In this episode of Proudly On Record, we sit down with Ryann “Ry” Mason to talk about what it was like growing up near Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Raised Methodist in the foothills of Appalachia, Ryann shares how she experienced church culture differently than many of her peers, while still feeling the powerful influence of evangelical politics and Liberty University’s presence in her hometown.

From witnessing anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric in the Bible Belt to navigating bisexual identity and bi-erasure, Ryann opens up about coming out, dating across genders, and what it means to be visibly queer in a small Southern town. She shares the impact of receiving death threats after publicly dating a woman, attending one of Lynchburg’s first Pride events, and realizing that safety and acceptance are not guaranteed just because you grew up somewhere.

We also explore what changed when she moved from rural Virginia to San Diego’s Hillcrest neighborhood, experiencing a thriving LGBTQ+ community for the first time.

This conversation dives into bisexual erasure, queer life in Appalachia, church upbringing, Pride culture, and the emotional complexity of being both an insider and outsider in your own hometown.

Keywords: Ryann Mason, Liberty University, queer in Appalachia, bisexual in the South, Lynchburg Virginia, LGBTQ Bible Belt, bi erasure, Methodist church, evangelical culture, Pride in Virginia, queer Southern story, Proudly On Record podcast

Remmy (he/him) joins Proudly on Record to share a powerful story of leaving Evangelical/Southern Baptist Christianity, coming out as trans, and finding freedom through secular witchcraft and atheism. Remmy explains what it means to be a secular witch working with energy and intention rather than deities while unpacking the fear-based teachings of the church which includes anti-LGBTQ sermons, purity culture gender roles, rapture/Left Behind anxiety, and “Hell House” scare tactics.

Remmy also talks candidly about living with Tourette’s syndrome and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, the damage caused by being told to “pray it away,” and the reality of medical gaslighting and misdiagnosis in a small-town Bible Belt environment. The conversation centers on chosen family, going no contact for safety when boundaries are ignored, and the healing that comes from finally getting accurate diagnoses, supportive community, and language for your identity.

Remmy ends with a message to his younger self: your involuntary movements and words are not your fault and you deserve care, safety, and peace.

In this episode, we sit down with Heather Hester, an ally, host of 'More Human. More Kind.' and author of 'Parenting with Pride', to talk about what it really means to choose your child over fear.

Heather shares the story of her son coming out in a crisis moment that cracked open her faith, challenged her evangelical upbringing, and launched her into full deconstruction. We talk about unlearning fear-based religion, navigating mental health and online safety, and what allyship actually looks like beyond rainbow T-shirts.

Heather is the kind of mom many queer kids wish they had. The one who listens, does her own work, sets boundaries with family, and says, “When someone tells you who they are, believe them.”

Topics of Discussion:
• Parenting through crisis and self-harm
• Religion, fear, and deconstruction
• Supporting LGBTQ+ teens with real conversations
• Setting boundaries with non-affirming family

Link to Heather’s free guide, Five Ways to Have Real Conversations with Your Queer Teen: https://rebrand.ly/heatherhesterRF

This episode is for parents, allies, and all of us queer kids healing from what we never received.

Joy (she/her) joins us to talk about growing up as a Jehovah’s Witnesses in Appalachia and what happens when a high-control religion isolates you from community, culture, and even your own instincts.

We dig into disfellowshipping, apostacy, and other dirty little Jehovah's Witness secrets. We also talk about bisexuality, religious stigma, family rupture, and what it looks like to stop performing a relationship with a parent who doesn't accept you.

Finally, Joy reflects on reclaiming Appalachia and the long work of unlearning white supremacy and Christian nationalism while still loving the mountains that formed you.

Zoe (she/her), an Episcopalian, theater/music kid, and editor of a college lit journal, shares what it actually felt like to realize she’s asexual and aromantic. It wasn't a dramatic “aha,” moment, but it was noticing the absence of what everyone else seemed to describe.

From thinking attraction was a movie trope to realizing her “crushes” were really about deep conversation and shared interests, Zoe breaks down the difference between libido and attraction, why aromanticism can be harder to define, and how a queerplatonic partnership sounds like the dream.

Together, we talk about the pressure of romance-as-a-milestone, the infantilization and “you just haven’t met the right person” assumptions, and what it means to build a full, satisfying life rooted in friendship, community, and companionship without forcing yourself into a script that doesn’t fit.

If you’ve ever googled “what do romantic feelings feel like,” this one might land.

This episode is for anyone learning safety after survival.

In Part 3 of our relationship mini-series, we talk honestly about something people don’t warn you about enough: healthy relationships can be deeply triggering, not because they’re wrong, but because they’re safe.

When your nervous system has been wired for chaos, peace can feel unsettling. In this conversation, we unpack what it actually looks like to build safety after survival, especially when anxious and avoidant attachment styles collide.

We talk about:

• Why “boring” can actually mean regulated
• Anxious vs avoidant attachment in real-life conflict
• How space + time limits changed the way we fight
• Why conflict can build trust instead of destroying it
• Learning to feel “held but free” in a secure relationship

This isn’t about perfection or doing relationships right.
It’s about repair, self-awareness, and learning how to stay present when your body wants to panic, flee, or fix everything immediately.

If conflict makes your whole system shut down…
If safety feels unfamiliar…
If you’re healing while still very much human, this episode is for you.

We’d love to hear from you:
What’s your attachment style? How do you handle conflict?
Share your experience in the comments.

Kit Sargent (they/them) is the host and creator of the Queer Consciousness podcast, a show built around one deceptively complex question: “What does being queer mean to you?”

Kit shares what it was like growing up in evangelical Christianity (“fundy-light”), being homeschooled, and later walking away from the faith they were raised in. What followed was a full-scale deconstruction.

Kit also speaks candidly about late-diagnosed ADHD (and being “peer-reviewed autistic” by their autistic friends), how neurodivergence shaped their experiences in school and relationships, and what it was like to rebuild community after stepping away from church spaces, eventually finding connection through podcasts and online queer networks.

If you’ve ever felt like you had to earn love by performing the “right” version of yourself, this episode will feel like a loving hand on your shoulder.

We sit down with Shelly Ayers who is a high school counselor, Appalachian writer, and “true mountain child” from Stinking Creek, Tennessee (yes, it’s real). Shelly talks about the deep pull of Appalachia: the clan-like ties to land and kin, the pressure to protect your people, and what it means to tell your truth.

Together, we unpack growing up Pentecostal and all the shouting, speaking in tongues, fear of hell, and lingering “spiritual warfare” wiring that can take years to unlearn. Shelly shares how queerness and deconstruction were inseparable for her: the early prayers not to be gay, the church roles she slowly stepped away from, the years of healing work, and the hard-earned peace of building a life rooted in love instead of fear. We also talk about code-switching accents, chosen family, staying vs. leaving the mountains, and how community can be found anywhere—church pews, bar regulars, tattoo shops, and the people who become home.

If you've ever loved your roots and had to leave to survive...this one's for you.

Rachel (she/her) joins Holy Homo Healing Hour to talk about leaving Mormonism. A lifelong LDS member, Rachel breaks down the everyday realities of Mormon culture: the pressure to perform obedience, the gendered power structure of the priesthood, missions, and the way purity culture shapes adults long after they’re married.

She also unpacks the moment everything shifted in 2015 with the LDS baptism policy that barred children of openly gay parents unless they disavowed their family, and the real harm that followed.

From there, Rachel shares how she became outspoken about LGBTQIA+ education inside the church, built support resources to help queer members and parents, and eventually got pushed out when her focus stayed on safety and love—not “staying on the covenant path.”

We talk about parenting a non-binary child, the church’s more recent trans-exclusionary guidance, and what it looks like to choose your kid (and your integrity) over an institution.

In this Holy Homo Hangout Hour, Kari and Elise continue their relationship mini-series by diving into toxic relationships, especially the subtle, covert kind that makes you feel like you’re losing your mind. They unpack love bombing, hidden emotional manipulation, and the “small” comments and behaviors that slowly chip away at your confidence (until you’re monitoring moods, walking on eggshells, and blaming yourself for everything).

They also talk about why toxic dynamics can feel addictive, how religious conditioning (forgiveness without change, not trusting your gut, “unconditional love”) can keep people stuck, and the big takeaway: when you’re in survival mode, you can’t be your best partner because you’re surviving. This episode focuses on the toxic patterns and the red flags; the healing + safe relationship conversation is coming in the final installment.