It's OK to Say Gay

There's a shortage of Black sperm donors and this especially hurts Black lesbian and queer couples. Black sperm makes up between 3% and 5% of what’s available at cryobanks. This comes as the majority of cryobank customers are lesbian or queer. This shortage causes some people to look for sperm elsewhere, including Facebook. This episode we learn why this shortage is so severe, the legal issues that may arise when using a sperm donor on social media, and why so few Black people donate sperm.

This story is from the podcast Beyond Black History Month. If you want to hear more stories like this, subscribe here or where ever you get your podcasts from.  

Co-host and audio engineer: Anddy Egan-Thorpe

Co-host and managing producer of podcasts: Femi Redwood 

Producers: Jill Webb and Dempsey Pillot

Many LGBTQ people – especially queer youth – are forced to spend their winter nights in homeless shelters or on the streets because their parents kicked them out for being LGBTQ.  their parents kicked them out because of their queerness. The Ali Forney Center shares dozens of these stories each year during their annual Homeless for the Holidays campaign. We hear from the center’s executive director Alex Roque, along with former client and current employee Sammie Crawford. We’re also joined by Jayson Connor, who runs Backpacks for the Street, an organization that hands out necessities to those living on the streets.

On this episode of It’s Okay To Say Gay, the CEO and president of GLAAD, Sarah-Kate Ellis, explains to us why it’s important to hold brands accountable and how GLAAD evaluates companies. Dr. Gillian Oakenfull, a marketing professor and faculty director of diversity and inclusion at Miami University, leads us through the history of LGBT+ advertising and today’s current challenges. We also hear from Fran Dunaway, co-founder of Tomboyx, about why it’s important to have queer people in leadership roles when making products for the LGBTQ+ community.

Alejandro Morales, Bailey Pope, and Corey Saunders have three things in common. They're all local comedians. They're all members of the LGBTQ+ community. And they all have vastly different - and compelling - coming out stories. 

October 11th is National Coming Out Day. To commemorate the occasion, in this episode of It’s OK to Say Gay, we hear from all three comedians as they share their experiences coming out and advice for anyone who may not be ready to just yet.

According to The Trevor Project, transgender and nonbinary children who are not supported by their families are more likely to experience depression, substance abuse, and low self-esteem. This is why family counselors say it’s imperative that parents support their children as they come out as transgender or nonbinary. Psychotherapist and author Benjamin Davis helps us navigate these topics. Plus, OurShelves founder Alli Harper explains how providing diverse children’s books can also guide conversations.

Every year on the eve of New York City’s Pride March, the LGBTQ rights movements goes back to its roots. Tens of thousands of self-identifying dykes march down Fifth Avenue demonstrating their first amendment right to protest. For the 30th Anniversary of the Dyke March, we’re talking about the evolution of the march. Founding organizer Valarie Walker takes us back to the first ever NYC march and talks about how much has changed. Organizer Nate Shalev explains this year’s theme, Dykes for Trans Liberation, and why the march continues to be a protest, not a parade.

AAPI LGBT+ youth are struggling right now. A new report from the Trevor Project found that 40 percent of AAPI LGBT+ youth have considered suicide in the past year. What’s going on here? We talk to Myeshia Price, a researcher from the Trevor Project, to understand the factors at play. We’re also joined by Crystal Widado, a teenage mental health advocate, to hear firsthand how their identities and mental health are connected.

Matthew Shepard’s tragic 1998 murder transformed America’s attitudes towards the LGBTQ community. But with anti-LGBTQ laws proliferating across the country, some activists fear these attitudes are reverting back to the 1990s. In this episode, Eric Marcus, the host of “Making Gay History” podcast, explains what life was like for the LGBTQ+ community back then. We also revisit an impactful 2019 interview between 1010 WINS and Matthew’s parents, Judy and Denis Shepard. 

Mila Jam is a singer, songwriter, and dancer. She is an unapologetic Black trans woman and is a powerful voice within the LGBTQ+ community. In this week’s episode of It’s OK to Say Gay, our conversation with the artivist (artist + activist) goes off track to talk about issues often spoken about in closed circles: dating while trans and what it feels like to be celebrated by the LGBTQ+ community after years of transphobic treatment from other queer people.

Comedian Judy Gold has a rant for everything. But she's not like the annoying family member at Thanksgiving dinner, her rants are actually pretty funny. In this episode of It's OK to Say Gay, the trailblazing comedian spoke to us about everything from cancel culture to wearing neck ties as a child. The New Jersey native also explores the full-circle moment of emceeing Montclair Pride after growing up closeted in her Jersey community.