StraightioLab "Fishing" w/ Monét X Change – Oct 28, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode of StraightioLab, hosted by George Civeris and Sam Taggart, features iconic drag queen and comedian Monét X Change. Together, they unravel the straightness of the pastime “fishing” while detouring through drag discourse, queer fame, fashion, dating, and the eternal debate of lakes vs. oceans. Expect trademark wit, delightfully unfiltered anecdotes, and plenty of queering of straight traditions.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The “Podcast Beef” Economy

• Opening Banter (02:35 – 04:35): George and Sam riff on podcasting’s competitive landscape, joking about manufactured "beefs" à la Hollywood PR stunts for mutual clout.

• Monét on Drag Race Drama (04:12): Sam asks if Drag Race queens strategically start fights for publicity. Monét insists most queens are too self-centered for that and the fandom is too intense, taking everything to heart.

  "Drag queens are so narcissistic and self-centered. They think that they're the one... I don't need to start no beef with no bitch because I am that girl."
  — Monét X Change [04:23]

2. The Problematic Passion of Drag Race Fandom

• Fan Reactions: Monét discusses how serious fans get about drama between queens—way past playful banter, sometimes fueling toxic discourse.

• Calls for RuPaul’s “Bad Girls Club”: Monét jokingly lobbies for a physical fight on Drag Race, suggesting it might finally net the show another Emmy [05:54].

  "Y'all give the girls alcohol during the day and get us a physical fight on Drag Race?"
  — Monét X Change [06:28]

• The Emmy Joke & Alcohol Limits: The hosts discuss, with shock, that Drag Race limits queens to just two drinks during filming—unlike Real Housewives, who are allegedly “blacked out” [07:38].

  "Everything you’re seeing, they’re not even—they haven’t even had one martini."
  — George Civeris [07:31]

3. The Microcosms of Queer and Mainstream Culture

• Podcast Rivalries & Weight Classes: The group jokes about which podcasts are in their "weight class" and who they could feasibly feud with for mutual benefit [08:28].
• Straight vs. Queer Nostalgia: The conversation pivots to straight-coded objects marketed to men, like “dude wipes” and “female pens” and why gendered marketing is ridiculous [14:32 – 15:13].
• Fashion Week and Queer Self-Image (17:13): Monét laments how underwhelming Fashion Week is—even for celebrities like Beyoncé—and how queerness in public spaces often means performing against expectations.

4. Rules, Etiquette, and Social Technology

• If Drag Race Winners Could Make Laws…: The group fantasizes about reality winners getting to pass one law. Monét chooses "universal regulations on who can ask for tips after a service" [12:04].

• Legalizing Polite Correction: They wish for a law that requires people to notify you if you have food in your teeth, and discuss the awkwardness of such social interactions [21:48].

  "We don't have the correct language to be like, I'm correcting you lovingly."
  — Sam Taggart [22:08]

• The Handkerchief: Monét calls for its comeback as an elegant solution to food-in-beard mishaps [25:09].

5. The Preparedness Paradox in Kink & Sex

• “Preparedness Kills The Mood”: The group riffs on the idea that too much planning “kills the vibe” in both public health (COVID) and in sex/kink (like when a hookup has tarps down for water sports) [30:35 – 32:13].
• Product Placement for Kinky Sheets: They mock Instagram ads for washable “sex blankets,” noting it would still ruin the décor [33:01].

6. Mainstream Queer Fame and Dating

• Drag Race as “Lizzo’s Pass” (39:15): The group coins “Lizzo’s Pass”—the career crossroads between going mainstream (Target) or staying cool/alternative (Pitchfork)—and applies it to drag artists who must choose between subculture cred and broad appeal.

  • Monét reflects on the evolution of drag from NYC club culture into Drag Race’s mainstream lens, and the subsequent challenges of dating as a “gay famous” person [42:36].

  "Being gay famous...can be a little like, God. I'm like, baby, go get the TriMix, go get the pills. Take that Viagra and let's get to work."
  — Monét X Change [43:49]

• Gay Cruises, Phones, and Yonder Pouches: Monét likens being a Drag Race queen on a gay cruise to being “Mickey Mouse on Disney cruise” [44:05]. The group dreams of enforced phone-free zones for true rest.

7. Straight Culture Deep Dive: Fishing

• What Makes Fishing “Straight”? (50:13): The hosts and Monét unpack fishing’s cultural associations: marketed as manly, fathers-day coded, and tied up in “catch of the day” masculinity—yet Monét’s family history in St. Lucia subverts those tropes (her mom and aunts fished).

  "...fishing is... adopted as straight people buy their thing, especially straight men. And I just hate that."
  — Monét X Change [50:38]

• Types of Fishing: Rich, Rural, Dirty: Sam and George contrast “Oakley-wearing, boat-owning Republicans” with the pond-and-mud variety of fishing, exploring how wealth, regionalism, and masculinity intersect [53:33-53:58].

• Fishing as Queer Reflection: For Sam, fishing is as much about calm reflection as it is about violence to fish—a queering of the narrative [51:34-52:32].

• Lake vs. Ocean Debates: The panel gets heated about whether Lake Michigan counts as a “beach,” with Monét defending the ocean [56:09-56:33]. George tells of being injured by a wave at Fire Island, while Monét demands mermaids be real (“it’s just not fair they don’t exist!”) [71:39 – 71:44].

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "Drag Race fans are Goldilocks. It's too mean, it's too nice, it's too hot...They cannot find a happy medium besides just enjoying television and let it be television." — Monét X Change [05:26]
• "If you don't do that, then you're accused of being boring and of not having enough personality." — George Civeris [05:17]
• “Bring back the handkerchief. Our generation has forgotten the handkerchief. We need to bring it back.” — Monét X Change [25:09]
• "Honestly, the last season, when Lexi came back and realized her garment had been spray painted...I was praying, praying for her [to start a fight]." — Monét X Change [07:02]
• "I want there to be a physical fight on Drag Race....the Drag Race Bad Girls Club." — Monét X Change [05:54]
• "I liked fishing and there was something reflective about it. But then as soon as the fish was there on the hook, I was like, ew, ew, ew! And like, my dad would have to, like, take it off." — Sam Taggart [52:04]
• "If you are above 6'2, I don't care if you look like the bottom of my shoe, I will suck your dick. I am just into tall people." — Monét X Change [59:47]
• "Our generation has forgotten a lot." — George Civeris [25:12]
• "Gay cruise...you are Mickey Mouse on a Disney cruise." — Monét X Change [44:05]
• "Time is Monet." — Monet X Change [73:52]

Important Segments with Timestamps

• Podcast Beef, Manufactured Feuds: [02:35–04:35]
• Drag Race Drama Dynamic: [04:12–06:28]
• Preparedness Paradox in Sex: [30:35–32:13]
• Lizzo’s Pass Explained: [39:15–40:21]
• Regulating Tipping Law: [12:04–12:41]
• Dating and Gay Fame: [42:36–44:36]
• Fishing: Masculine or Not?: [50:13–52:06]
• Lake vs. Ocean—The Chicago Beach Debate: [56:09–56:33]
• Big & Tall Attraction Confession: [59:47]
• Queer Fishing Trip Proposition: [70:30–71:09]
• Fantasy: If Mermaids Were Real: [71:39–72:39]

Straight Shooters Segment (Rapid Fire Q&A)

(28:36–31:13):

• Monét favors "One kiss is all it takes" over "Son, this is a huge mistake."
• “Hung like a horse or black lung?” — Monét: “Honestly, black lung. I like kissing a smoker.” [29:05]
• Hilarity ensues when Monét recounts a sexual encounter involving tarps and water sports, segueing to a discussion on the unsexiness of over-preparedness. [29:38]

Final Shout Outs

• George: Penises as sight gags in films, advocating for less prosthetics and more authenticity. [77:17]
• Sam: His boring but classic loafers that have aged into style, encouraging listeners to trust their taste. [78:49]
• Monét: To all plant parents nurturing their green babies (despite her own irrigation mishap). [80:04]
• Tour plug: Monét is on tour—details at monetxchange.com/live [80:42]

Tone & Language

• Wry, self-aware, unapologetically queer. The hosts and guest riff fluidly between thoughtful analysis and raunchy one-liners.
• Camaraderie + affectionate ribbing: All three comedians lean into camp, call out one another’s quirks, and champion queer found family values.
• Cultural critique delivered as stand-up routine: Both conversational and witty, with social commentary masked in jokes.

Summary

Monét X Change joins StraightioLab for a hilarious and incisive look at fishing as a coded straight pastime, asking why it’s gendered and how queerness rewrites straight traditions—even something as simple as catching a fish. Along the way, the trio delves into drag culture’s mainstreaming, the paradoxes of fame, queering fashion, social etiquette, and their complicated relationship with both bodies of water and bodies in general. The episode is a tapestry of jokes, vulnerable confessions, and meta-cultural observations—delivered at breakneck pace and never taking anything, least of all themselves, too seriously.

For stand-up dates, visit monetxchange.com/live
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