This episode is sponsored by Rebecca Minor, LICSW (she/her). For more information about her parent and caregiver coaching, please visit: https://www.genderspecialist.com/coaching

In this week’s episode, Richard Follett (he/him) shares how each of his intersections has shaped a portion of who he is and that while some of them may seem at odds with each other, that's not the case for him. Learn about how he knew he was gay at the age of four but found himself trying to "pray away the gay" and entered into a heterosexual marriage. We also discuss how the Metropolitan Community Church helped him to "marry" his sexuality and Christianity. Richard recalls several times people assumed he was straight/heterosexual because of myths and misconceptions people have about gay men and how he pushed for equality in his teachings with his students and colleagues throughout his career. There's also some storytelling related to his relationship with Charlie.

💻 Sources and resources from this episode:

• It Gets Better Prof. Richard Follett - YouTube video
• It Gets Better Project
• Metropolitan Community Church (MCC)
• Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles
• National Coming Out Day is October 11th every year and you can find a list of more LGBTQ+ awareness events on Chris Angel’s GSI website
• California Courts - Proposition 8
• Los Angeles Times - When Gavin Newsom issued marriage licenses in San Francisco, his party was furious. Now, it’s a campaign ad
• Britannica - Obergefell v. Hodges
• IMDB - Making Love film
• HRC - What is a lavender ceremony?

Host Charlie Ocean, MSW (they/them), has a background in LGBTQ+ training, community organizing, and technology. Guest episodes feature at least one allyship tip, including tailored questions based on the guests' unique intersecting identities. You can follow Charlie on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Substack. *You will hear Charlie's former name in this episode and previous ones.*