In this deeply moving Pride Month episode of Queer Storytime, we center community voices and the power of storytelling to uplift, reflect, and affirm our shared humanity. Host Stevie, shares five personal messages from queer and trans individuals, and their loved ones. Highlighting the resilience, growth, and connection that define our community.

🌈 Featuring messages from:

• Alex – A trans parent of a trans child, sharing a powerful reminder that self-reflection is the most anti-oppressive thing we can do.
• Jackson – A trans man celebrating six years of living as himself, offering a heartfelt message of love and strength for queer and trans youth.
• Jana – A Christian parent whose journey from rejection to unconditional love for her trans son is both sobering and inspiring.
• And more voices affirming that you are not alone.

💬 This episode explores:

• Why inward reflection is essential in the fight against oppression
• The deep need for community support—especially for queer and trans youth
• Stories of transformation, survival, and the power of chosen family
• How allies and parents can show up with love and growth

💖 “If there’s one thing we know to be true—not only presently, but historically—it’s this: We take care of our own.”

✨ Resources Mentioned:

• Listen to Jackson’s full story in Episode 7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1muXT9ORP4c (Feb 2024)
• Listen to Jana’s full story in Episode 9:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=at6ttAS5th0 (May 2024)

• Read the essay: What I Know to Be True as a Queer and Trans Podcast Host (linked in the episode description)
• Mutual Aid: Apply for care or support the cause via the Rainbow Care Fund 2025

🔗 Resources & Links:

• Join the QST Community Group via Patreon (open to non-paying members)
• Support the Rainbow Care Fund on GiveButter
• Read the original blog post at FutureDrStevie.com

📣 Spread the Word, Leave A Review, & Follow QST:

If this episode resonated with you, Stevie encourages you to share it widely! This will also help QST expand to an even bigger audience globally. We would also appreciate you leaving a written/star review to help us build our collective effort to liberate queer and trans people globally.

✨ Join the QST Podcast Community & Get In-Touch:

Looking to see everything happening in our community? Come reach out, connect, and celebrate queer & trans joy together! You can find all QST resources here: https://beacons.ai/qstpodcast

Host: Stevie Inghram, M.S., YT, AWC, NMS-4 (She/They)

🌟 Happy Pride, everyone. May this episode remind you that you are seen, you are held, and you are deeply loved.

Happy Pride to all the dolls, gays, theys, and beyond! We’re celebrating two major milestones in this episode: Pride 2025 coincides with our 25th episode! Host Stevie Inghram takes the mic solo in this heartfelt reflection, offering eight profound truths learned from over a year of powerful conversations with queer and trans guests from around the world.

Based on a widely loved blog post from her new site www.futuredrstevie.com, this episode explores the resilience, wisdom, and beauty within the LGBTQIA+ community and the healing power of storytelling, science, and chosen family.

From our century old fight for survival and the impact of white supremacy on queer existence to the truth that not all queer people can - or should - come out, Stevie’s words are an invitation to deepen our understanding, reframe pride, and commit to a shared vision of healing and liberation.

✨ Key themes include:

• Why queer and trans people simply want to grow old in peace
• The myth that politicians can erase our existence
• How community transforms trauma
• What respect actually looks like
• The importance of allowing queer folks to choose not to come out
• Why your own inner work supports the liberation of others
• The universal possibility of embodying your true self at any age

💖 Plus, two exciting announcements:

1. The launch of a FREE monthly online QST Community Connection group (open to all, including allies!)
2. The debut of the Rainbow Care Fund by Queer Trans Thriving Mutual Aid Collective—a new initiative providing holistic, affirming care for LGBTQIA+ folks through a mutual aid model - https://givebutter.com/rainbowcarefund

Join us for this powerful solo episode that celebrates resistance, joy, healing, and collective care because Pride is about so much more than rainbows.

🎉 Whether you’re out and proud, quietly surviving, or somewhere in between, you belong here in the Queer Story Time Community!

🔗 Resources & Links:

• Join the QST Community Group via Patreon (open to non-paying members)
• Support the Rainbow Care Fund on GiveButter
• Read the original blog post at FutureDrStevie.com

📣 Spread the Word, Leave A Review, & Follow QST:

If this episode resonated with you, Stevie encourages you to share it widely! This will also help QST expand to an even bigger audience globally. We would also appreciate you leaving a written/star review to help us build our collective effort to liberate queer and trans people globally.

✨ Join the QST Podcast Community & Get In-Touch:

Looking to see everything happening in our community? Come reach out, connect, and celebrate queer & trans joy together! You can find all QST resources here: https://beacons.ai/qstpodcast

Host: Stevie Inghram, M.S., YT, AWC, NMS-4 (She/They)

🚨 Content Warning: This episode discusses conversion therapy, religious trauma, and anti-LGBTQ+ practices. Listener discretion is advised.

Beautiful queer & trans fam, thank you for your patience with the release of this episode! Join me for this deeply important episode where we hear from a powerful voice who is a queer survivor, activist, and scholar. Today’s guest, Dr. Lucas Wilson (he/him), shares his experience escaping the grips of evangelical “ex-gay” conversion therapy and his ongoing mission to expose how religion — especially the New Christian Right — harms LGBTQ+ folks.

About Today’s Guest

Dr Lucas Wilson is a Canadian academic, author, and proud survivor of a secretive conversion therapy program at Liberty University. He’s now a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Toronto–Mississauga and an outspoken advocate who brings scholarly activism to the conversation around evangelicalism, queerness, and systemic discrimination. His work shines a light on the many harms inflicted on sexual and gender minorities by religious extremism and works to give voice to those lived experiences — all while fighting back through both academic and creative avenues.

What We Talk About

• Lucas’s journey from evangelical faith to living authentically as a gay man
• His complicated feelings around spirituality, identity, and self-acceptance
• The role of evangelicalism in shaping anti-LGBTQ+ prejudice and discrimination
• The pain, trauma, and erasure experienced by queer folks in religious communities
• The importance of exposing conversion therapy and extremist religious politics
• Advice for queer and trans youth on confidence, community, and self-love
• A call to lawmakers and society to stop legislating against queer and trans lives
• Lucas’s upcoming projects highlighting queer experiences in Christian higher education

Key Takeaways

• Identity is complex; for Lucas, “Jesus” once defined him, but now he finds peace without needing to replace that spirituality.
• Evangelicalism can breed rigid, harmful thinking, but breaking free allows authentic living and greater joy.
• Queerness offers freedom from societal “scripts” — an invitation to create your own path.
• Conversion therapy and anti-LGBTQ+ laws inflict real harm, and those responsible should be held accountable.
• Confidence paired with empathy and community can be life-saving for queer and trans youth.
• Scholarly activism is a powerful tool to expose and dismantle oppressive systems from within.

Guest Links/Resources for Dr. Lucas:

• Instagram: @lukeslamdunkwilson
• BlueSky: @lukeslamdunkwilson
• Threads: @lukeslamdunkwilson
• Twitter: @Wilson_fw
• LinkedIn: Lucas Wilson
• Facebook: Luke Wilson
• Submit Your Story: Lucas is collecting stories of queer experiences from Christian colleges, universities, and seminaries for his next project. Reach out to him via social media if you want to share.

📣 Spread the Word, Leave A Review, & Follow QST:

If this episode resonated with you, Stevie encourages you to share it widely! This will also help QST expand to an even bigger audience globally. We would also appreciate you leaving a written/star review to help us build our collective effort to liberate all queer and trans people globally.

✨ Join the QST Podcast Community & Get In-Touch:

Looking to see everything happening in our community? Come reach out, connect, and celebrate queer & trans joy together! You can find all QST resources here: https://beacons.ai/qstpodcast

Host: Stevie Inghram, M.S., YT, AWC, NMS-4 (She/They)