Coming Out Stories: A New Season of Resilience, Hope, and Love from the LGBTQ+ Community

Sam: 0:05
Goodness me, it's been a beat, hasn't it, emma Goswell?

Emma: 0:12 Do you mean, we've had quite a long hiatus. Is that what you're saying?

Sam: 0:13
That's what I'm saying. It's been a while since we've sat down and had a chat with you, sam and Emma. Here, of course, are coming out stories. Producer Sam. Presenter Emma. We realise it has been a while since we have been in your podcast feed, but we're back.

Emma: 0:27
We are back with the vengeance. Can you believe it is season five of coming out stories which will be launching imminently, and I've had a really fascinating summer just talking to some incredible people from within the LGBTQ community mainly here in the UK.

Sam: 0:44
Sam, I'm really excited to hear some of the new stories that you've collected. I mean, I'm aware of some of them, some of them are new to me, but, as ever, we just really want to try and bring you stories of positivity, of hope, of love from all across the LGBTQ plus spectrum. And you've got some crackers, emma.

Emma: 1:01
Oh, my goodness me, I really have. I mean, some of them are so epic, these stories. I feel like these people should have films made about their lives as well. I've spoken to a gay priest who set up an LGBT rights organisation in Nigeria. Oh my gosh, his own father was working with the government to make it harder for LGBT people. I mean, you just can't imagine, can you?

Sam: 1:26
That's a story and a half, and you're actually also brilliantly, I know spoken to a woman whose book I'm currently reading, the Amazing Juno Roche.

Emma: 1:34
I can't believe what one of the chances that you will actually be reading her book. I'm also reading her book. She's on about her fourth or fifth book. She is a tour de force and again her life story reads like something out of a Hollywood picture. I mean it's a proper rags to riches or real discovery of who your meant to be story you know from a really well, she'll say in her own words, a rough family who you know. I said were you bullied at school because Juno is trans? And they said absolutely not, because no one would mess with my family or my brother. So violence was the answer to everything. Basically, oh my gosh. They went on to become a drug addict, sex worker. They lived with HIV since the end of the 80s, since the beginning of the 90s, and their story to transitioning is really really hard. You know she couldn't even get dentist treatment in the UK because she had HIV at the beginning of the 90s. You know that's. You know there was no scope of transitioning. It was really really really tough for her. But yeah, her story is quite incredible.

Sam: 2:38
Can't wait for you to hear that. And in fact, her latest book, a Working Class Family Ages Badly, is fantastic. Do get that. We'll put the notes for that in this episode. A little link to get that one.

Emma: 2:47
Who are she spoken to Em so interestingly, I think it's really, really important to be speaking to trans people. We've got Juno, of course, and I spoke to a guy called Verity, who's a trans man who works for mermaids, and it's really tragic to speak to Verity and hear how things have gone downhill, how things are going backwards, and it's really interesting. When we started this podcast, I needed to be convinced. I was like oh, it's 2017, it's you know, things aren't that bad for the LGBT community. Well, speaking to Verity, verity is a rugby player who now plays wheelchair rugby. After they were well, interestingly, they were told that they were a danger to cisgender women because they were about to transition, and then it was a cisgender woman that broke her spine and put him in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. So Verity now plays rugby in a wheelchair, but he works for the trans charity mermaids and used to have a job as a sport engagement officer, so he used to help young trans kids get into sport and now has been taken out that role because it is so difficult with all the bands going on in different sports. And actually they said you know, now I just spent my time just looking after trans people and young trans people who were just going through a terrible time, and things are much worse now than they were five years ago, you know. And if we've got our own government, either head of our government, our prime minister in the UK, standing up and saying we shouldn't be bullied into thinking that people can change their gender a man should be a man and a woman should be a woman, is it any wonder that transphobia is rife in this country?

Sam: 4:29
So I think it's really really important more than ever to be telling trans stories like Verity's and like Juno's 100%, and I don't know where you're listening to this podcast from in the world, because we know we do have listeners all over the world. But the UK government, as Emma said, has had some pretty despicable, made some absolutely despicable statements this summer. And I live in the United States of America right now and, of course, we're heading into election year next year, 2024. And goodness me the amount of dog-wassil politics going on around trans rights and LGBTQ plus rights. You know Ron DeSantis is still desperately trying to band drag in Florida. It's the most extraordinarily extraordinary, ridiculous thing at the same time where there are terrible wars going on around the world and so many issues around poverty and around health and health care, especially here in the States. So, yeah, don't be distracted by the politicians desperately trying to lure you away from the real problems, but it is really frightening times and especially really frightening times of the LGBTQ plus community.

Emma: 5:29
It really is. And one of the other things that they've said is that actually, if you want to take asylum in the UK, being gay is not a good enough excuse now, even though there are several countries well over 60 countries in the world where it's illegal to be gay and several countries where it is punishable by death but apparently that's not a good enough excuse to get asylum in the UK. But, very interestingly, one of the other people I spoke to is a lesbian called Luma, who is from Syria and sought asylum in the US because of their sexuality and actually managed to do that. So they have been estranged from their family for quite some time and, you know, living their best life as an out gay person in America now, but actually did seek asylum on the grounds of being gay and is now living in America. So I can't wait for you to hear that story actually, because I think that's a really really fascinating tale of you know, finding a new community in a totally different country, the other side of the world, to everything that you previously knew. So I mean, yet again, some of the people that I've spoken to are just incredibly brave.

Sam: 6:37
So Emma, I can't wait. I'm really excited for this new season. I know you've spoken to some extraordinary people and you know we're talking about difficult subjects here. We're talking about things that are real, challenging life, but, as ever, so grateful to the people who shared their stories, and it's really important to point out that all these stories are filled with so much love, with so much hope, with so much positivity. So we can't wait for you to listen in to season five. And don't forget, our book is still out there, coming out stories. The book is still out there.

Emma: 7:05
And if you're a Welsh, speaker, you can actually now buy the Welsh edition because we've had our first translation. So big thank you to the Welsh government, by the way, who funded that. I think that's just fantastic and let's hope more countries follow suit and follow Wales. You know what else has been fun this season? I've actually, you know, over COVID. I got used to doing all my interviews online, which was great because it opened up the world and I could speak to people all over the planet. But for the first time I've got my old little handheld digital device out and I've gone and sat in people's front rooms and sat on their sofa next to them and looked into their eyes, when you know they've been discussing some really painful memories sometimes and you know it's got quite emotional. But as always, it's just a real honour to be, you know, letting people's homes and into their, their backstories and their hearts and their emotions. It's been a real privilege, I have to say.

Sam: 8:00
Well, look, emma, I can't promise you can pop round with a handheld tape recorder, depending on where you are in the world. She'll do her best. But of course, we always want to hear from you. This is your podcast and these are your stories, and we have met and interviewed some amazing people who've reached out and got in touch with us. So don't think your story is not significant. Don't think your story is not important. Just drop us an email. You can jump on our website, comingoutstoriespodcastcom. That's comingoutstoriespodcastcom. There's a little contact form on there. Get in touch with us, say hello. She might pop round with a handheld recorder. She likes a flapjack. You never know, can you tell?

Emma: 8:38
Oh, thank you, Sam. It's always so lovely having these chats and these cat shops.

Sam: 8:42
I know we need to do it more often, definitely more often. We do so, look. Thank you so so much for listening. We're excited for this brand new season. Tell all your friends about it. Listen back to a couple of other episodes in the meantime and we're going to be back with you with a brand new season five very, very soon. Do you want a flapjack? Shall I bring one over.

Emma:Bloody love one. Thanks, babes.

Sam: I'll pop one in a Jiffy Bag. Look out for it.