I Tried to Be Straight

Jane Clementi’s world shattered when she lost her son Tyler to bullying for being gay. She decided she was going on a mission to make sure no other family goes through the same pain, and she started a non-profit to help end bullying. In this episode, Jane shares her journey from grief to activism, why she believes LGBTQ+ kids need to be fully embraced, and how she found her faith again after leaving a church that condemned her son.

Tyler Clementi Foundation: TylerClementi.org

Support us and Join our Monthly Zoom on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/ITriedtoBeStraight

Chat with us and others on Discord: ⁠ https://discord.gg/5jVTkdUm

Colby Martin, author of Unclobber, shares his story of deconstruction and reconstruction on this episode. He then teaches on how to rebuild your faith and pick up the pieces after the very common deconstruction process we go through when coming out.

Find Colby at: https://www.colbymartinonline.com/

Support us and Join our Monthly Zoom on Patreon: patreon.com/c/ITriedtoBeStraight

The results of this election took many of us in the LGBTQ community by surprise and have hit a lot of us pretty hard. Brit Barron joins us to talk about how we’re feeling in the aftermath and to share a word of hope. Finally, we discuss how to approach the holidays with family members who have different viewpoints and how to navigate those conversations.

Check Out Brit's books at: https://www.britbarron.com/

Support us and Join our Monthly Zoom on Patreon: patreon.com/c/ITriedtoBeStraight

Chat with us and others on Discord: https://discord.gg/7jwmTemc5y

Growing up Conor knew he was different but tried to convince himself he wasn’t. After battling with mental health for years, he finally had to come to terms with the fact that he was gay. Coming out, he believed celibacy was the right choice for his life and his faith. He shares what that journey is like, and discusses why it was still important for him to come out of the closet, even if he still intends to stay single.

When Simon heard Alana's story, a devout catholic girl who took her life, he knew it needed to be told. After hearing her journey with conversion therapy, and having a similar journey himself, he decided to see what he could do to get it out there. He pulled together stories from her friend's, family, and journals and made the podcast Dear Alana. Winning several awards and touching thousands of hearts, this story made a huge impact when it released. We interview Simon on his journey making the podcast and how making it changed his life.

https://discord.gg/DcaTx45V

https://www.patreon.com/c/ITriedtoBeStraight

https://dearalana.com/

Kristyn Komarnicki was working for a Christian magazineabout to publish an article about why being gay is not of God. Rather than running the article, she felt it was her duty to do the research. For her that meant gathering a group of gays and Christians with different opinions to actually hear what their experiences were. Realizing the depth of connection and the need for these conversations, she continues gathering groups to build empathy and awareness for queer members of the church 15 years later.

Reach out to Kristyn:

Retired NFL Offensive Tackle Ryan O'Callaghan, lived in a community where coming out of the closet wasn't an option. After realizing he was gay, he joined sports at a young age to hide his sexuality. Getting to retirement he finally reached a breaking point and made the decision to come out.

Support us and Join our Monthly Zoom on Patreon: patreon.com/c/ITriedtoBeStraight

Chat with us and others on Discord: https://discord.gg/vWXPcAgq

Author, Pastor, and Speaker Brandan Robertson shares why being gay and Christian makes perfect sense. We also chat about how queer people have helped change the church for the better, and the progress we've seen in the church over the last several years.

Support us and join our monthly Zoom at www.patreon.com/ITriedtoBeStraight

Chat with us and other for free at www.discord.gg/7jwmTemc5y

Brandan's Website: brandanrobertson.com

Sexologist Meg Cowan shares how purity culture affected her growing up in the church, how she found healing and how she started helping others find healing as well. She shares how purity culture can affect closeted gays and how to live a healthy sex life after coming out of the closet after shutting it down for so long.

Meg's Website: www.megcowan.com

Shortly after getting saved as a gay youth, John Smid buried his sexuality and joined the leadership team in a conversion therapy program at Love in Action. After years leading the program, he finally comes to terms with the fact that no one was finding any success changing their sexuality, and starts asking big questions about what they're doing in the program.Support us on Patreon: patreon.com/ITriedtoBeStraightChat with us and other for free on Discord: discord.gg/7jwmTemc5y