Out! And Into Open Arms
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Episode 1
In our first episode, meet our hosts, Jess and Mark. They will introduce you to Jordan and Izy, a fiercely protective dad and his active, brave child.
“And then he just paused and thought for a minute and just looked at me and said, what a brave kid.”
“I jokingly refer to it as the gender adventure, not the gender journey, because we don't know where it goes. And that's OK.”
Episode 2
Jordan has always been artistic and creative, and his mom Karen has always nurtured this. In this episode, hear how Karen nurtured and cared for Jordan as he explored gender identity.
“When I went to a camp when I was younger … like an all girls camp … there was someone there who identified as non-binary, I'm pretty sure. And I thought they were really cool. And I was like, they were really creative and artsy, so I obviously looked up to them.”
Episode 3
In just fourth grade, Gemma is already looking forward to being a karate instructor someday. Gemma’s mom Michelle, wants people to see how happy her daughter is.
“She's crying and she's like, just, just, I'm not a boy. I just don't think I'm a boy. It's just not right. And, you know, my husband just kind of gently asked her, is it that you're not a boy or is it that you're a girl?”
“I've described it as like when you're at the eye doctors, right, and they're putting the lenses down. Like is this one better? Is this one? This one? And like they finally click the right one, the oculus, like, and it's the correct, and like, oh my God, everything just falls into place and … everything looks correct and right.”
Episode 4
When Peter got the lead role in his school play, everything seemed to click into place for him and his mom, Mary.
“He said that he was looking for a sign that he was doing the right thing. And getting that role of Peter Pan meant so much. And he's like, I think that's the sign, Mom. I think that's it. And I was like, yeah, I think you're right.”
Episode 5
Now that you have met all of our families, Jess and Mark highlight how powerful of a role community played in all of these narratives.
“This community does what we do and we showed up for each other. We show up for the people who need us and we show up for our own.”
“ It was really fun to connect with other families who were going through the same things and we just laughed and shared funny stories about things our kids said and did. And I think for us, it was having a sense of community where people don't make assumptions about who you are or what you want.”
Episode 6
School is a big part of every young person’s life. What does support look like when you are going to school while coming out as LGBTQIA+?
“We were fortunate because our school already had a policy in place, and it's a good policy. It was a policy that really centered the safety and comfort of the child in question.”
Episode 7
Sometimes, when LGBTQIA+ young people explore their identity, it can mean trying different pronouns. What does that look like? How can we support them?
“Your child grew up with this name, and now they're using a different name. People have said, do you have a problem with that? And I'm like, no, and that's why you shouldn't either.”
Episode 8
In our final episode, hear what advice our families have for you and the young people in your life.
“We're not doing everything right, but hopefully we're doing the most important things right.”
“I have so much faith in the future because our children are so queer. They have no problem with this. They're much more adaptable to it than we are.”
Jessica Goff
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Mark Belanger
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