Second Adolescence

This week’s guest is queer, non-binary artist and writer, Nat Urban (they/them), who is currently working on a badass project on queerness and girlhood which you’ll hear them talk about towards then end of this episode. Nat brings such an interesting and important story to this show and I feel so grateful they wanted to let us all into it. You’ll hear them share about their own adolescence in which they stepped into the role as the primary out, loud, and proud queer person in their high school who other queer people started looking up to, but how this was connected to overcompensating for some painful rejection they were experiencing at home and lots of internal struggle. They go on to share about the evolution of their experience in their queerness, their mental health journey, and how stepping into their non-binary identity in the past couple of years has come with another layer of needing to travel through a Second Adolescence. This was such a powerful conversation.

(Just a heads up there is discussion of the topics of depression, suicide, and self-harm, so I invite you to do whatever you might need to take care of yourself as a listener.)

About the guest:
Nat (they/them) is an artist and academic exploring queer experience through a number of mediums. They're a recent graduate of Butler University and just stepping into their life outside of undergrad and discovering their joys and passions in this new space. They're currently working on a project on queerness and girlhood consisting of a multitude of mediums and areas of exploration as well as getting into costuming and custom clothing in Los Angeles.

For more visit www.secondadolescencepod.com or @secondadolescencepod.

Download episode transcript here. 

This week’s guest is Nicole Liv (she/her), host of Late Bloomers Clvb podcast. The Late Bloomers Clvb is a community and podcast for Late Blooming queer folks who identify as having come out later in life and find themselves later blooming into their most true queer selves. I cannot recommend this community and Nicole’s work enough. Today, Nicole sat in the role of guest and offered her own story and journey with us.  She shares what led to her being someone who didn't start to have full awareness of her queerness until being in her thirties, and how so much of her story and healing has involved looking back in her story to see the moments when her queerness was hijacked from her, repressed, and not given space to fully breathe and develop, and how she engaged in undoing all this now. She talks with us about Joy and Grief being the two primary markers of her queer healing journey, and truly invites all of us to more deeply look at our own stories and our own needs for healing and liberation. I friggin loved this conversation and love everything the Late Bloomers Clvb is about and am excited to invite you into it.

About the guest:
Nicole Liv (she/her) identifies as a late blooming lesbian who came out at 34 due to compulsory heterosexuality. She's a podcast host and community facilitator whose mission is to help late blooming queer folks (and all queer folks) cultivate more joy and justice in their lives. For more about the Late Bloomers Clvb, visit www.latebloomersclvb.com or follow @latebloomersclvb.

For more about Second Adolescence, visit www.secondadolescencepod.com or follow @secondadolescencepod.

Download episode transcript here. 

This week’s guest is Christos Papaioannou (he/him). On this episode, Christos shares SO many things representative of the Second Adolescence experience that many of us will likely relate to. We talk everything from Heartstopper and young queer contemporary media, to growing up dealing with and trying to overcompensate for shame, efforts to turn straight, and, finally, those first experiences of queerness that open us up to a whole new world of experiencing. Christos shares about the meaningful first relationship and breakup he had, and the process of finding liberation and freedom in himself and his he exists in the world. There was so many gems in this conversation, I feel so grateful to Christos for sharing his story with us.

About the guest:
Christos is a 40-year old gay man living in London, UK, working as a leadership coach and a consultant for humanitarian organisations. Originally from Athens, Greece, he lived and worked in several countries across Europe, Africa and the Middle East before moving to London. He has lived in the UK for the past eight years, and he considers himself a citizen of the world. He loves connecting with other people, cooking, travelling and going to the cinema; he is active in many social justice and political issues, among others being part of the Board of Mosaic LGBT+ Trust, an organisation that supports LGBTQ+ adolescents in London.

You can learn more about him and his coaching work at www.coaching-labs.com or connect with him on Instagram or Linkedin.

For more, visit www.secondadolescencepod.com or @secondadolescencepod.

Download episode transcript here. 

This week’s guest is José Morales (he/him). José shares with us his experience growing up within a context that ended up being quite oppressive to him and his budding queerness. He shares about having an upbringing marked by a lot of people policing his masculinity and his identity, having the experienced of being told who he was and who he should not be before he himself had a chance to figure this out for himself. He then goes on to share about how all of this influenced the rest of his adolescence and his own path to finding what he experiences now as such queer liberation. I really enjoyed getting to speak with José and hear his story, and I’m so grateful he wants to invite you all into it too.

About the guest:
José Morales (He/Him) grew up in Texas, graduated from LSU with a degree in English Rhetoric, works for the US Post Office and hosts the podcast Jinxler & Professor Strange’s Cortex. You can follow José on IG at: @casa_de_jose.

For more, visit www.secondadolescencepod.com and @secondadolescencepod.

Download episode transcript here. 

This week’s guest is Caleb Irwin (he/him). Caleb came out two years ago at age 33 which marked the beginning of his Second Adolescence. He so generously lets us in to his experience growing up in Australia in a very religious community that viewed being gay as a mental health issue that one needed to heal from, and how he too operated from this belief. He goes on to share what his evolution has been in navigating this belief system and his own identity, to eventually get to the place he is at now. I so loved getting to talk with Caleb, particularly because I felt so much personal resonance with his Second Adolescence experience, everything from feeling stunted in many ways to having the exciting and scary new first experiences, the joys of getting to share such adolescent-like excitement about dating with friends, and so much more. 

About the guest:
Caleb Irwin (He/Him) is a skilled visual communicator and emerging producer. Currently based in Sydney,  Australia, Caleb has a passion to see stories portrayed on screen in a way that leave audiences changed for the better. Working for his church and various international charities, Caleb has been dedicated to bringing people’s stories to the screen and plans to do this in new and beautiful ways as he steps into the film industry. Caleb chases after life experiences that push his creativity; from living in a village monastery, traveling intentionally with no plans, to now completing a Master of Arts Screen: Producing degree at the Australian Film Television and Radio School.  You can connect with Caleb on IG at: @young_master_irwin.

For more, visit www.secondadolescence.com or @secondadolescencepod.

Download episode transcript here. 

This week's guest is Tanaya Joshi (she/her). This was SUCH an incredible and powerful conversation! I am so appreciative for Tanaya coming on to let us into her story. She came out 7 years ago, and now has such a happy ending but had quite a challenging journey getting here. She grew up in Mumbai and then moved over to the US at age 11. Navigating India’s historically very anti-queer beliefs greatly impacted her ability to understand her identity, leading to a delay in making sense of the feelings that were there since adolescence. She shares with us about the confusing experience of having such deep feelings for her female friends during adolescence and how this was not reciprocated. She then shares about her process of finding her identity, falling for her now wife, and then the long journey that coming out has been. What was especially powerful about this conversation was how Tanaya let us all in to some challenging dynamics with her parents she’s had to navigate with regards to acceptance and celebration of her identity. Tanaya was so so generous with her story, I felt so honored and touched to be witness to it and feel so grateful she wants to invite you all into this conversation too. 

About the guest:
Tanaya is a product designer living in San Francisco, CA with her wife. To join Tanaya's Newsletter, visit: https://tanayajoshi.substack.com. If you're interested in connecting with her via email, you can reach her at tanayarjoshi at gmail.com (combine in typical email format, it is written out here to avoid bots)

For more, visit www.secondadolescencepod.com or @secondadolescencepod.

Download episode transcript here. 

Host of the show, Adam James Cohen, shares a mini update about the podcast - we will be having a full new episode next week and then will be taking a summer break, returning with new episodes in September.  Thank you SO much for being a part of this community and these conversations about Second Adolescence!

This week's guest is Finn May (they/he). Finn shares with us about their experience being genderfluid and what their journey has been to understanding and validating their identity and having this validated back to them. He talks about his own experience moving through transphobia and internalized limiting constraints around identity, and what their journey has been to find the joy and healing they experience now.

About the guest:
Finn (they/he) is a genderfluid/transmasc barista living in Maryland with their fiance and chosen family. He loves theater, the beach, and reading. They are a quadruplet and have been described as an 'openly queer poet', and are currently enrolled at Arizona State University. He is hoping to become a therapist specializing in LGBT+ care. You can reach out to Finn on Instagram: @finnwinn98

For more, visit www.secondadolescencepod.com or @secondadolescencepod

Download episode transcript here.

This week’s guest is costume designer, Saawan Tiwari (they/them). They share with us their experience navigating gender and sexuality, as a queer Indian kid born into a body of male sex within a community that was predominantly white and conservative. They share about their little kid self identifying with the label of “tomgirl,” which began their journey of understanding and finding ways to express their true identity. They go on to share about the evolution of making sense of their queerness as they progressed through adolescence, their process coming out, and then navigating queer culture as a non-binary transfem person and the subsequent toxic fetishization directed at them which led to a future need to unlearn an internalized belief of not deserving love. They were so generous with their story and are inviting us all into it.

About the guest:
Saawan Tiwari (they/them) identifies as a non-binary transfem queer Indian American. They are an up and coming costume designer born and raised in California, and currently based in New York City. They obtained their BFA from the University of Michigan in 2020, and have gone on to design for theatres around the country as well as teach for Roundabout Theatre Company among others. Follow Saawan on Instagram @saawantiwari .

For more, visit www.secondadolescencepod.com or @secondadolescencepod.

Download episode transcript here. 

This week's guest is librarian and mental health advocate, Fen Sturniolo (they/them). Before this conversation I knew librarians were incredible but, holy moly, I truly think its going to be queer librarians who are going to save this world because I felt so inspired and invigorated by Fen and the work they do as a teen librarian, first working in schools and now working in the public library. In addition to sharing about their work, Fen invites us all into their journey - their queer journey and their mental health journey. As with many queer people who come out in adulthood, Fen had an experience of having their authentic identity be resisted and repressed for so much of their life. It wasn't until recent years that space was created to embrace the fullness of who they are. Fen shares with us about this and about the liberation that has come with existing as they are now. Their story is so powerful and they were so generous with it by inviting us all in.  Note for the listener: the topics of suicidal ideation and self harm are components of todays conversation so feel free to do what ever you need to care for yourself with this heads up.

About the guest:
Fen (They/Them) is a librarian, passionate about representation in literature and breaking mental health stigma. You can follow them and their work on IG at @fenwickerbasket

For more, visit www.secondadolescencepod.com or @secondadolescencepod

Download the episode transcript here.