Episode 268: Irina Rivkin

Lauren has a beautiful conversation with singer-songwriter Irina Rivkin, who identifies as "a lesbian queer femme dyke with disabilities" as well as ambiamorous, which for her means "my heart is capable of loving more than one person...but also doesn't mean that I *must* be in multiple relationships." Irina's family had to flee Russia in the '70s, and subsequently settled in the U.S. as refugees when Irina and her twin sister were just five years old. But despite being in a safer country, Irina didn't feel safe within her strict, conservative family, where there were "a lot of consequences to non-conformity." As a result, Irina's same-sex attraction didn't really register for her until she went off to UC Berkeley...and suddenly found herself in a progressive environment teeming with eminently-crushable butch women! Irina's coming out story involves *literally* bursting through a closet door, not to mention a queer kissing booth! She also discusses accidentally outing herself to her parents, and graces us with a GORGEOUS live performance of "Ya Eyo Lublu," her self-described "Russian-Jewish-lesbian-émigré-coming-out-love-song," which won the 2003 Outmusic Award for Outsong of the Year!

You can listen to more of Irina's beautiful music (and find out about her virtual performances!) on YouTube at youtube.com/irinarivkin, and on Facebook at facebook.com/IrinaRivkin.