Episode 206: Marginalized Mormon Stories with Kerry Spencer Pray and Jenn Lee Smith

Explicit content warning

07/06/22 • 73 min

Kerry Spencer Pray and Jenn Lee Smith met in Affirmation, an organization for LGBTQIA+ Mormons. Kerry had just realized that she was queer; Jenn had been out for longer, but as an Asian-American, she was struggling with the overwhelming whiteness (not to mention maleness) of the only available queer Mormon spaces. Jenn and Kerry clicked immediately as friends, and Jenn pitched the idea for what would eventually become "I Spoke to You with Silence: Essays from Queer Mormons of Marginalized Genders" (which just sold out during its first week on Amazon!). Kerry and Jenn share the different trajectories their lives have taken since coming out, and we discuss the beauty and freedom of unconventional relationship structures. Plus, Lauren does a live reading of an essay from the book THAT SHE HERSELF IS FEATURED IN! Umm...#FOUNDLAUREN?!
Follow Kerry on Twitter at @swilua and on Instagram at @swilua_, and keep up with Jenn on Instagram via @bewilderfilm (or connect with her on Facebook)! You can purchase "I Spoke to You with Silence" at https://uofupress.lib.utah.edu/i-spoke-to-you-with-silence/ or at your local bookstore (or, yes, FINE; also on Amazon). And find links below to a bunch of the things we discussed during the episode!
Queer Mormon Witches: https://www.qmwproject.com
"Sexual Fluidity: Understanding Women's Love and Desire" by Lisa M. Diamond: https://www.amazon.com/Sexual-Fluidity-Understanding-Womens-Desire/dp/0674032268
"The Dilemma of Desire" (feat. Lisa M. Diamond): https://www.sho.com/titles/3509856/the-dilemma-of-desire
Jenn's short film "Faithful": https://vimeo.com/ondemand/faithfulmormonfilm

Previous Episode

Episode 205: Linda Riley

We're capping off a fantastic Pride Month with the publisher of DIVA, the world's largest LGBTQIA+ magazine for female-identifying and non-binary people! DIVA has been around since 1994, but Linda Riley became the title's first ever lesbian owner in 2015. She shares the story of how she came out to her mother at fifteen and was offered the choice of "psychiatry" (aka electroshock therapy), or leaving home. Linda promptly left home and school, and what followed were years of her finding and building her queer community; not only in her native London, but also in San Francisco during the AIDS crisis. She describes how activism was intertwined with queer social life in the '80s, and how she ultimately ended up in the magazine industry. Plus, Linda talks trans allyship, founding Lesbian Visibility Week, and her Twitter beef with JK Rowling!
Follow DIVA on Twitter and Instagram at @divamagazine, and follow Linda individually on Instagram at @diversityriley, and on Twitter at @lindariley8 (where you can help her fight any future Twitter battles!). Also, as Linda mentioned, DIVA will soon be changing over to a new URL, but for now, check them out and subscribe at https://divamag.co.uk/!

Next Episode

Episode 207: J.P. Der Boghossian

We've got J.P. Der Boghossian (he/they), creator of the Queer Armenian Library and host of the brand new podcast, This Queer Book Saved My Life! J.P. grew up with messaging from his religious Armenian community that AIDS and hate crimes were "divine punishment" for being gay; as a result, he believed well into his twenties that he was going to die young. J.P. walks us through his unexpected brush with mortality, what it means to be a queer Armenian-American, and how he went from never being in a relationship longer than six weeks to becoming part of a polyamorous throuple that's celebrating their eleventh anniversary this year!
(TW: discussion of suicide attempt/ideation)
Follow J.P. on Twitter and Instagram at @jpderboghossian, and make sure you check out the Queer Armenian Library at https://queerarmenianlibrary.com/ (@readtheQAL on Twitter and Insta)! Also, listen to This Queer Book Saved My Life! at https://thisqueerbook.com/ or wherever you get your pods, and follow them on everywhere at @thisqueerbook!