Leading with Empathy featuring Gabriel Novo

Follow our guest Gabriel Novo on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bisexualnomad/

Follow Gabriel  on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BisexualNomad

Gabriel's writing at Unicornzine: https://unicornzine.com/author/gabriel-novo/

Gabriel's Patreon (with photography and more): https://www.patreon.com/bisexualnomad

More links to follow and support Gabriel: https://beacons.page/bisexualnomad

Get ready for a hopeful, optimistic episodes about the casual cruelty of our heteronormative society!

I spoke to my friend Gabriel Novo, aka the "Bisexual Nomad", a Bi+ writer, artist and activist currently living in the UK (and another Birequest alum!). We spoke about bisexual communities we've found (or struggled to find...), how those personal connections helped us go from knowing we "like everyone" to fully embracing a "bisexual" identity, Gabriel's previous marriage to a woman and the difficulties of not being fully out, the "life-changing" mental health benefits of coming out (and the privilege of being able to), the struggle of remaining in the closet at work to protect your livelihood, Gabriel's experience with a cancer diagnosis and treatment and how it related to his queer journey, how to navigate poly relationships and communicate clearly, and the importance of mutual aid and being there to support our chosen queer families.

We also dove into the "casual cruelty of heteronormativity", the harmful constraints of masculinity, the violence resulting from conformity and repression, the difficulty of shaking off expectations (and self-criticism when we play into them), detoxing from being in the closet and from het-masculinity as we become "more" queer, and most importantly the positive benefits of interrogating all those issues, both for ourselves and for our community, as part of a commitment to dismantling patriarchy and white supremacy. It's all possible if we lead with empathy.

Then we answered some listener-submitted questions about masculinity, fear of rejection, being open about our feelings, and media we're consuming with bi themes. So this episode covers... a lot!

AND -- we have a sponsor now! Thank you to MANSCAPED for their support, and check out the episode to hear about our groin-trimming experiences. (Spoiler: smooth balls are actually pretty nice!) Plus get 20% OFF + Free Shipping with promo code TWOBIGUYS at MANSCAPED.com! #ad #manscapedpod

Gabriel will be back next week as a guest-host, so stay tuned!

Two Bi Guys is produced and edited by Rob Cohen

Created by Rob Cohen and Alex Boyd

Logo art by Kaitlin Weinman

Music by Ross Mintzer

We are supported by The Gotham (formerly IFP)