What happens when the people who should love you unconditionally make that love contingent on denying your authentic self? Actor Paul Cram takes us behind the curtain of his life journey - from growing up in a large Pentecostal family in the Midwest to finding his voice as an artist and openly queer man.

The conversation explores Paul's acting career, including work with Woody Harrelson and Cillian Murphy, while drawing poignant parallels between performing on screen and performing heteronormativity to survive. Paul shares how religious trauma manifested in his life - from internalized shame to suicidal ideation - and the gradual process of liberation through therapy, community, and intellectual curiosity.

https://paulcramactor.com/

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What happens when a pastor discovers the Bible doesn't actually condemn homosexuality? For Romel Parks-Weekly, this theological revelation changed everything. After founding a traditional church in 2002 while deeply suppressing his own sexuality, Romel's decision to write a book on homosexuality led him down a path of biblical study he hadn't expected.

This episode follows Romel's remarkable journey from a young boy who always knew he was different to a conflicted minister who married a woman despite knowing he was gay to the founder of The Sanctuary Church—a truly affirming space where all are welcome.

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When Dr. Lane Igoudin and his husband Jonathan decided to become parents in early 2000s California, they stepped into a world of uncertainty and prejudice that would challenge them to their core. Dr. Igoudin's memoir, A Family, Maybe: Two Dads, Two Babies, and the Court Cases That Brought Us Together, chronicles how this interracial gay couple navigated the labyrinthine foster care system during pre-equality times, fighting to create a family against daunting odds.

https://laneigoudin.com/

#lgbtq #lgbtqia #gay #gayadoption

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