Excited to launch the second series of Queer & A podcast. Queer & A podcast is a community-oriented educational project aimed at bringing awareness about, and sharing resources to combat, religiously-motivated queerphobia and transphobia.

In Series 1 I interviewed a combination of academics, activists, therapists, and individuals with personal experiences to share from, and we conversed widely about the history and present day experiences of homophobia and the role that religion plays in it.

I loved those conversations. And yet, somewhere in the midst of talking about religion and queerness, I realized something: I didn't only want Queer & A to talk about this topic, I wanted Queer &A's engagement to not only be intellectual but to be creative.

Slowly but surely, the concept of Queer & A sponsoring artists in a virtual artist residency program took shape. Through financially supporting artists in a virtual residency atmosphere, artists spent 8 weeks creating art on the topic of Queerness and Spirituality—broadly defined

In this round of the virtual artist residency, Queer & A was joined by two artists: Naledi Sunstrum and Charley Bouchard. Charley and Naledi joined me in weekly virtual meetings as they worked on their individual artistic projects. Each week, the artists shared updates on their respective projects as they advanced in them. Charley was working on a play and Naledi was working on two songs.In this episode, you’ll meet the artists, hear a little bit about their respective artistic projects, and you’ll also get introduced to the broader themes that the remainder of this Series 2 podcast is going to explore. I’m a qualitative researcher at heart, and I couldn’t help but notice that, in each week we met, I was not only hearing chronological updates about the artists’ projects. Rather, we were also talking broadly about themes related to artistic creation. We talked about writer’s block. What it’s like to collaborate with others. The feeling of sharing your work in progress and the vulnerability that comes with that. How to know when a project is finished — and much moreI began to realize these themes didn’t only apply to the process of creating art—they’re themes that all of us experience throughout our personal lives, work tasks, etc. So in this series, we’re going to explore those themes broadly AND follow along with the artists’ journeys.I cannot wait to share more! Please subscribe to get notified as new episodes release—I’ll aim for 1X a month. And share this podcast with a friend who you think may find the content intriguing.

Permissions:The instrumental of the song “Bones” by OKNaledi is used with permission in the Intro and Outro of this podcast. Check out the full version here. Learn more about OkNaledi’s music by checking out their instagram.

Clips from “Reggae is the Answer (Instrumental)” and “Never be the same again (instrumental)” were freely sourced through my paid membership to Descript platform. They are used throughout the show when Charley and Naledi speak about their work.

There are a few points that became more clear or more profound for me throughout my time on this series, and I wanted to start by recapping them here, and then we'll return to some takeaways from our guests.This episode reviews 5 key points I’ve learned throughout this series, and then gives the mic back to our series one guests. We hear from each of our guests, hearing about what messages they would give to people who weaponize religious against queer individuals, and also to queer folx who have felt religion being weaponized against them.

Here’s the guests we (re)hear from to wrap up this series:

* Introduction to Queer & A podcast project, with Nadya Pohran

* "Spiritual Community for Queer Christians?", with Mike Maeshiro

* "Purity Culture, Religious Trauma, and LGBTQ+ Healing", with Sandra Noble

* "LGBTQ+ Activism: Drag Queen and Eastern Orthodox Christian Theologian", with Nik Jovčić-Sas.

* "LGBTQ+ Asylum Seekers", with Stéfanie Lacroix

* "LGBTQIA+ Healing from the Church?", with Charley Bouchard

* "LGBTQIA+ Youth in Schools", with Mackenzie Kolton

* "Psychedelic therapies, religion, and LGBTQ+ wisdom", with Amy Bartlett

* T"he Queer Interfaith Coalition: Faith-based love and acceptance of 2SLGBTQIA+ folx", with Rabbi Naj and Pam Rocker

* "Queerness in Ancient Christianity: exploring concepts of gender transgression, sexuality vs purity, and heteronormativity", with Lydia Schriemer and Phoebe Hancock

Next, we share exciting news about two expect for Series 2 — Queer & A is launching its virtual artist residency, and we get to hear from artists who are creating art on the topic of queerness and spirituality. So excited for this!

Permissions:The instrumental of the song “Bones” by OKNaledi is used with permission. Check out the full version here.

Summary:

A lot of the Queer & A podcast episodes have looked at queerness in the present day, sometimes looking closely at theological interpretations of biblical passages but still focusing on how these play out and affect people today.

Here I'm excited to look back in time, trying to understand not the various strands of present day Christianity but looking back to early christianity, speaking with Lydia Schriemer and Phoebe Hancock.

In our conversation we talk about gender transgression and how queerness was conceptualized differently in the ancient world than it is today. We also hear about ancient worldviews of sexuality, ideas of procreation as being a way to be holy, and how that influenced and amplified a heteronormative worldview. I love how this conversation helps situate current understandings of sexuality and gender through informing us about ancient Christian understandings of these topics.

Our guests:

1 - Lydia Schriemer is a neurodivergent, lesbian woman, PhD candidate, and part-time professor at the University of Ottawa, researching the origins of modern “Christian” morality as it relates to women, agency, and sexuality. Her graduate research seeks to answer the question, “Why did we, and why do we, treat women the way we do in western society?” Her MA research focused on the early effects of Christianity on women’s roles, rights, and responsibilities, and her current PhD research hones in on women’s legal agency in the Mediterranean world during the period when first Christianity and then Islam became significant socio-political forces. While her research does not focus specifically on queerness, she deals with gender, religion, marginalization, and law, all of which intersect frequently with queer histories.

            Lydia was raised in a fringe Calvinistic church, which some might call a cult. She left at the age of 18 and has been working on deconstructing and rebuilding her worldview, including tackling some serious compulsive heterosexuality. While she’s always known that she was queer, it wasn’t until about 2018 that she realized that she didn’t have to date men. So, she started dating women and, two years later, married Lex, who has since come out as nonbinary (they/them) and is in the process of transitioning. Together they have two cats, Clementine and Cassandra.

            In her spare time (i.e. 9 to 5, Monday to Friday), Lydia works as an archivist at Library and Archives Canada (LAC), where she is also a member of LAC’s LGBTQIA+ Committee.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lydia-schriemer/?originalSubdomain=ca

2 - Phoebe Hancock: My preferred name and pronouns are Phoebe and she/her. I’m a lesbian and a researcher of the history of queer AFAB people and Early Christianity, particularly looking at differences between how Christian men, Pagan man, and queer people saw AFAB queerness in the first 500 years of the Common Era. 

The bulk of my thesis is this: that the idea that a queer woman is a woman who has sex with other women is an invention of Christianity. Prior to Christianity, the idea of a queer woman* (which I define in this period as an AFAB person with non-normative sexual behaviour and gender identity), was based on the actual mechanics of how one has sex. This thinking led to some truly wild writings--the sources I share are often humorous and erotic, written by men who are not totally sure just how sex without a penis functions. 

*The use of ‘woman’ in this context is also something I confront in my research. I tend to use ‘woman’ because that is how the sources refer to them, but the ideas of being lesbian/bisexual/trans/enby in this period are incredibly intertwined.

Permissions:The instrumental of the song “Bones” by OKNaledi is used with permission. Check out the full version here.

In this episode I speak with Rabbi Naj and Pam Rocker. Rabbi Naj is a second-generation Holocaust survivor, a rabbi, as well as a board certified interfaith chaplain and registered social worker and trained mediator. Pam Rocker is an atypical activist, consultant, and writer. From Pride to politics, she advocates for the full inclusion of 2SLGBTQ+ people in every area of society.

The three of us talk about the Queer Interfaith Coalition and the ways it is reclaiming the religious voice from those who have sought to weaponize faith against 2SLGBTQIA+ folks.

Permissions:The instrumental of the song “Bones” by OKNaledi is used with permission. Check out the full version here.Resources (shared by Pam Rocker and Rabbi Naj)1. Open Letter from The Queer Interfaith Coalition

2. https://pieday.ca/

* https://affirmingconnections.com/interfaith-coalition

* https://affirmingconnections.com/draganswers

* https://www.pamrocker.com/

* https://tanenbaum.org/about-us/tanenbaum-resources/shared-visions/

In this episode I speak with psychedelic researcher and community organizer Amy Bartlett. Amy draws on her doctoral research at the University of Ottawa where she explores how psychedelics are used as part of people's healing journey, including for the healing of PTSD, treatment-resistant depression, and other experiences and states. One thing Amy brings to light is the fact that most clinical trials (USA/CAN-based) have not included participants from different identity groups, meaning that 2SLGBTQIA+ folks are notably absent from the clinical trial. If you're familiar with human-cenetered design principles, you know that this means that the needs and unique experiences of queer folks never get designed into the clinical trial process. This is a sad loss for queer folks for many reasons that Amy and I get into. But Amy makes another great point: queer folks are effectively experts when it comes to the ability to embrace multiplicities...which is a sort of fundamental part of the integration process following a psychedelic journey. It's truly a loss that we do not have queer voices shaping the clinical trial experiences.

This isn't just about "queer trauma" it's about queer wisdom.

While Amy and I talk about psychedelic healing and the potential this has for queer folks in particular, we also explore some of ramifications of religion in all this. As we've heard in other episodes, queer people are unfortunately at a higher likelihood to experience religious trauma f, due to the ways that some people weaponize religion against queer people. But thankfully the relationship between religion, queerness, and psychedelic healing isn't all shadows and dark--there's also some "light" there, and Amy and I explore this in our chat together.

Permissions:The instrumental of the song “Bones” by OKNaledi is used with permission. Check out the full version here.

In this episode I speak with Mackenzie Kolton, who is currently the Director of Learning of Egale Canada. Mackenzie is passionate about working in 2SLGBTQI advocacy and education and prior to Egale she was the Manager of Program Innovation at Big Brothers Big Sisters, co-developing Manitoba’s first Queer Lens Mental Health Training and overseeing their 2SLGBTQI department and staff. In this interview, we hear from some of the ways that Mackenzie's time with Big Brothers Big Sisters set her up to focus on concepts like joy and love and capability and inner strength when it comes to developing resources for queer folx.

As a Queer woman, Mackenzie is dedicated to working in collaboration with communities to build innovative programming and curriculum to address intersectional challenges. Mackenzie was awarded CBC’s Proud to Shine award in 2020 and 2021 to honour her work in advocacy and was named in the “Top 100 Fascinating Manitobans” in 2022. In the show, we talk about the current political and educational environment in Canada and the affect this has on 2SLGBTQIA+ youth. We explore topics including transphobia in and out of schools, the resources that exist for students, teachers, and parents/family, what the role of religion is in all of this. You'll hear more about it in the episode, but one of the things we talk about is how core teachings of so many religious traditions (like the call to love and respect others) can be brought into the conversation when we talk about queer acceptance and the acceptance of queer love. We finish the conversation by chatting about what it means to be an ally, and some of the various ways that people can practice allyship in their daily lives.

Permissions:The instrumental of the song “Bones” by OKNaledi is used with permission. Check out the full version here.Additional Resources (Egale)

RESEARCH:

* "Speak Out: Addressing 2SLGBTQ Youth Dating Violence. Lessons on how to support 2SLGBTQ youth who face dating violence in Canada." July 2022. https://egale.ca/awareness/speak-out-addressing-2slgbtq-youth-dating-violence/

* Peter, T., Campbell, C.P., & Taylor, C. (2021). Still in every class in every school: Final report on the second climate survey on homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia in Canadian schools. Key Takeaways. Toronto, ON: Egale Canada Human Rights Trust. https://egale.ca/awareness/still-in-every-class/

* "What 2SLGBTQI Youth in Esports Want" September 2021. https://egale.ca/awareness/esports-report/

* "2SLGBTQI Suicide Prevention Research in Canada: Evidence, Gaps, and Priorities. PHAC Suicide and its Prevention Final Report," October 2021. https://egale.ca/awareness/2slgbtqi-suicide-prevention-research-in-canada-evidence-gaps-and-priorities/

* "Playing “Safe” and Troubling Youth: An Esports Literature Review", June 2021. https://egale.ca/awareness/esports-literature-review/

* "Every Class in Every School: The first national climate survey (2011) on homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia in Canadian schools." 2011. https://egale.ca/awareness/every-class/

* "Guide for the Development of an LGBTQ Youth Suicide Prevention Strategy. Conference Paper: LGBTQ Youth Suicide Prevention Summit" 2012. https://egale.ca/awareness/guide-for-the-development-of-an-lgbtq-youth-suicide-prevention-strategy/

* "Youth Speak Up About Homophobia and Transphobia, The First National Climate Survey on Homophobia in Canadian Schools, Phase One Report."  March 2009. https://egale.ca/awareness/phase1/

RESOURCES:

* Adults Supporting 2SLGBTQI Youth. https://egale.ca/awareness/adults-supporting-2slgbtqi-youth/

* Faith and 2SLGBTQI Youth. https://egale.ca/awareness/faith-and-2slgbtqi-youth/

* Additional Resources: Trans and Nonbinary Youth Webinar.  https://egale.ca/awareness/trans-and-nonbinary-youth-resources/

* Preparing Students for the Transition of a Trans or Gender Diverse Peer. https://egale.ca/awareness/preparing-students/

* Tackling Anti-2SLGBTQI Cyberbullying in Schools. https://egale.ca/awareness/tackling-anti-2slgbtqi-cyberbullying-in-schools/

* What to do when your child comes out to you. https://egale.ca/awareness/what-to-do-when-your-child-comes-out-to-you/

* Draw-The-Line — Against Transphobic Violence in Schools. https://egale.ca/awareness/draw-the-line-atv/ 

* Stuck in quarantine with your homophobic or transphobic family?. https://egale.ca/awareness/stuck-in-quarantine-with-your-homophobic-or-transphobic-family/

* Pronoun Resource for Teachers. https://egale.ca/awareness/pronoun-resource-for-teachers/

* Supporting Your Intersex Child. https://egale.ca/awareness/supporting-your-intersex-child/

* Supporting Your Gender Diverse Child. https://egale.ca/awareness/supporting-gender-diverse-child/

* 10 Faith-Based Reasons to Support 2SLGBTQI-Inclusive Education. https://egale.ca/awareness/10-faith-based-reasons-to-support-lgbtq-inclusive-education/

In this episode I speak with Charley Bouchard. Charley is an athlete, versatile artist, and passionate about volunteering for youth work in the community.  Charley considers themself to be a mystic Christian, ready and open to questioning and discussing big ideas that affect our culture and shape our lives. 

As we talk about their story with queerness and Christianity, Charley shares openly and honestly about the pain they experienced in their mid 20s when they attended an evangelical Christian church. I'll let Charley share their story of pain and rejection because of their queerness, but allow me to set up some broader context. Leading up to this episode, I found myself thinking a lot about the value of anger. In the Christian circles I grew up in, anger is often pushed aside--we're encouraged to forgive rather than to be angry when wrong is done. And, as an adult, I often struggle with feeling my own anger. But I'm learning that anger is an expression of my authenticity, and authenticity, at least for me, is a big component of my own queer identity. I am true to who I am--that includes all parts of me. That includes the angry parts. Anger is different than hatred--being angry with a person or a system does not mean that we wish them ill-will. In Charley's story, you'll hear them speak candidly about the pain they experienced at the hands of Christian leaders in our church, and you'll hear them get on the verge of angry. I hear this authentic anger as a necessary part of the story of moving out of the choking feeling of pain and into forgiveness or healing or beauty or freedom or whatever descriptor feels right for us.

Charley’s highly empathetic approach to their own story is beautiful, authentic, and eye-opening…and I personally love that, although anger is a part of the story, the story does not end with anger but rather with love and joy and acceptance.

Permissions:The instrumental of the song “Bones” by OKNaledi is used with permission. Check out the full version here.The poem “Signs of Welcome” by Lucy Berry was recorded by Lucy Berry and provided to Queer & A with permission. Check out a written version here.

In this episode I speak with Stéfanie Lacroix. Stef is a Staff Attorney in Immigration Equality’s Pro Bono Program. In this role, she represents immigrants seeking asylum and she provides mentorship for over 170 immigration cases placed with law firms nationwide through Immigration Equality’s pro bono program.

In this episode you hear Stef and I speak about the hardships and realities  that LGBTQIA+ people from all over the world face when they are seeking asylum in the United States. We hear about the shifting legal frameworks that have affected the rights of asylum seekers, and have affected the avenues that lawyers have as they work to secure their asylum, but we also hear about some of the human stories of seeking asylum that Stef has worked in throughout her career as a staff attorney.

We also hear about how religion operates in the sort of “background” of the legal system and social structures. It is not always in the front and centre of people’s mind when they seek asylum, nor is religion always an explicit root cause of social injustice or violence that LGBTQ+ people experience. This episode explores that, and more, pertaining to LGBTQ+ asylum seekers.

Resources:www.Immigrationequality.orgwww. Rainbowrailroad.org www.volunteerottawa.ca

Permissions:The instrumental of the song “Bones” by OKNaledi is used with permission. Check out the full version here.

In this interview I speak with Dr. Sandra Noble (PhD, LPC, NCC), who holds a PhD in counsellor education and supervision and a masters in clinical mental health counselling. Sandra is a counselling professor at a grad school in Portland, Oregon and also a licensed professional counsellor in private practice. She’s certified as an eating disorder specialist and a clinical trauma professional, and in the show you’ll hear us talk about her research in embodiment, recovery, and spirituality, and especially how 2SLGBTQ+ individuals experience embodied reactions to the religious traumas of purity culture. In this episode we discuss some of the ways that purity culture (strongly emphasized in evangelical conservative Christian churches and especially to youth) have lasting negative affects on individuals’ sexuality, especially for 2SLGBTQIA+ women and trans people.

One thing to forewarn about: if the topic of eating disorders, and/or being shamed for your sexual desire by authority figures is a sensitive topic for you, I wanted to let you know that you may find some of this content triggering. So a gentle reminder to check in with yourself to see if it’s a good time for you to listen to this kind of content.

Show notes:

Dr. Sandra Noble spoke of a number of resources and concepts related to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).  If you’re interested in learning more about ACT, you can look into the workbook “Get Out Of Your Mind” or any content developed by Dr. Steven Hayes, as well as “Happiness Trap” by Russ Harris. 

To learn more about Sandra’s practice and research or to get in touch, you can contact her via: https://www.georgefox.edu/counseling-programs/faculty/noble.html.

Permissions:The instrumental of the song “Bones” by OKNaledi is used with permission. Check out the full version here.

In this episode I speak with Nik Jovčić-Sas (he/they). Nik is a musician, LGBTQ+ activist, drag queen, and Eastern Orthodox Theologian.  Nik grew up in rural Somerset, England within a Serbian family and attended  King’s College London to study theology, with a particular focus on the intersection of LGBTQ+ relationships and Orthodox Christian Theology and Identity. Nik has published work on this topic, which you can find links to in the show notes. In the show, you’ll hear Nik talk about doing his activism work as both a committed Christian theologian and someone who identifies as queer—some of Nik’s activism in Belgrade has led to them receiving financial lawsuits from the Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church, as well as death threats. 

I recorded this episode with Nik a couple of months ago, before the current upsurge of anti-LGBTQ+ protests across Canada—where I am currently as I record this intro and summary in September 2023. He and I obviously don’t talk about those specific protests, but as I showed up just days ago to counter the anti-LGBTQ protestors in my city, Ottawa, I was reminded of my thought-provoking conversation that Nik and I had. Doing activist work as someone who has committed theological roots within a Christian community is an interesting and important position to be in, and in this conversation Nik provides thought provoking but also reality checks about what it’s like for them to do that kind of work. 

SHOW NOTES

* Read Nik’s academic published work, entitled “The Tradition of Homophobia: Responses to Same-Sex Relationships in Serbian Orthodoxy from the Nineteenth Century to the Present Day.” 

* Watch Nik’s YouTube video about undergoing “an exoricsm to make him straight” when in Moldova. 

* Reach out to Nik and/or learn more about the drag night called WIG that he runs in Bath, UK.

CREDITThe instrumental version of OK Naledi’s song, Bones, is used with permission. Check out the full song here.