43 min listen
Strange Fruit #59: Going Home Gay for the Holidays
FromStrange Fruit
ratings:
Length:
15 minutes
Released:
Dec 23, 2013
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
Even under the best of circumstances, the holidays can be stressful. For some LGBTQ people, Christmas also means deciding whether to go home to a family who doesn't fully embrace them.
This week, we're re-posting a conversation we had around this time last year, with Dr. Stephanie Budge from UofL, who teaches workshops on coping with the holidays as an LGBTQ person.
She said while some families do overtly antagonistic things (like using the wrong pronoun for trans folks, yelling, or refusing to let their LGBTQ family member bring a partner to holiday functions), what she hears about the most is simply ignoring. A person might come out as queer to their family, only for the response to be silence, and an unwillingness to acknowledge their identity.
Dr. Budge gave us some coping strategies we can all use during moments of holiday stress and family conflict, how to take full advantage of your chosen family's love when your family of origin doesn't support you, and how to tell when things are so unhealthy or unsafe it might be better to skip going home altogether.
If you find yourself in crisis mode over the holidays (or any time!): Dr. Budge recommends The Trevor Project's hotline. Their marketing is youth-oriented, but they provide support for LGBTQ folks of any age. You can reach them any time at 1-866-488-7386. Stay safe this holiday season, fruitcakes, and we'll see you in 2013!
This week, we're re-posting a conversation we had around this time last year, with Dr. Stephanie Budge from UofL, who teaches workshops on coping with the holidays as an LGBTQ person.
She said while some families do overtly antagonistic things (like using the wrong pronoun for trans folks, yelling, or refusing to let their LGBTQ family member bring a partner to holiday functions), what she hears about the most is simply ignoring. A person might come out as queer to their family, only for the response to be silence, and an unwillingness to acknowledge their identity.
Dr. Budge gave us some coping strategies we can all use during moments of holiday stress and family conflict, how to take full advantage of your chosen family's love when your family of origin doesn't support you, and how to tell when things are so unhealthy or unsafe it might be better to skip going home altogether.
If you find yourself in crisis mode over the holidays (or any time!): Dr. Budge recommends The Trevor Project's hotline. Their marketing is youth-oriented, but they provide support for LGBTQ folks of any age. You can reach them any time at 1-866-488-7386. Stay safe this holiday season, fruitcakes, and we'll see you in 2013!
Released:
Dec 23, 2013
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (100)
Strange Fruit #31: Urmi Basu of New Light India; Kaitlyn Hunt, Statutory Rape & Queer Relationships: Activism runs in Urmi Basu's family; her grandfather was a doctor who set up a school for _dalit_ children (India's untouchable caste) in his own home. Urmi says her family "always challenged everything that's traditional in India." Thirteen years ago, she combined her passion for gender equality and her background and education in social work—along with 10,000 rupees, or $200—to found [New Light India](http://www.newlightindia.org/). New Light is non-profit organization based in the red light district of Calcutta, intended to help victims of sex trafficking and provide healthcare to people living with HIV/AIDS. With an estimated 40,000 new trafficked sex workers in the city each year, it's no small task. But Urmi is a woman of great determination. She was in Louisville recently and she sat down to talk with us about her work, and how sex trafficking in India is part of the larger globa by Strange Fruit