"I have a Queery about...Queerness and Family" ft. Jimmy Larkin

"How did having a closeted father impact you?" "How do you talk about queerness with your family?" "How do you talk about queerness with kids?" "How can we all be better at normalizing queerness?"

On this episode, I interview Jimmy Larkin (he/him), a fellow actor and creator of the Instagram account "Let's Heart It For The Choice" which is sweeping musical theatre accounts across the nation. When Jimmy was younger, he was cast in the show Falsettos, a musical that centers a family dealing with a father who's a newly out gay man. It was at this same time Jimmy noticed his own father was hiding something and that there might be a reason his father loved coming to see the show every night. Jimmy and I discuss what it was like having a closeted father growing up and the shame he felt was passed on to him from his father. He says how it was apparent while he was coming out because he was living in a much freer and accepting world when his father was not able to. It wasn't until recently that Jimmy felt it was time to share his father's story with his family and others not just to finally free himself and his father of his secret, but also to continue to destigmatize being gay and the shame that surrounds it. Jimmy also works with kids regularly and shares how it is imperative for him to to teach kids and in turn their parents about queerness, the importance of identifying yourself, and being an ally to those who might be different from what they are taught is "the norm."

We also discuss:

Gay shame and the expectations of what being Gay isWhy the struggle to talk about our personal lives is the last bit of shame Queer people hold on toThe importance of listening to kids and asking them who and what they want to be as opposed to telling themWhat can parents do to keep their children safe but not squash their method of self-expression Gendering toysAnd...Best Christmas gifts that might not have been "boy gifts"

Follow Jimmy and Let's Heart It For The Choice:
Jimmy: https://www.instagram.com/jimmylarkin/
LHIFTC: https://www.instagram.com/letshearitforthechoice/

Southern Fried Queer Pride:
Learn: http://www.southernfriedqueerpride.com/our-vision
Donate: http://www.southernfriedqueerpride.com/donate

Resources for Further Learning:
Pride and Pronouns--Talking with Kids about Pronouns and Gender: http://www.genderwheel.com/pride-and-pronouns/
How to Talk to Kids About Gender: https://www.parents.com/kids/how-to-talk-to-kids-about-gender/

Show Produced by Nick Eibler

Edited by Addison McKissack

Theme Song written by Matt Gregory, Colin Egan, and Mike Hubbard 
Produced by Colin Egan and Mike Hubbard

Logo Design by David Pavón