(Elena):
Welcome to Out of Queeriosity. Consider us your field guide for queer pride. You will hear from the best of the best in terms of queer business leaders, queer relationship experts, the activists working to protect us all, and everyday LGBTQ+ people that have figured a few things out so you don't have to. Out of Queeriosity is brought to you by the Pride and Joy Foundation. Let’s do this.
We are Out of Queeriosity, the podcast for the Pride and Joy Foundation. And we're so excited today because we are going to do an interview with a parent, which I think is really important. It's one of the things that Pride and Joy Foundation is doing kind of differently than a lot of nonprofits is we're trying to reach out to the parents of our LGBTQ youth to empower them to be the advocates that their child needs them to be. And I think a big part of this is that a lot of our parents of Gen Z are Gen Xers and older millennials, younger Gen Xers or older Gen Xers, either one. And we are ready to be there for our kids.
But we often don't feel like we can, either like we don't have the skills, we don't have the knowledge like we have this great desire to be the kind of parent our kid wants us to be. I think gen Xers and millennials are very much raised that way. However, we were raised with the context, the knowledge, the skills that our LGBTQ children need from us. And so that is what Pride and Joy Foundation is trying to address through the Pride and Joy Parents program. And when I say parents, that's like a really loose term, right? Like that's biological parents, that's foster parents, that's grandparents, that's teachers in the classroom, who spend 30 hours a week with our kids, like, that is everyone who is invested in the healthy well being of a child. Because when we have healthy children, they can grow up to be healthy, functional adults. But if we have damaged and hurt children, it's really a bigger challenge, right, to have not hurt and damaged adults. And we all know those adults in our lives that are still damaged and have a long road of healing to do. And if we can prevent that, right, by empowering the parents that are there with them on their growing up journey, then we're going to have a healthier LGBTQ plus community moving forward into the next generations.
So with that information we have with us Megan Pemberton, she is an old, friend, right? Like from the early days. But someone who has been with our Pride and Joy parents group very much from the beginning and has reached out and we've been able to support one another in a lot of different ways. So let's get a jump into this. As far as our parents are concerned, one thing I really want to talk about is that something recently came up in your school district, Meghan, but I think is coming up in a lot of school districts around the nation. Will you tell us about how that went down?
(Meghan):
So yes, back in January, I came home, I had actually been in hospital. And so my poor nonbinary kiddo, I keep telling them, I said, I hope I react appropriately when you told me what you told me because I think I was still on a lot of medication from being in the hospital, but they came home from school and were just in tears. Absolutely devastated, some child in one of their classes at the local middle school, which is a public school, I don't know if they just discovered my child is non-binary, or if they just decided to bring it up that day, but came up to my child and said, you're queer, right? And my child said, Yeah, I am. And they said, Well, you should just be absolutely ashamed of yourself, you know, you're going to hell, and you should just go home and kill yourself. And I was really shocked.
I didn't quite know how to react other than obvious empathy, empathy in the moment what as a parent I should do in that moment, as far as the school went, obviously, first and foremost, that's making sure my child is okay. And while they were very hurt, they were okay. Second of all, was reaching out to the school. And there is a lovely woman in our district who was my children's principal at the elementary school for several years and now she works as a, I guess, inclusion person within the district. So she had happened to be there on the day this incident occurred and pulled Jax down to the office and they chatted for a while she made sure that everybody was safe. And there was discipline that happened with the child who said those words. And they are not allowed to be nearby my child at all during school. After that happened, I felt inspired to speak to my, I am a very nervous public speaker, that has never been my forte, which is ironic as a theatre person, but you can give me a single song and I'm fine. Talk to a bunch of kids, I'm great. In front of adults, I really struggle.
So I had begun writing what I wanted to say. It had to fit within two minutes, there’s pretty strict parameters at a school board meeting of what you are and allowed or not allowed to say, and how much time you have to present those points. And Elena was amazing in getting on my Google Doc and providing these step by step, critiques, positive critiques, on how I could make my talk to the school board more impactful. So the last school board meeting in January, I got up in front of a bunch of people. And I told my children's story, not just my nonbinary kiddo, and what has been said to them, but also my eldest daughter, who's a lesbian, and who was outed in sixth grade by a classmate, which prompted my daughter to tell my husband and me and the other were a bunch of other kids at the school board meeting, too, that sat behind us. Some of them spoke, some of them spoke beautifully. And some were just there for moral support. But the rainbow flags and their rainbow T shirts and just showing solidarity and it was a really incredible evening. I wouldn't say I felt like a ton has come out of it. But I think that I opened some minds. And I've had some really positive feedback from my students, my children's teachers, from their administrators, and from people in the community that at least know me somewhat. So I think that sharing that experience, and making people aware of what goes on behind closed doors in the schools was super important.
(Elena):
So many questions. First of all, clarify something for me, did you decide okay, this incident just happened and I'm going to the January school board meeting or was there like the January school board meeting was discussing something around LGBTQ already and you were throwing in your voice which one was that?
(Meghan):
So the previous school board meeting which had been I think the day before Jax came home and told me about being accosted at school, they discussed taking down, there is an inclusive group in their school hall called the rainbow Rainbow Alliance. That sounds right. And but their entire purpose is not just for LGBTQ kids, it's for kids of all different races, creeds, religious denominations, and it's essentially a group where the kids are just being kind to one another and coming up with ways that they can include everyone in their school. So anybody that's on the fringes, they can bring them in, help them make a friend help them make a difference within the school. And for some reason, the local school board took issue with that. If you walk through the middle school teachers have on their doors, you know, “I'm a safe adult” stickers on their doors, or they'll have pride flags in their classrooms and those symbols as Okay. So as myself as a theater teacher, I make sure that my kids know that I am a safe person to talk to and in middle school, it's not always that easy to do. So just by doing those simple things: putting a pride flag up a new window, or a “I'm a safe adult” sticker in your window. We know that having one affirming adult-age LGBT child in a child's life makes a world of difference for suicide prevention. Apparently the school board and community members took umbrage to that and decided that the teachers and the school were trying to indoctrinate their children and turn them gay, which is obviously impossible. So it was myself and then several other community members who have gay kids or who themselves are gay that came out to speak at mass at that meeting just to make a point that what they had said at the previous meeting was not going to be accepted and was not an acceptable way to view our children.
(Elena):
Was the diversity club, the rainbow coalition, or whatever that club was,Is that still there? Was it able to maintain this stuff?
(Meghan):
It is. The principal really stood behind it. And I misspoke, it's called the “No Place for Hate Club”
(Elena):
love it.
(Meghan):
So they are still, he posts quotes from them in the emails that he sends out what they're working on that month, what they're focused on as a club within the school. So he has been incredibly supportive of the program and making sure that it continues because they've seen positive things come out of it for our kids.
(Elena):
That's something that I'm seeing more and more, which I think is fascinating is that we have parents and teachers and principals that are like boots on the ground, interacting with our kids every single day, and are seeing the need for inclusivity for safety and belonging. And oftentimes, what I'm hearing from teachers and principals is: we need your training, we need you to come in here and train us and give us this, this LGBTQ lens on inclusion, right? And then I get to the school board and the superintendent, and it is the exact opposite. It is shut down. We are not discussing this, this is too crazy of an issue. This will only cause contention, like they will not even approach the conversation. Whereas their employees are boots on the ground, like I said, are like begging for it. I find it absolutely fascinating. But this is where we're at. How does that make you feel, knowing that this is the group of people that's running your school district?
(Meghan):
Frustrated. One part of speaking to the school district is that they are not allowed to react to what you say, at a school.
(Elena):
Oh, That's one of the rules.
(Meghan):
Yeah. Which I didn't know when I started. And I was really frustrated when I left the meeting, because they could all give closing remarks. But they didn't give closing remarks and anything regarding to anything regarding what was spoken of that evening. And I found that super frustrating. And then one of the gals that was with me was like, well, they're not allowed to they can't, there can't be a back and forth dialogue. It just has to be you present your point they thank you for your point, they take it under consideration. And then perhaps they discuss it in their private work session. I have gotten nothing from any of the school board members whatsoever. They all know my name. They know my information. Nobody has reached out from that particular group. I have not seen any. Yes, I wouldn't say that they have back slid at all. So nothing has changed negatively. But nothing has changed positively either. And I find it frustrating I get that the majority of school board members are also parents, they're members of our communities, right? There are people who volunteer their time for these positions. So on one hand, I greatly appreciate that. On the other hand, I don't know how you can conduct school business and make decisions for students and teachers when you're not in the classroom. When you're not there. When you're not actively involved in what is happening within the schools.
(Elena):
I find it incredibly frustrating after standing up at that meeting and communicating in a really impactful way. Because I saw the video, it was freaking amazing. (Thank you). How did that influence or impact maybe your relationships with your kids your relationship with your husband’s like, what was that experience like and what was the outcome of it interpersonall?
(Meghan):
My kids came with. We left the boys at home they were a little young. But Ella and Jax, our two eldest came with. And were teary when I finished. They said thank you for speaking up. And I think they know too that I recognize that I don't know how much of a difference that made it. But I think it was important for them to see that their parents, because Bob spoke too, so their parents were on their side. Their parents are willing to go on a public forum and speak out for their rights, and not just say, Oh, I'm an ally, and stuff at home and say, Oh, I love you. I'm so sorry, school was hard. I'm so sorry, this isn't working. But both Bob and I are willing to go out and try to do something about it. We're not going to be successful most of the time, probably. But I'm going to put in the effort to make a difference and to continue to learn and to grow and to be a better advocate for them.
(Elena) :
So many of our parents have spouses that are not that supportive, that wouldn't have maybe the confidence, but also like the conviction to be able to speak publicly like that. What was that like for your relationship with your spouse, your partner to both be that visible and that vulnerable? Because that's a big deal.
(Meghan):
I was nervous about it. I, the business that I am a part of is far enough away. We're a good 20 miles away. It's a different school district that financial repercussions weren't going to be bad. But you know, Bob still works for a very conservative company. They're wonderful people, but they're very conservative and I worried about he being disciplined or having some sort of professional repercussion. I did speak to my boss and let her read what I was going to say before I set it into, not necessarily to get her approval, but just to make sure that she didn't think it was going to blow up on us.
(Elena):
Yeah, you run a small business, that's a very valid concern.
(Meghan):
It is. And I- and because it's her money tied up into it- I wanted to make sure that that wasn't there. I think both Bob and I felt grateful that we had the other person there. He's a wonderful public speaker. And like, I think he could do that for a living. Yeah, he could sell, you know, grease to a mechanic, like, he is a very social, very outgoing, very engaging person to speak with, and I am not typically that way. And so having him there, just be like, it's fine. I don't know what you're scared about. It's gonna be great. And then he was shaking and nervous. And I could reassure him, I think that was helpful. And again, our kids seeing a united front, seeing that we are both there that we love them unconditionally, and that we're willing to speak out and support them was huge.
(Elena)
I love that. So did you feel considering the community that you're in? I think there are probably parents listening to this saying like, Okay, what kind of blowback was there? Right? Did it influence any friendships that you have having friendships as an adult is so hard anyways? And it might not be like just the school board meeting, but maybe just having kids who are out in general, how has that affected your life as, as a parent, but as an independent adult living in that community? Right?
(Meghan):
I will say that, I think once Jax came out as non-binary, and I started calling them Jax on Facebook and posting pictures of Jax, with their shaved hair, and their whole amazing vibe, because it's amazing. I've, a lot of people, have unfollowed me on Facebook, a lot of parents that I taught their kids for years, that spotlight didn't bring their kids back or put them in another cast. And while I can't be certain, sure that, that's what causes that, I'm pretty confident I was very nervous when we reopened the theater that I wasn't going to have anybody that would want to join my cast. We also have a non-binary director at the theater and I was very concerned about them. And their parents’ reaction when they knew that this person just introduces themselves by their first name, but it's surprisingly, I'd say overall gone incredibly well. Even people who I never in a million years would have thought would have posted anything supportive, sudden, Wow, way to advocate for your kid way to speak up, like our kids need more people who are willing to show up and practice what they preach and put themselves on the line. So I would say the majority of it was very positive. There were a few news articles that came out that quoted me, I chose not to read the comments from those because I read one or two and then went, No, that's not a good mental health place to be.
(Elena):
Good boundary, good boundary.
(Meghan):
And it's, I don't know those people, so they don't matter. But I would say in general. My friends, my true friends have been very supportive, and very kind. They have taken Jax change of pronouns really well, they've really made an effort to get it right. Even though sometimes they make mistakes. They make that solid, solid effort to get things right. And even, you know, Tracy, who is my very closest friend, we've run two businesses together, her husband is a pastor. And when I first told her that Jax had come out, I didn't know what to do with that, as a parent, it's a hard thing to say. So as a very liberal leaning person, which I have been from my teenage years, I've always had friends that were gay, I grew up in the theater, I have been pro-choice my whole life, even being the human that I am. I would be lying if I didn't say it took me a minute to absorb that my child had a different identity than how I had raised them. And I remember going to Tracy and crying a little and I was like, I don't know what to do. I don't know what this means. I don't know. I don't know if this sticks, which now of it is and it's great and it's wonderful and Jax, I don't think ever saw any of those well, they never saw any of those hangups. But it was nice to have people that I could trust that I could have those “oh crap” moments with, without feeling like they were going to judge me. I had support, we love Jax and we want them to be happy. And this is what's making them happy. So let's do it. And that has been incredible. Because even Tracy's husband was a very conservative pastor, Paul, Jax, and I would say 90% of the time he gets the pronouns right. So, and that has been a hard thing for him. But he is really, really, really made an effort. So I have some pretty awesome people in my life.
(Elena):
I have to say, I think that's one of the best parts of the journey of being either personally, LGBTQ+, or as a parent of an LGBTQ+ person is there's so much anxiety that goes into being visible and being out whether we choose that or whether that is thrust upon us, right. And the amazing thing is realizing you had so much more support than you anticipated.
(Meghan):
Absolutely.
(Elena):
You know, it's funny with social media, because we actually stay in touch with people from our lives like 10,15, 20 years ago, and we knew them then, right? And now we've only known them for the last decade or whatever on the internet. And then when something like this comes out and is public and is visible, and you get the opportunity to hear supportive feedback from them and unconditional support from them. It blows my mind every time because I know you evolved. Though you are shapeable, this kind of unconditional support. That's so cool.
(Meghan):
I love it.
(Elena):
I think that's a really great part of the journey is yes, that some people are going to come out negatively, there's, there's no doubt about that. Right? You're gonna lose some followers, or we're right, some relationships are gonna fade away, that is going to happen. But it seems that these days, often what we feel the most if we're open to it and receiving it is incredible support from places that we never realized.
(Meghan):
Absolutely.
(Elena)
Supportive, Yeah.
(Meghan):
Yeah.
(Elena):
What a cool, cool journey. And I'm so grateful that your friends were there as well. And I think that's one of my favorite parts of our monthly advocacy support group is that parents do need a place to be able to come and say, “I'm feeling some emotion. And I can't show that in front of my kid because I don't even know what it is. So I can't process that in front of them. But I need someone” and it's the other parents that can say “yep”, in there. “We're here for you”. “We know what that's like. It's okay to grieve. It's okay to doubt it's okay to question like, all of those things are okay.” Now, it's not okay to necessarily put all of those, the grief and the doubt and the questions on your kid. Obviously, that's not right. But being able to have a really safe place like you did to be able to process a lot of these new concepts that again, we were not prepared for. And I remember I actually had an Instagram post probably a while ago, and it was one of my biggest ones. And it was a photo of my partner and my daughters in the kitchen baking. It was like at the height of COVID. Right. So it was like sourdough bread and all over the place. And I posted that photo and I talked about how my partner's mom had never thought of her adult life is like this, right? My partner's mom really dreamed of a husband and a house and you know, her own biological children and doing that whole trope. And that's not how it came to be. And I was giving permission for Barbara to be able to grieve that, right? No, you can, that's okay. That's okay. It doesn't bother me, right. I know how amazing my partner is for my girls and vice versa. But I also understand that as a parent, you have these visions of what your child's life is going to look like as an adult. And when it doesn't turn out that way, and it almost never does, it is okay to grieve that vision. And I think the response I got was, it was incredible to me because it was so many people sent that post to their parents and said, It's okay for you to grieve. And then those parents came back to me and were like, thank you because I needed that. Right. And that was just that. I think that was a huge part of why we started that because the support group is that we need those places. We need those places where we can feel that whole spectrum of emotion.
(Meghan):
We absolutely do. In fact, I told, and one of the few things that I have let slip since the kids have come out is, I think it was last weekend said, “You know, I'm sad. I'm never going to get a son- in-law” like, unless my two boys end up being gay. All signs point to “no” at this point, but you never know. At first, I was really, well Bob and my mom have such a wonderful relationship. They go, you know, to being together, they spend a lot of time together. And my relationship with Bob's mom is, is not great. And so I have this fear. And I'm sure, again, being an adult, recognizing that I have this fear, recognizing that I can make choices to do things differently. I hopefully will have a wonderful relationship with all of my daughters-in-law when I have them, but that I did tell my kids and like, that was one little, I'm like, it's the silliest thing. Because I know I'm gonna love my daughter's-in-law, I'm a little sad, I don't get a son-in-law. And they were like, Okay. Like, sucks to be you.
(laughter)
(Elena):
I love Gen Z, their like, that is not my problem.
(Meghan):
And I didn't mean it, you know, to put it on them. But I'm like, I love it. You guys are great. I'm so happy. And like, that's kind of one little piece that out of all the things to be a little bummed about. That one kind of surprised me.
(Elena):
So here, you are integrally involved in a small business in your area that works with kids. And any business that works with kids works with their parents because that's who's paying the tuition bill. Right? Yeah. How would you say your experience as a parent with LGBTQ plus kids has affected your career?
(Meghan) :
I would say that I think I'm lucky that I'm in theater, because I think even in a conservative community, and I would say the majority of our parents that are our clients are still very conservative people. I think when you're involved in theater, or just in general, you have to be a little bit more open-minded. I think there were a lot of parents that were surprised when Jax came out. Although to be fair, that happened during COVID When we were closed, and we have come back, and a lot of my parents now didn't know my child, before they transitioned. I'm pretty open and honest about talking about it, because I don't ever want my kid to feel like they have to keep anything to themselves. I, sure there are things that are said behind closed doors, nothing has been said to my face. And if anything has been said to my business partner, she hasn't shared that. And knowing my business partner, she would just tell them to count sand like she would- she's very supportive and wonderful - and would say that has no effect on how she teaches her classes. Because it doesn't. I'm not teaching politics. I'm teaching theatre. I'm teaching them how to dance and act and sing. And to be a good human. And being a good human means being kind to everybody being inclusive of everybody in your cast, of making sure that everybody has a friend. And you know, that's that's the impact I can have on their kiddos. I'm not trying to certainly I don't wear my you know, Biden - Harris shirt to work, that would be inappropriate.
(Elena):
That would be inappropriate.
(Meghan):
And I don't share my political opinions with my students. And I don't really even share my social opinions with my students other than we love everybody. We're kind to everybody. That's what we do in this building. That's what we do in this business. And if you're not being that way, then we're going to have an issue.
(Elena):
Yeah. This is in such stark contrast to a recent experience I had. So my daughters needed braces, as they do. And so we went, you know, to the nearby place. And I don't know if it's just here, but orthodontics now is like a whole experience. It's, there's like rewards, and there's video games, and it's amazing. (laughter). Okay, it is crazy. Thank you for understanding that. We went and it was very “get to know each other”. And so I let them know what I do. I do inclusion trainings and classes and workshops, etc. And the owners actually reached out to me and said we understand that we're getting more and more LGBTQ kids and we would like to learn more about how we can make sure we're being inclusive and not exclusive. Blew my mind. Excellent. I think so great, up until we actually got together face to face to talk about it.
(Meghan):
Oh, no.
(Elena):
And they very clearly said because part of my program of what I do is that once they complete their inclusion program, they get a safe space sticker that they get to put on their door, right, with the inclusive flag. And then they were like, oh, oh, no, no, no, we want to learn, but we can't like display anything. We're going to lose way too much business if we do that. But what I'm hearing is this contrast of you and Tracy running this small business and saying, yeah, if anyone has a problem with our LGBTQ community members, they can go pound sand. And then on the flip side, I have this experience of a company saying, I mean, we want to be nice to people, but we want we don't want our community to know that we are inclusive. It blew my mind. He even went to the point of saying like, he's a part of a networking group of Orthodontists across the nation. And he brought it up to them before our meeting saying like, Have you guys ever done anything like this? Has it paid off for you? And according to him, the response was, yeah, you might gain a few clients, but you're gonna lose a lot more than you gain. And that blew my mind.
(Meghan):
It's hard not to put my money in places that are doing terrible things to people like my children. It's awful. Feels like there's no victory.
(Elena):
I hear that. And I think that's a great way to wrap up this conversation, is what is a recent victory that you've had as a parent of an LGBTQ child? Is there something that you're like that, that fills my bucket that lets me know that I'm on the right track. As a rainbow parent, I'm trying to think about that for myself as well.
(Meghan):
Our oldest child, our oldest daughter has a girlfriend for the first time. And that was another one of the things that I, It wasn't obviously in any way, shape, or form that I was opposed to it. Not at all. I just genuinely didn't know how I was going to feel when she brought a girl home. I didn't know how I would feel if she had brought a boy home. So it's really no different. And seeing how excited she was to share with us, that she has a girlfriend, somebody that she's lovey-dovey with that she brings her over to her house, and they hold hands and they snuggle, and they have no fear, other than of Bob, making fun of them on occassion.
(laughter)
I don't think they have any fear about being in our home, they're happy to be here. Her girlfriend likes to spend time with us. She chats with us. And Bella has been so much more social since it happened and wants to tell us all about her girlfriend and what they're doing and how she's feeling. And as a mom, particularly of a kiddo who has been pretty closed up, for a really long time. The fact that she's so excited to share with me. And I'm sure most moms of teens can relate right, there comes this point where they just kind of closed down a little bit. They're a little more secretive, and not in a bad way. They just keep themselves to their selves. And they're not. Mom and Dad aren't cool. And they're not excited to share things with mom and dad. And so the fact that we've gotten to the point where she is excited to share has felt like the biggest victory. It's really amazing. I feel like I'm finding discovering another side of her really discovering the person that she is. My husband doesn't get teary-eyed, I can count on, I mean two hands, maybe, but probably one hand in the 25 years that I've known him, how many times he's cried. And this weekend, he got it. Bella’s girlfriend came over and they've gone on a date night before because I just never thought this was going to happen. Because I never thought our child would be the one that's going out on the weekend that has this person that they're so you know, infatuated with that she wants to share with us that she wants her friends to be over at our house that she wants to do all those things. And he was teary and crying because it's been such a long road. And this is incredible. So I know, I think the best thing is just being patient and being there and being supportive and waiting. And hopefully you get that it's not a payoff. We're not doing this so that we can get some sort of reward from our children because pretty awesome payoff.
(Elena):
Yeah, that's amazing. I mean, that's huge. And I really feel that with myself as well, with my four kids, quite a few of them are not the social butterflies. The one you know is right, who would be out every weekend if let her, but the other three are really not. And so, to be able to both accept and embrace that isolation that they put themselves through, as well as hold out hope that as they grow in their social interaction, they will get to know themselves more and we will get to know them. And that connection could grow stronger. And I think that that's such a testament to feeling comfortable to communicate with your parents when you're ready. I mean, regardless of what your relationship is, with your parents, you're gonna have a time of isolation from them. That's going to happen right? But when that time come to an end and you can reconnect and rediscover who they are in a really beautiful, authentic way. Oh, that is the payoff that is, I love it.
(Meghan):
Amazing. Really the best. Probably the happiest I've been in my 16 years of parenting.
(Elena):
Oh, that was inspirational and hopeful and wonderful. Thank you so much, Meghan. This has been lovely.
(Meghan):
Thank you for having me. I always like chatting with you.
(Elena):
Is there any one last thing? Maybe what would you say to the parents that you were two years ago? If you could tell her anything? What would you tell her?
(Meghan):
Don't be afraid. This has nothing to do with you. And your job is to love unconditionally. Learn as much as you can. And be as supportive and vocally supportive as possible. What I said to the school board is something that I've been really working hard to live by is that I won't, I will no longer be content to be an ally. I want to be an advocate for my children. And to me, those are two very separate things, being an ally is being a silent partner, right, saying, I'm here if you need me. But that's about as far as I can get. And being an advocate as somebody who actively goes out trying to make change and make things better for their kids. So when you're ready, advocate, advocate, advocate, advocate! We need more parents, more teachers, more good humans that are advocating for the rights of our children for the rights of the LGBT community at large. And just for humanity, humanity needs some help. So I think that would be the biggest thing.
(Elena):
Thank you Meghan.
(Elena):
Huge thanks to my dear friend Megan for sharing her experience with us. So just yesterday, I facilitated a discussion around one of the most banned books in America right now. The graphic novel slash memoir, Gender Queer by artist and author, Maia Kobabe. In this conversation, we were all LGBTQ+ identifying individuals, no parents folx. I cannot describe how pivotal reading this book was for every single person in the room. Literally life-changing. And a lot of the story centered around how Maia described coming out to her parents and how they responded. Lightbulb moment for me. So our next meeting of Pride and Joy parents is going to be a discussion around this book, taking place on Sunday, May 22, 2022 At 11 am PST. Go to PrideAndJoyParents.com for more details. I can't wait to see you there. Be good to yourselves fam. I appreciate you.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai. Edited by C. 5.16.2021
