We last minute recorded a bonus episode for today due to Becky Albertalli’s coming out post. We asked Dom to step in and talked a bit about his friendship with Alex, his coming out moments, and his Catholic Roman Guard gay realization. Onwards to Becky’s article, we wanted to discuss the fine line between queer #ownvoices narratives and forcing authors to come out to prove authentic queer representation. We grapple with coming out experiences and how to be inclusive in creating safe spaces for people to have their coming out journey’s on their own timeline. #ownvoices is an important tool, not a weapon, in helping marginalized people identify a story/author that has similar experiences to your own. It should not be used to force people to disclose information. We felt this was an important topic to discuss, and one we plan to KEEP discussing and learning from 🌈 cheers queers! Find us on Instagram and Twitter at @thebookstagays and on our individual instagrams @thebookadvocate and @staxsonstaxs