StoryCorps: “I got in the most trouble I think I ever had in my entire life.”
Derrick: When I was younger, I remember I was on the playground and I kissed a boy. It wasn’t like anything sexualized or anything like that, but I got in the most trouble I think I ever had in my entire life. I had no perception of what bisexuality was, but I guess that was when I would first say I explored it.
My parents were very religious and kind of did bring this heavy-handed Leviticus kind of message, but at the time they didn’t know I identified as anything. LGBTQ individuals were associated, especially men with AIDS, and pedophilia, and … it was a scary thing. That was probably the first time I ever was told the law of the land: This is bad; do not be this.
I had a friend that went to my religious institution, and we would get along and stuff like that, and it was like you guys can hug, you guys don’t fight, but don’t get too close now. There was this obviously when you crossed the line. I always found that weird because there was just this limitation given on your ability to show affection to your fellowman. The ironic thing is they sexualized actions that were not sexual in any nature. It could be as simple as we hugged. It was suddenly turned into this sick thing, and I was constantly reminded with examples from the Hebrew Bible about how God punishes the earth for this and this and this, which always struck me as funny because he never did the same thing for people that were gluttonous or cruel or wrathful.
StoryCorps
StoryCorps recognizes the profound historical importance of capturing the stories of the LGBTQ community and the urgent need for this work to happen now. StoryCorps OutLoud is a multi-year initiative dedicated to recording and preserving LGBTQ stories across America. OutLoud will honor the stories of those who lived before the 1969 Stonewall uprisings, celebrate the lives of LGBTQ youth, and amplify the voices of those most often excluded from the historical record. The end result will be a diverse collection of stories that will enrich our nation’s history.
StoryCorps: “There’s a little piece of you that’s still shining through.”
11-27-2015
Amanda: So how does your queerness impact you on a day-to-day basis? Steven: My queerness operates in very different ways when I’m in a professional setting. I’m expected to be in slacks and things that are not form-fitting. Three months into the job, I was told if I wanted to fit in, I needed to […]
StoryCorps: “I’m not complicated…”
11-24-2015
Lacey: I identify as bisexual so that means that I am attracted to people of multiple genders. I used to feel like, in queer spaces, that I wasn’t queer enough to be there. I was constantly having this fear that other people were sort of assessing my queerness. It constantly felt like it was insufficient […]
StoryCorps: “You’re a person of value…”
11-20-2015
Kristye: I feel like I loved you before our first date, but I didn’t think that was possible. And when I pulled up to meet you, I got out of my car and you got out of your car, and I’ll never forget the look on your face because you … your eyes were real wide, […]
The Great Thanksgiving Listen
11-19-2015
WBHM is proud to partner with StoryCorps for the Great Thanksgiving Listen. This Thanksgiving weekend, StoryCorps will work with teachers and high school students across the country to preserve the voices and stories of an entire generation of Americans over a single holiday weekend. Open to everyone, The Great Thanksgiving Listen is a national assignment […]
StoryCorps: “The difference is in everybody’s heads.”
11-13-2015
Jonathan Hankins and partner Maura Barnett are expecting their first child and discuss raising him with their gender nonconforming values. They had a conversation at Storycorp’s mobile booth in Birmingham, AL