Merry Christmas my beautiful friends.

You asked: “Help! My family isn’t accepting of my sexuality. They won’t let me bring my girlfriend home either, which makes me not want to go home for Christmas. Any tips?”

So Sean reached out to his queer brain's trust to get their advice on how you can navigate the holiday season when your family doesn't accept your gender, sexuality, pronouns, partner or the way you dress.

What do you do when someone uses your deadname? How do you answer when someone asks about your girlfriend (but you're gay)? Is it ever okay to skip family Christmas entirely?

The holidays can be hard but we've got you ❤️

Get in touch with us on Instagram: @comeoutwhereveryouare

Email us: comeouttous@gmail.com

I started this podcast to learn more about the LGBTQIA+ community.

I felt like I had a pretty good grasp on the 'G' but I didn't know as much about the L, or B or QTIA+

Over the course of almost 50 interviews I've become a better father, husband, friend, ally and advocate for the community.

This is what I've learned ❤️

Also just a heads up - this is the final episode of this season.

But you can always stay in touch with me on Instagram @seanszeps

What this podcast has taught me

Can you have sex with someone of the same gender and not have it define your life or even your sexuality?

Rob 'Millsy' Mills thinks you can.

Rob came out about having a threesome with Shane Jenek (aka Courtney Act) to normalise the conversation about sexual fluidity among men.

Sean speaks with Rob about growing up with speculation over his sexuality simply because he was in the performing arts, why he decided to share the story about Courtney, how he told his partner about it, and what kind of future he wants for men exploring their sexuality.

Follow Rob on Instagram: @robmillsymills

Check out Rob's book 'Putting On A Show: Manhood, Mates and Mental Health' https://affirmpress.com.au/publishing/putting-on-a-show/

Follow us on Instagram: @comeoutwhereveryouare

Email us: comeouttous@gmail.com

If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you:

QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat

Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace

"You've had sex with MEN!?" Rob Mills on masculinity, fluidity and *that* night with Courtney Act

Your cheat sheet to surviving family Christmas as a queer person

Jesse is a queer, non-binary actor and performer. They learned to sing, and fell in love with performance, in the Pentecostal Church as a kid and after school they studied songwriting for two years at Hillsong College.

Jesse knew they were queer all that time but knew they couldn't come out and live authentically if they wanted to remain in the church.

Jesse opens up to Sean about attempting to "pray the gay away", coming out via Facebook before they told their parents, and why they still miss church in spite of everything that's happened.

Follow Jesse on Instagram: @jessedutlow

See Jesse in '& Juliet' next year: https://andjuliet.com.au/

Jesse recommends the book 'UnClobber: Rethinking Our Misuse of the Bible on Homosexuality Paperback' by Colby Martin

Follow us on Instagram: @comeoutwhereveryouare

Email us: comeouttous@gmail.com

If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you:

QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat

Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace

Jesse Dutlow was kicked out of church for being queer

Robyn Lambird is a non-binary athlete and the first out non-binary Paralympian to win a medal at the Games.

Impressive, right?

So why are people so obsessed with asking them how they have sex or if being non-binary is all a big experiment?

In today's Queer Question, I ask Robyn the most inappropriate questions they get about sexuality, gender, disability and relationships, to find out if these questions are ever okay to ask, and what's a better alternative.

Follow Robyn on Instagram @robynlambird

Check out the post that inspired this episode https://www.instagram.com/p/CfyhScfAdLt/

"Are you sure it's not a phase?" and other inappropriate questions with Robyn Lambird

Ellia knew he was different before he ever had the language to describe how he felt.

He knew he was different when he was winning gold for Australia at the 2016 Rio Olympics in the women's Rugby 7's team.

But Ellia had a job to do. He had to represent his country, support his family, and fulfil a dream he'd had since he was a kid.

It wasn't until Ellia retired from professional sport in 2021, and with the support of his partner Vanessa, that he had the time to comprehend the feelings he'd had since childhood and research what he could do to affirm his gender.

Ellia sits down with Sean to share about his childhood sporting dreams and the athletes he looked up to, coming out as a trans man to his family in Fiji and his teammates post surgery, and why he didn't come out sooner.

Follow Ellia on Instagram: @elliagreen

Follow us on Instagram: @comeoutwhereveryouare

Email us: comeouttous@gmail.com

If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you:

QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat

Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace

Ellia Green is living in the body he's meant to be in

Today's Queer Question comes from you!

You asked: how is bisexuality not transphobic and/or erasing to non-binary people?

And we brought in friend of the podcast, non-binary content creator, actor, DJ and trainer, Kath Ebbs, to chat it through.

Follow Kath on Instagram @kathebbs

Listen to Kath's episode of Come Out Wherever You Are here https://link.chtbl.com/VtsaNurs

Is it transphobic to call yourself bisexual?

Where's the line between gender, sexuality and self-expression?

Jack dresses to feel good. Some days that means wearing a crop top and heels and he's no less of a man for doing so.

But when Jack recently posted a photo of himself wearing a crop top, he lost followers.

Jack sits down with Sean to explore why he thinks it happened, as well as coming out in the national spotlight, finding comfort in religion and dealing with constant (mostly unwanted) attention on the way he looks.

Follow Jack on Instagram: @jack.vidgen

Jack has a new track called 'Solo' https://open.spotify.com/track/5nwzyHrmtHFNHPZBauEXk5? 

Follow us on Instagram: @comeoutwhereveryouare

Email us: comeouttous@gmail.com

If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you:

QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat

Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace

If it makes Jack Vidgen feel hot, he'll wear it

This one's for the parents.

Every week you guys will DM me saying "my child has come out as gay or lesbian or trans or non-binary or "I don't know what I am but I feel different", what do I do!?"

And every week, I reply with advice and resources and reassurance that it's all going to be okay, for your and for your child.

So for this week's Queer Question, I take it out of the DMs, and into the podcast to help you.

My kid came out to me...what do I do?

From the HIV/AIDS epidemic, to marriage equality, to the current treatment of gay refugees in Australia, Dennis Altman has been there for all of it.

He is a writer, an academic, Vice Chancellor's Fellow and Professorial Fellow in the Institute for Human Security at LaTrobe University in Melbourne.

His first book 'Homosexual: Oppression and Liberation' is considered THE definitive text on the gay liberation movement. In his subsequent books he tackles sexuality, politics, the relationship between Australia and the United States and HIV/AIDS.

In this far-reaching chat, Sean & Dennis discuss Dennis' experience of living in the USA when AIDS first emerged, Australia's treatment of LGBTQIA+ refugees, the commercialisation of Mardi Gras, his thoughts on marriage and Heartbreak High.

Dennis' most recent books are:

'Unrequited Love: Diary of an Accidental Activist' https://publishing.monash.edu/product/unrequited-love/

'God Save The Queen: the strange persistence of monarchies' https://scribepublications.com.au/books-authors/books/god-save-the-queen-9781922310569

Follow us on Instagram: @comeoutwhereveryouare

Email us: comeouttous@gmail.com

Dennis Altman shaped the gay liberation movement in Australia & USA

Last week Melbourne United basketball player, Isaac Humphries, came out as gay. This makes him the only openly gay male player in a top tier men's basketball team.

In an emotional video posted to Humphries' Instagram, he shared that coming to terms with his sexuality forced him into a very dark and lonely place.

"I hated it about myself. I was disgusted at myself. I thought that I could not be that person within our environment, within a basketball environment," he said.

The news made headlines around the world, but left some people asking: do we care more about male athletes coming out than female athletes who do the exact same thing. And if so, why?

In this week's Queer Question, Sean asks (and hopefully answers) that very Queer Question!

Watch the video on Isaac's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/Ck_5tLThTfs/

Get in touch with us on Instagram: @comeoutwhereveryouare

Email us: comeouttous@gmail.com

Isaac Humphries & caring about male athletes coming out

Who's the person behind the hair and makeup?

Carla From Bankstown is one of Australia's most recognisable characters, but growing up as a flamboyant boy in Bankstown, Ben was asked to change himself so he wouldn't be a target for bullies.

Ben sits down with Sean to share about growing up different, the unwavering support he's received from his parents, using Carla as a chance to play around with gender and sexuality and coming out on to the whole country on Celebrity Apprentice.

Follow Carla on Instagram: @carlafrombankstown

Listen to Carla's podcast 'OMG BRO' https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/omg-bro/id1630051393

Follow us on Instagram: @comeoutwhereveryouare

Email us: comeouttous@gmail.com

If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you:

QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat

Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace

Carla from Bankstown is Ben from Bankstown too

Eminem has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

He's the second-best selling male artist in US history, having sold over 220 million records worldwide and winning 15 Grammys and an Academy Award.

Does he deserve to be there? Yes!

But is it a problem that the lyrics of some of his most popular songs are not at all subtle in their homophobia? Also yes!

In today's Queer Question, Sean asks: does homophobia stop you from being successful?

Get in touch with us on Instagram: @comeoutwhereveryouare

Email us: comeouttous@gmail.com

Eminem: talented, homophobic and Hall of Fame worthy?

Being gay is fundamental to who Tom Ballard is. His life, his career and his politics are all because he's gay, not in spite of it.

Tom is one of Australia's most well-known and beloved comedians. From RAW Comedy, to triple j Breakfast, to Tonightly, Tom Ballard has been a mainstay in Australian media and comedy for more than a decade.

Tom sits down with Sean to chat gay jokes, finding community, self-deprecating humour and how he's learned to love being gay.

Tom has a book coming out! It's called 'I, Millennial: One Snowflake's Screed Against Boomers, Billionaires and Everything Else'.

Follow Tom on Instagram: @tomcballard

Check out his book https://www.simonandschuster.com.au/books/I-Millennial/Tom-Ballard/9781761100635

Head along to his Melbourne book launch https://www.readings.com.au/events/tom-ballard-in-conversation

Follow us on Instagram: @comeoutwhereveryouare

Email us: comeouttous@gmail.com

If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you:

QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat

Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace

Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 for 24-hour crisis support

Tom Ballard loves being gay

"i’m bi. congrats for forcing an 18 year old to out himself. i think some of you missed the point of the show. bye"

After being driven off Twitter following accusations of 'queerbaiting', 18-year-old Heartstopper actor, Kit Connor, returned to the platform last week to make this announcement.

His coming out forced us to ask questions about what queerbaiting actually is and if any one of us have a right to know a celebrity's sexuality (hint...we don't).

It's a juicy Queer Questions today my friends.

Read Kit's original tweet https://twitter.com/kit_connor/status/1587218539236188160

Kit O'Connor & Madonna have been accused of queerbaiting. Why does it matter?

What can sex work teach you about your sexuality? Why don't more women hire sex workers? Are straight people more judgemental of sex workers than queer people?

Tilly Lawless is a queer sex worker, a writer and the host of the latest season of the podcast 'Tall Tales & True' where she shares 7 sex workers' stories. Tilly identifies as queer and started sleeping with women in her teen years. She started sex work after realising how easy it was to sleep with men.

Tilly sits down with Sean to discuss her queer education on Tumblr, the differences she notices between how queer people and straight people engage in sexual relationships, deciding when to come out to her clients, and the time she was hired by a pregnant women.

Listen to this one with headphones.

Follow Tilly on Instagram: @tilly_lawless

Listen to the latest season of Tales Tall & True https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/talltalesandtrue

Tilly recommends you start with Chantell's episode https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/talltalesandtrue/chantell-martin-becoming-herself/101389990

Follow us on Instagram: @comeoutwhereveryouare

Email us: comeouttous@gmail.com

If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you:

QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat

Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace

Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 for 24-hour crisis support

Queer sex worker Tilly Lawless is still learning about sex

'Love This For You' is the debut book from beloved friend of the podcast Deni Todorović.

Deni was the first ever guest on Come Out Wherever You Are. They shared their story of coming out twice: first as gay and then as non-binary. And now it's our turn to return the favour by telling you, our lovely listeners, about their book.

'Love This For You' is a powerful combination of self-development guide and memoir with practical activities to help you better understand yourself and rewrite your own rules.

Deni opens up to Sean about the time their parents spotted them wearing a dress as a kid, how they've become more comfortable wearing a dress than jeans, hiding their queerness behind masks and body image pressures that persist regardless of gender.

Follow Deni on Instagram: @stylebydeni

Buy Deni's book where all good books are sold https://www.panterapress.com.au/product/love-this-for-you/

Get in touch with us on Instagram: @comeoutwhereveryouare

Email us: comeouttous@gmail.com

Deni Todorović is rewriting the rules on fashion, gender & fitting in

James Parr was diagnosed with cancer a week after he came out.

At the same time that James was exploring himself as an out, bisexual man, he was also figuring out what his life would look like if he lost a limb.

Now James takes pride in his disability and he will challenge anyone who tries to pity him or tell him that his life is "sad".

James shares with Sean about running away from home as a kid, coming to terms with his sexuality in a hyper-masculine regional town, how he's gained confidence in his disability, and how he weeds out the men on Grindr who want to get to know him...and the men who want to fetishise him.

Follow James on Instagram: @_jamesparr

Follow us on Instagram: @comeoutwhereveryouare

Email us: comeouttous@gmail.com

If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you:

QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat

Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace

Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 for 24-hour crisis support

"My life's not sad" - James Parr on losing a limb and what men on Grindr say when you have one leg

It's Gay Christmas! 🎄🎃

To celebrate, Sean sits down with Sandy McIntyre to ask:

Why are queer people so obsessed with Halloween? Where did the term "Gay Christmas" come from? Is it easier to wear a dress on Halloween? What if I'm a man and I wear a dress on Halloween...and I like it?

And Sean & Sandy reveal what they'll be wearing this Halloween 👀

Follow Sandy on Instagram: @sandymcintyre

Get in touch with us on Instagram: @comeoutwhereveryouare

Email us: comeouttous@gmail.com

Why do queers love Halloween?

Today is Intersex Awareness Day!

It's no secret that intersex is one of the less represented and understood letters of the LGBTQIA+ alphabet, so this Intersex Awareness Day we've decided to bring in the big guns to ensure that all of us are a little bit more informed.

Sean sits down with Cody Smith, Senior Projects Officer at Intersex Human Rights Australia to help answer all of your questions.

If you wanted to know what intersex means, how common it is, if surgeries are currently legal in Australia, how it's different from being transgender, the appropriate language to use when talking to someone who is intersex, when parents should tell their children that they are intersex and if parents should tell their kids about surgeries performed after birth, then this is the episode for you.

Follow Intersex Human Rights Australia: @intersexaus

Read the Darlington Statement here: https://ihra.org.au/darlington-statement/#:~:text=We%20recognise%20that%20the%20stigmatisation,accessing%20of%20services%20including%20healthcare.

Follow us on Instagram: @comeoutwhereveryouare

Email us: comeouttous@gmail.com

If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you:

QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat

Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace

Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 for 24-hour crisis support

An Intersex Q&A with Cody Smith

Bros is the first gay rom-com ever made by a major studio AND the first movie at a major studio to star and be written by an openly gay man.

It's fun, it's flirty, it's camp and it's a very big deal.

Sean sits down with the stars of Bros, Billy Eichner & Luke Macfarlane, to talk about: including kids in gay love stories, portraying queer love and sex on a mainstream screen, an alternative opening line on Grindr to "hey what's up", and which Aussies they'd like to share a rom-com moment with.

Bros is out in Australian cinemas from October 27th.

Stay up to date with Bros on Instagram: @brosthemovie

Get in touch with us on Instagram: @comeoutwhereveryouare

Email us: comeouttous@gmail.com

Billy Eichner & Luke Macfarlane: the first gay Hollywood love story 🌈❤️

Casey Dellacqua has always had her eyes on the prize. She wanted to be a world-class tennis player and represent her country in the Olympics one day.

What she didn't want, was to be a poster girl for queer athletes around the world. She wanted it to be, justifiably, about her tennis.

But then, the media noticed she was playing less even though she was ranked very high. They started to ask questions.

The reason? She was at home with her partner, Amanda, who was pregnant with their first son. Casey was too excited to keep that information to herself, so she came out publicly for the first time with the whole tennis world watching.

Most of the press was extremely positive. Support poured in from around the world. But Margaret Court decided to write a letter in the newspaper lamenting a "fatherless generation" in response.

And although Casey never intended to be a spokesperson for the LGBTQIA+ community, she stood up for herself and her family and has since become a powerful advocate for queer athletes and parents around the world.

Follow Casey on Instagram: @caseydellacqua

Follow us on Instagram: @comeoutwhereveryouare

Email us: comeouttous@gmail.com

If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you:

QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat

Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace

Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 for 24-hour crisis support

Casey Dellacqua didn't want to be a queer tennis poster girl

Not top, not bottom, not verse, but side.

Why does it matter? What does a side actually do? And is sex still sex without penetration?

It's ya weekly Queer Question* from Sean Szeps' brain to your ears.

*headphones recommended

Join in the conversation on Instagram: @comeoutwhereveryouare

Ask us your Queer Questions: comeouttous@gmail.com

If you want more information:

Read Joe Kort's article about sides here: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/guys-on-the-side-looking-beyond-gay-tops-and-bottoms_b_3082484?guccounter=1

If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you:

QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat

Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace

Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 for 24-hour crisis support

Grindr has added a new sexual position option: side

Should gay actors be hired to play gay roles?

Since coming out in his 30's, Mathew's acting has improved and he's gotten more work.

But despite his best efforts to play a variety of gay & straight roles, Matthew is still mostly cast as the gay character.

When he misses out, the role will go to a straight actor. And he's been keeping the receipts.

Matthew sits down with Sean to discuss: whose responsibility is it to create opportunities for LGBTQIA+ actors? What will a more diverse entertainment industry actually look like? And what do parents say when they find out the Play School host they watch every day...is gay?

Follow Matthew on Instagram: @matthewbacker

Follow us on Instagram: @comeoutwhereveryouare

Email us: comeouttous@gmail.com

If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you:

QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat

Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace

Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 for 24-hour crisis support

"There's receipts" - Matthew Backer on being typecast as the 'gay actor'

The moment Milo Hartill realised she might like women was during a Halle Berry movie.

And she's never felt bad about it.

Milo's story is a modern coming out masterpiece: pride, acceptance, joy.

But other people make assumptions based on Milo's sexuality simply because she is fat, black and "different".

Sean & Milo get into it in this one: fatphobia, racism, body diversity, being a token, why bisexuals have it harder than others in the queer community, having a parent who doesn't accept your sexuality and which Halle Berry movie changed Milo forever.

Follow Milo on Instagram: @milohartill

Follow us on Instagram: @comeoutwhereveryouare

Email us: comeouttous@gmail.com

If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you:

QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat

Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace

Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 for 24-hour crisis support

"I'm so lucky I get to be this person" - Milo Hartill loves being queer

The kids' TV show Peppa Pig has introduced a lesbian couple.

For some people, it's a long time coming.

For others (cough cough the religious right) it's another sign that kids are being indoctrinated with a gay agenda.

What's the big deal? What responsibility do parents have to introduce their kids to queer content? What responsibility do TV shows have to represent the world they exist in?

Sean answers it all in today's ✨ Queer Question ✨

Join in the conversation on Instagram: @comeoutwhereveryouare

Ask us your Queer Questions: comeouttous@gmail.com

If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you:

QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat

Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace

Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 for 24-hour crisis support

Peppa Pig...an unlikely queer ally?

We speak about the HIV/AIDS epidemic a lot like it's a mythical, historical event and not something that happened verrrrry recently.

David Bradford is a retired sexual health physician who was the Director of the Melbourne Communicable Diseases Centre when the first cases of HIV appeared in Melbourne in 1983.

David's story starts in 1941 in a religious family in the Blue Mountains and spans the Vietnam War, living, working & finding community in London, falling in love in Sydney, creating a life with his partner Michael in Melbourne, and specialising in STIs and HIV/AIDS in Melbourne and Cairns.

His story is, as you'll quickly learn, essential listening.

Learn more about David's story at the 'Defending with Pride' exhibition at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne: https://www.shrine.org.au/defending-pride

Read David's books:

https://publishing.monash.edu/product/tell-me-i-m-okay/

https://www.penguin.com.au/books/the-gunners-doctor-9781742747491

Follow us on Instagram: @comeoutwhereveryouare

Email us: comeouttous@gmail.com

If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you:

QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat

Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace

Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 for 24-hour crisis support

How David Bradford tackled the Vietnam War and AIDS

Today is Celebrate Bisexuality Day.

I don't need to tell you that bisexuals get the shit end of the stick in the LGBTQIA+ community.

They're the butt of the joke, stigmatised, fetishised, made fun of and not taken seriously.

And I've been a part of it.

So this Bi Week, I wanted to say I'm sorry.

Join in the conversation on Instagram: @comeoutwhereveryouare

Ask us your Queer Questions: comeouttous@gmail.com

Learn more about the Pew Research Centre studies

https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2013/06/13/a-survey-of-lgbt-americans/

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/06/18/bisexual-adults-are-far-less-likely-than-gay-men-and-lesbians-to-be-out-to-the-people-in-their-lives/

If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you:

QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat

Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace

Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 for 24-hour crisis support

Dear bisexuals: I’m sorry

Art Simone has forged their own path in the drag world. These days you'll find her on tour for RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under, but she has been perfecting her craft since high school.

And it's all been possible thanks to the support (and a healthy dose of skepticism) from their Mum.

Sean sits down with Art to find out: do you need to "come out" as a drag queen? Do drag queens just want to be women? And how do you tell your Mum that you want to drop out of uni to become a full-time drag queen?

Follow Art on Instagram: @rtist_

Follow us on Instagram: @comeoutwhereveryouare

Email us: comeouttous@gmail.com

If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you:

QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat

Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace

Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 for 24-hour crisis support

"Mum's my everything" - the woman behind drag queen Art Simone

Last week the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference’s published 'Created and Loved: A guide for Catholic schools on identity and gender'.

It's a 12-page guide for principals, teachers and parish priests about how to work with young people in respect to their identity and gender.

The Catholic Church + advice on gender = a very anxious Sean.

We've read the guide so you don't have to.

What's it all about? Should I be worried? What can parents do to support their kids in Catholic schools?

Listen and find out.

Join in the conversation on Instagram: @comeoutwhereveryouare

Ask us your Queer Questions: comeouttous@gmail.com

Read the guide here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1X11WeuMYfHeyMwVmMQMivzMZUnI6rOQQ/view

Scroll back in your podcast feed to hear our episode with Christian Hull from March 2022

If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you:

QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat

Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace

Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 for 24-hour crisis support

What's the Catholic Church up to now?

"We should be allowed to succeed and win”

When Rudy Jean Rigg was at the height of their competitive badminton career, they made the decision to affirm their gender and transition.

For Rudy, playing competitive sport and being trans sadly couldn't co-exist at the same time. At least not a few years ago.

But what if they could now?

In this riveting episode, Sean speaks with queer, non-binary, trans-masculine legend Rudy Jean Rigg about the future they want for transgender people in sport.

We cover a LOT in these 45 minutes: autism, growing up in *the* badminton family in Victoria and why it's not good enough to tell trans people to just go and play with other trans people.

Follow Rudy on Instagram: @rudyjeanrigg

Watch Rudy's Rainbow History Class: https://www.tiktok.com/@rainbowhistoryclass

Watch TransAthletica: https://www.tiktok.com/@transathletica.series 

Follow us on Instagram: @comeoutwhereveryouare

Email us: comeouttous@gmail.com

If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you:

QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat

Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace

Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 for 24-hour crisis support

Rudy Jean Rigg on trans acceptance in sport

It's our very first Ask Me Anything episode. And we're doing it with our non-binary hero, Sandy McIntyre.

We start off easy: What's the difference between non-binary, gender non-conforming and genderqueer? Does everyone use they/them pronouns? Should I choose gender-neutral names for my kids?

And then we turn up the heat and throw in some 🌶 spicy 🌶 questions!  

Is calling yourself non-binary just a phase young people are doing to rebel? Can't you just remain a man and wear a dress? Is it harder to be gay or non-binary?

Follow Sandy on Instagram: @sandymcintyre_ and @queerful_

Follow us on Instagram: @comeoutwhereveryouare

Email us: comeouttous@gmail.com

If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you:

QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat

Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace

Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 for 24-hour crisis support

Can you be non-binary and straight? with Sandy McIntyre

Imagine you're a young girl dreaming of serving in the Australian Army. Then, it becomes your reality. You have your dream job now. And a few years into your service, you fall in love with one of your colleagues. Harmless, really. Except... it's the 1970's. And that colleague is another woman.

This was the reality for Yvonne Sillett who served in the Corps of Signals in the Australian Army for 10 years before she was forced out due to her sexuality.

On today's episode, Yvonne talks with Sean about keeping her sexuality a secret, the day she learned she would have to leave the army and her current advocacy work which brought her to testify at the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide. Her mission? Get an apology from the Albanese government.

Yvonne is the President of the Discharged LGBTI Veterans' Association. Find out more: https://dlvainfo.com/about/

Learn more about Yvonne's story at the 'Defending with Pride' exhibition at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne: https://www.shrine.org.au/defending-pride

Yvonne was interviewed for the book 'Pride in Defence' https://www.mup.com.au/books/pride-in-defence-paperback-softback

Follow us on Instagram: @comeoutwhereveryouare

Email us: comeouttous@gmail.com

If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you:

Open Arms provides free 24-hour counselling for veterans and their families. Their number is 1800 011 046

QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat

Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace

Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 for 24-hour crisis support

Yvonne Sillett was forced out of the army for being a lesbian

If you're a woman who's in a relationship with a woman, people call you a lesbian. If you're a woman who dates men and women, people call you bisexual.

But what if you don't feel like either?

Trainer, podcast host and former beach sprinting Junior World Champion, Katie Williams, came out with her girlfriend Georgia in 2021. But even though she's a woman in a relationship with another woman, she doesn't want your labels.

Katie sits down with Sean to share about exploring her sexuality in secret, the pressure to open up about her sexuality after she appeared on Big Brother Australia, how her family reacted when she came out in her late 20s, and how she responds when people ask her, "so how do you have sex?"

Follow Katie on Instagram: @katiewilliams

Follow us on Instagram: @comeoutwhereveryouare

Email us: comeouttous@gmail.com

If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you:

QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat

Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace

Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 for 24-hour crisis support

Don't put Katie Williams in a box

We're taking a little break to record new episodes and we want to hear from you!

Is there someone you want to hear from in the next season of Come Out Wherever You Are?

Slide into our DMs on Instagram @comeoutwhereveryou are or email us at comeouttous@gmail.com.

Chat soon 💙

New episodes coming soon! 🌈

What happens when everyone in your life totally supports you coming out?

It never occurred to comedian and content creator, Samantha Andrew, that being queer could be a bad thing, because everyone in her life loved and supported her so strongly.

But regardless of how proud you are to be queer, the rest of the world can still be homophobic towards you, which Samantha discovered when she started exploring her sexuality.

In this episode, Samantha shares with host Sean Szeps about finding comfort and community in high school theatre, how homophobia can appear when you least expect it and how her own sexuality has changed since falling in love with her partner Cody, who's a transgender man, after only dating women.

If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you:

QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat

Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace

Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 for 24-hour crisis support

If you want to be a part of the Come Out Wherever You Are community, you can follow us on Instagram:

@comeoutwhereveryouare

@seanszeps

@samanthandrew on Instagram & @samanthandrew1 on TikTok

There's nothing funny about Samantha Andrew's coming out story

Intersex is the 'I' in the LGBTQIA+ alphabet. It's estimated that there are more intersex people in the world than people with red hair but it's one of the most misunderstood parts of the community.

Mari Wrobi is an intersex educator and advocate based in Sacramento, California. They discovered they were intersex in their late teens after they'd already come out as trans years earlier. Since discovering they were intersex, Mari has devoted themselves to educating people within and outside the LGBTQIA+ community about what it means to be intersex.

In this episode, Mari shares with host Sean Szeps about how they found out they were intersex, why it's not uncommon to learn that you're intersex later in life, common misconceptions about intersex folks and whether Mari feels welcomed by the larger queer community.

If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you:

QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat

Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace

Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 for 24-hour crisis support

If you want to be a part of the Come Out Wherever You Are community, you can follow us on Instagram:

@comeoutwhereveryouare

@seanszeps

@genderfenderbender

What does it mean to be intersex? with Mari Wrobi

Coming out isn't always easy but being gay can be a source of pride and joy for so many in the LGBTQIA+ community.

Louis Hanson is one of Australia's most well-known and beloved queer content creators but growing up, he knew gay = bad. To convince others he was straight, he forced himself to abandon any hobbies or traits that would give him away as gay.

In this episode, Louis shares with host Sean Szeps about how he hid himself as a teenager, living through a 'second adolescence' after high school, how the shame of suppression manifested in binge drinking (and the night that forced him to get help) and how he's learned to love being gay.

If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you:

QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat

Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace

Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 for 24-hour crisis support

If you want to be a part of the Come Out Wherever You Are community, you can follow us on Instagram:

@comeoutwhereveryouare

@seanszeps

@louishanson

Louis Hanson loves being gay

Almost everyone in Liam Cooper's life found out he was bisexual when he was outed on Married At First Sight Australia.

Liam was open to producers about being bisexual before appearing on the show, but he expected to come out on his own terms, not forced to come out at his own wedding ceremony to his brand new wife Georgia.

Since leaving the show, Liam has started a relationship with fellow MAFS contestant Samuel Levi and now he cops criticism that he's "been gay all along" from people who don't believe in bisexuality.

In this episode, Liam shares with host Sean Szeps about the relief of discovering bisexuality in his early 20's, why he didn't tell anyone he was bisexual before going on MAFS (and how they reacted when they found out) and the stigma towards bisexual men vs bisexual women.

If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you:

QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat

Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace

Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 for 24-hour crisis support

If you want to be a part of the Come Out Wherever You Are community, you can follow us on Instagram:

@comeoutwhereveryouare

@seanszeps

@lcoop_13

Liam Cooper was outed as bisexual on national TV

What does it take to be an advocate for your community?

In January, students at Brisbane's Citipointe Christian College were forced to sign homophobic and transphobic contracts as a condition of their enrolment. When comedian Christian Hull found out, he asked his audience to sign a petition asking the school to withdraw the contract and he unintentionally became the spokesperson for the campaign.

Christian received thousands of messages over the course of a few days and was interviewed by news outlets across Australia and the world.

The contract was withdrawn but the impact on Christian was intense.

In this episode, Christian shares with host Sean Szeps about why he stood up for Citipointe students when he didn't grow up in a religious environment, the fallout of his advocacy and second-hand trauma and what parents can do to support their queer kids.

If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you:

QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat

Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace

Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 for 24-hour crisis support

If you want to be a part of the Come Out Wherever You Are community, you can follow us on Instagram:

@comeoutwhereveryouare

@seanszeps

@christianhull

"Never again" - Christian Hull on becoming an accidental advocate

Coming out to your religious family is hard. Going to conversion therapy and then not speaking to them for 10 years is even harder.

Rod Jones, one part of the famous Australian Amazing Race duo Tim & Rod, came out to his family in high school. He was raised in a staunch Christian environment, where being gay was a sin that landed you in Hell, so it wasn't a complete shock that he was sent to conversation therapy. 

But when therapy didn't work, Rod had to come out again years later at 21. This time, when his parents didn’t accept him again, he cut them off for the next decade.

In this episode, Rod talks with host Sean Szeps about the steps he took to try and convince himself (and others) that he was straight, his religious upbringing, his nightly prayers and self-harm, meeting his husband Tim and how his family has built a respectful relationship in spite of everything they've been through together.

If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you:

QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat

Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace

Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 for 24-hour crisis support

If you want to be a part of the Come Out Wherever You Are community, you can follow us on Instagram:

@comeoutwhereveryouare

@seanszeps

@rodsattlerjones & @timandrod

Rod Jones went to conversion therapy

If you know you're different, but you don't want anyone else to notice, what do you do? When Kath Ebbs was growing up and coming to terms with their sexuality and gender, they used homophobia and transphobia as a defence to try and convince others they were straight.

Kath grew up in a Catholic house and school. They didn't know what the LGBT acronym stood for but they did know when they made out with their female friends at parties, they liked it. They also knew it was wrong.

In this episode, Kath shares with Sean about what scared them so much about being a lesbian, dating a trans person and coming out as non-binary after practicing transphobia as a teenager and how religion taught them to be more compassionate in their activism.

If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you:

QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat

Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace

Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 for 24-hour crisis support

If you want to be a part of the Come Out Wherever You Are community, you can follow us on Instagram:

@comeoutwhereveryouare

@seanszeps

@kathebbs

Kath Ebbs used homophobia as a defence before coming out

Is going back in the closet and hiding your full self always a bad thing?

At various times in Khanh Ong's life, he's been forced to change his personality to fit in. As a teenager at a new school and even during his first season of Masterchef, Khanh acted as the type of gay man he thought he "should" be. Though it may sound sad, this self-awareness and ability to mould himself to different environments has given Khanh opportunities he might've missed out on, which assisted him in dominating on Survivor Australia: Blood V Water.

In this episode, Khanh sits down with Sean Szeps to talk about going in and out of the closet, losing his Dad to cancer before coming out to him, whether he thinks his sister and fellow Survivor contestant, Amy, is living in his shadow and how TikTok is teaching him to be more expressive.

If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you:

QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat

Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace

Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 for 24-hour crisis support

If you want to be a part of the Come Out Wherever You Are community, you can follow us on Instagram:

@comeoutwhereveryouare

@seanszeps

@khanhong

Going back in the closet taught Khanh Ong survival skills

We asked YOU to submit questions for a Lesbian-themed Ask Me Anything. You did, we vetted them and now we're sitting down with actor and creator, Emma Horn, who will do her best to answer them all for you - no matter how spicy (and slightly offensive) they get.

We ease into it: How do I know if I'm a lesbian? How can I ask a colleague if she's a lesbian? Can I still be a lesbian if I don't like rock climbing?

And then we turn up the heat: Who's the man in the relationship? Why is society more comfortable with lesbians than gay men? And everyone's (least) favourite question...how do lesbians have sex?

Follow Emma on Instagram: @emmahornnn and on TikTok: @emmahorn

Follow us on Instagram: @comeoutwhereveryouare

Email us: comeouttous@gmail.com

If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you:

QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat

Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace

Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 for 24-hour crisis support

"Stop asking lesbians how they have sex" - AMA with Emma Horn

How do you put a label on a sexuality that doesn't have a name? 

Allira Potter is a manifestation and spiritual coach and author. Allira was married to a man in her early 20's but has dated both men and women since separating from her husband in her late 20's. To people who don't get it, Allira says she is bisexual, but to everyone else, she says she is attracted to peoples' energy. 

In this episode, Allira shares with Sean about exploring her sexuality in her late 20's when everyone expected her to have it figured out, responding to people who demand she label her sexuality and why she started using they/them pronouns. 

If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you:

QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat

Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace

Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 for 24-hour crisis support

If you want to be a part of the Come Out Wherever You Are community, you can follow us on Instagram:

@comeoutwhereveryouare

@seanszeps

@allira.potter

Allira Potter is attracted to energy not gender

If you spend most of your time with other queer people, do you ever need to come out? 

Millie Poutama has dated women since she was a teenager but doesn't think she should have to come out. Millie believes queer people come out for the benefit of straight people, so by surrounding herself with an open and supportive queer community, she doesn't feel the need to label herself. 

But Millie also acknowledges that not needing to come out is a privilege that not everyone in the LGBQTIA+ community can get away with. 

In this episode Millie shares with Sean about her 'straight passing privilege' which means she has to come out less than others, how she found women to date without coming out, her IVF and pregnancy journey with her wife Jessie and the different ways she is forced to come out in everyday life. 

If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you:

QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat

Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace

Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 for 24-hour crisis support

If you want to be a part of the Come Out Wherever You Are community, you can follow us on Instagram:

@comeoutwhereveryouare

@seanszeps

@jessi_and_millie

Millie Poutama doesn't believe in coming out

If you grow up in a religious family who believed being gay made you sick, where would you find the confidence to come out?

Jeff van de Zandt is a Melbourne-based, Dutch-Filipino content creator and creative art director. These days Jeff is one of Australia's most popular TikTok creators, but when Jeff was growing up in Canberra in the 90's, there was one gay nightclub in the city and the only gay people he knew were his sister's housemates, who he would only see when his family travelled to Sydney. 

In this episode, Jeff shares with Sean about growing up in a religious family where the knowledge that being gay wasn't right was never far from his mind, finding unexpected support from his family and overcoming the internalised homophobia he's struggled with since he was a kid.

If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you:

QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat

Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace

Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 for 24-hour crisis support

If you want to be a part of the Come Out Wherever You Are community, you can follow us on Instagram:

@comeoutwhereveryouare

@seanszeps

@jjzandt

Jeff van de Zandt went to church twice a week before coming out as gay

Who gets to decide if you're queer 'enough' to use the label?

Abbie Chatfield came out publicly as bisexual in 2020 and came out as queer earlier this year. Despite publicly sharing stories of her sexual experiences with women, Abbie is regularly told she's not queer enough to use the label because she's never been in relationship with a woman.

In this episode, Abbie sits down with Sean to discuss why it's easier for her to date men, the pressure of figuring out her sexuality with the whole country watching and the struggle to find women to date who aren't fans of her podcast.

If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you:

QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat

Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace

Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 for 24-hour crisis support

If you want to be a part of the Come Out Wherever You Are community, you can follow us on Instagram:

@comeoutwhereveryouare

@seanszeps

@abbiechatfield

Hear more from Abbie on her podcast It's A Lot

Abbie Chatfield is still queer even if she never dates a woman

What does it take to try and find love on national television, not just once, but three times?

Brooke Blurton made TV history this year when she became the world's first openly bisexual Bachelorette. Not only was she representing the LGBTQIA+ community, but she also had the pressure of being the world's first Indigenous Bachelorette too. If that sounds like a lot of pressure...it is! 

In this episode, Brooke shares with Sean about carrying the expectations of the different communities she represents, balancing the pressure for television ratings versus starting important conversations, becoming an accidental advocate and gaining confidence through owning her truth.

If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you:

QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat

Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace

Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 for 24-hour crisis support

If you want to be a part of the Come Out Wherever You Are community, you can follow us on Instagram:

@comeoutwhereveryouare

@seanszeps

@brooke.blurton

There's more to Brooke Blurton than what you see on TV

When you come out as gay, how long do you have to wait until you can expect other people to be okay with it?

Matt Hey is @alrighthey, TikTok superstar, drag queen and Australia's biggest glamazon. Matt has known he was gay since he was three years old but he didn’t come out until high school when he started to feel confident in his sexuality. Through coming out, Matt has learned to practice patience and compassion with people who take time to understand and accept his sexuality.

In this episode, Matt shares with Sean about trying on different sexualities before landing on gay, unintentionally coming out to his Dad after a homophobic attack in high school landed him in hospital, finding a community through drag and why he has no preferred pronouns.

If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you:

QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat

Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace

Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 for 24-hour crisis support

If you want to be a part of the Come Out Wherever You Are community, you can follow us on Instagram:

@comeoutwhereveryouare

@seanszeps

@alrighthey

Matt Hey (@alrighthey) is confident with himself…even when others aren’t

If you're transgender and people don't know, do you need to tell them?

After decades of the media portraying transgender people in a negative light, AJ Clementine is part of a new generation of young Australian transgender content creators changing that narrative. By sharing her transition journey and her life as a young model and advocate, AJ and her friends are showing the world just how beautiful their lived experience can be.

In this episode, AJ sits down with Sean to talk about the moment she first learned about transitioning thanks to the German singer-songwriter Kim Petras. They speak about socially transitioning during high school, the medical transitioning process after puberty and how she successfully navigated online dating as a trans woman.

If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you:

QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat

Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace

Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 for 24-hour crisis support

If you want to be a part of the Come Out Wherever You Are community, you can follow us on Instagram:

@comeoutwhereveryouare

@seanszeps

@ajclementine

Courtney's memoir 'Girl, Transcending: Becoming the woman I was born to be' is out now

Email us at comeouttous@gmail.com

AJ Clementine is helping change the transgender narrative one TikTok at a time

If you're a drag queen...where does the performance end and real life start?

Courtney Act is Australia's most well-known drag queen, a singer, author and TV presenter. Underneath the hair and makeup, Courtney is Shane Jenek.

Performing as Courtney Act has given Shane permission to explore his gender and challenge what we think about masculinity. 

In this episode Shane shares with Sean about growing up in Brisbane in the 80s, what happened when he texted "I am gay" to his Mum, exploring his sexuality at Sydney’s gay nightclubs and experimenting with gender and masculinity under the cover of drag.

If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you:

QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat

Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace

Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 for 24-hour crisis support

If you want to be a part of the Come Out Wherever You Are community, you can follow us on Instagram:

@comeoutwhereveryouare

@seanszeps

@courtneyact

Courtney's debut memoir 'Caught In The Act' is out now 

Email us at comeouttous@gmail.com

Shane Jenek explores his gender as drag queen Courtney Act

Does everyone need to give their sexuality a label? 

Josh Szeps is a journalist and broadcaster who has been coming out regularly from the early 2000s to, well, yesterday.

Josh had been in relationships with men and women prior to meeting and marrying Sean. Although they're married, Josh doesn't call himself gay. In fact, he doesn't call himself anything. 

In this episode Josh and Sean discuss why Josh avoids labelling his sexuality, coming out to each other throughout the course of their relationship and why Josh has to come out more than Sean.

If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you:

QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat

Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace

Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 for 24-hour crisis support

If you want to be a part of the Come Out Wherever You Are community, you can follow us on Instagram:

@comeoutwhereveryouare

@seanszeps

@joshszeps

Or email us at comeouttous@gmail.com

Josh Szeps is married to a man…but he’s not gay

How do you have relationships if you're not interested in having sex with your partner?

David Jay is an asexual advocate and founder of the Asexual Visibility & Education Network (AVEN) who last came out to a colleague.

Growing up, David watched his friends develop crushes and get into relationships and he waited for the desire to do the same. When these feelings never materialised, David began to imagine what his life would look like if he lived openly as an asexual person.

He founded the Asexual Visibility & Education Network in the early days of the internet to find other people like him and since then AVEN has grown into the world's largest asexual community. 

In this episode David shares what it meant to describe himself as asexual before proper descriptions of asexuality existed, untangling other people's ideas around relationships and intimacy and how he's raising his daughter alongside two co-parents.

If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you:

QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat

Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace

Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 for 24-hour crisis support

What does it mean to be asexual? Find out more here https://www.minus18.org.au/articles/what-does-it-mean-to-be-asexual

https://www.asexuality.org/ 

If you want to be a part of the Come Out Wherever You Are community, you can follow us on Instagram:

@comeoutwhereveryouare

@seanszeps

@davidgljay

“What is asexuality?” with David Jay

What do you if your gender doesn't match the body you were born into?

Grace Hyland is a content creator who last came out on TikTok when she posted a photo of herself as a kid before she'd started transitioning. 

Grace was 4 years old when she realised she was born into the wrong body. She discovered a world of trans content creators on YouTube who helped her come to terms with her identity before she came out and began transitioning in her early teens.

Now Grace is creating a space online where other young trans people (and their allies) can learn more about her story and educate themselves on the reality of being transgender.

In this episode Grace shares with Sean about coming out to her family as a teenager, how she feels when people ask her questions about medically transitioning and finding (and creating) a community online.

If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you:

QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat

Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace

Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 for 24-hour crisis support

Wanna learn more about supporting a trans person in your life? Check out Minus 18's Trans Awareness Week resources: https://www.minus18.org.au/articles/trans-awareness-week-digital-resources

If you want to be a part of the Come Out Wherever You Are community, you can follow us on Instagram:

@comeoutwhereveryouare

@seanszeps

@grace.hylandd

Grace Hyland was born in the wrong body

What do you do when you report the news and your rights are being debated in the news?

Patricia Karvelas is one of Australia's most well known journalists who last came out to a sales assistant who incorrectly assumed she was shopping for her husband.

When Patricia started coming out as a young person, people told her she'd be in for a "hard life". But as she's grown up, Patricia has seen Australian society change to become a place where her family is surrounded by a supportive and accepting community, she is comfortable being her full self at work and where marriage equality is legal.

In this episode Patricia shares with Sean about dabbling as a butch lesbian (before realising she could be herself and still be a lesbian), coming out around her kids and navigating the 2017 marriage equality postal vote both as a journalist and a queer woman.

If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you:

QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat

Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace

Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 for 24-hour crisis support

If you want to be a part of the Come Out Wherever You Are community, you can follow us on Instagram:

@comeoutwhereveryouare

@seanszeps

@patskarvelas

Patricia Karvelas reported on marriage equality as a queer woman

Are all coming out stories... bad? Not this one.

Jacob Stanley is the co-host of Australia's number one entertainment podcast Just The Gist. 

Growing up, everyone in Jacob's life told him he was gay, so it didn't surprise anyone when he began coming out during high school and in his early 20's. But despite coming out to overwhelming support from his family and friends, Jacob still spent his younger years wishing he wasn't the thing he knew himself to be.

In this episode Jacob shares with Sean about suppressing his identity as a kid, the culture shock of moving from the Central Coast of NSW to Sydney, one of the world's most LGBTQIA+ friendly cities, and coming out (and not coming out) at work.

If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you:

QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat

Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace

Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 for 24-hour crisis support

If you want to be a part of the Come Out Wherever You Are community, you can follow us on Instagram:

@comeoutwhereveryouare

@seanszeps

@jacobwilliamstanley

Listen to Jacob co-host the weekly-ish podcast Just The Gist: https://www.listnr.com/podcasts/podcasts/just-the-gist

Jacob Stanley grew up wishing he wasn’t gay

How is it possible that a 14-year-old can understand and then publicly announce - to an entire school assembly - that they are pansexual? Actually, let's back up... what's pansexuality?

Kirra Hampson is a content creator who last came out during an online film course.

As a young person on the internet in the mid 2000's, Kirra spent a lot of time on Tumblr. It was here she discovered the word 'pansexual' and found a name for feelings she wasn't able to articulate.

Six months later, she came out to her entire school at an assembly.

In this episode Kirra opens up to Sean about finding support online before coming out in real life, dealing with bullying that followed her around the regional city of Dubbo and becoming an accidental advocate for LGBTQIA+ students at school.

If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you:

QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat

Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace

Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 for 24-hour crisis support

What's the difference between bisexual and pansexual? https://www.minus18.org.au/articles/what's-the-difference-between-bisexual-and-pansexual

If you want to be a part of the Come Out Wherever You Are community, you can follow us on Instagram:

@comeoutwhereveryouare

@seanszeps

@kirrasdeliveryservice on TikTok

Kirra Hampson came out as pansexual at 14 years old

What would you do if your wife and mother to your children told you she liked women? 

Sophie Cachia is a businesswoman who last came out to a sales assistant while buying underwear for her (female) partner.

Growing up Sophie was never the girl who kissed other girls at parties for fun. Until a few years ago she was happily married to man, until a surprise attraction to another woman lead her to discover a new side to herself that she didn't know existed.

These days Sophie describes herself as sexually bisexual and emotionally gay.

In this episode Sophie opens up to Sean about coming out while married and in the public eye, finding her people in the LGBTQIA+ community (and leaving behind those who don't support her) and how she's raising her kids to be open-minded of all people, regardless of their gender or sexuality.

If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you:

QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat

Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace

Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 for 24-hour crisis support

If you want to be a part of the Come Out Wherever You Are community, you can follow us on Instagram:

@comeoutwhereveryouare

@seanszeps

@sophiecachia_

Sophie Cachia is “sexually bisexual but emotionally gay”

How would a religious parent respond to their child coming out as gay? And then coming out again as non-binary later in life? 

Deni Todorovič is an activist and a content creator who comes out as queer and non-binary most days.

Deni has known they were gay since early childhood when they would kiss a poster of ‘90210’ star Brian Austin Green alone in their bedroom. But growing up in a religious, Serbian family in Geelong in the 90’s meant Deni didn’t know any gay people, so it wasn’t until their late teens when they finally came out to their family.

Deni came out again as non-binary in 2020, after non-binary musician Sam Smith gave a name to feelings Deni had been experiencing since childhood.

In this episode Deni opens up to host Sean Szeps about how culture and religion intersects with their gender and sexuality, suppressing their sexuality to try and fit in as a kid and deliberately standing out as a gay, non-binary adult.

If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you:

QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat

Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace

Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 for 24-hour crisis support

What does it mean to be non-binary? https://www.minus18.org.au/articles/i-just-came-out-as-non-binary-here's-what-that-means

If you want to be a part of the Come Out Wherever You Are community, you can follow us on Instagram:

@comeoutwhereveryouare

@seanszeps

@stylebydeni

Deni Todorovič came out as non-binary to religious parents

Come Out Wherever You Are is a podcast about the coming out experience, told by the people who’ve done it. 

Host Sean Szeps is a proud member of the LGBTQIA+ community. In each episode he speaks with guests across the gender and sexual spectrum to learn about their unique experiences and understand what it’s like to come out for the first time (and every time after that).

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Your cheat sheet to surviving family Christmas as a queer person

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