suburbs of Georgia, and he now lives in Texas, he can’t quite bring himself to recognize how much more economically responsible liberal policies are, and having been raised conservatively, believes liberalism is unrealistic and not beneficial.” Or, just like does NOT understand the economic inequality and current distribution of wealth in the USA whatsoever. This guy is DEFINITELY privileged because he proceeded to tell me, with a straight face, that he does not believe in any social support programs. None. Just does not think they should exist. He took Darwin’s “survival of the fittest” under the purely misuse for eugenically and ableist connotations, when it’s ACTUALLY supposed to mean the “fittest” species is the one most adaptable to change. Which would not be him.  He also told me that he thinks the USA’s stance on