How do we navigate the bewildering and rapidly-changing rainbows of sexual and gender diversity, and the rainbows of responses to this diversity? In this podcast I guide you through the research and the stories in a spirit of curiosity, compassion, humility, and hospitality. The goal is to provide accessible and digestible information to support your own journeys through this landscape.
Your host is Heather Looy (rhymes with boy), a professor of psychology at The King's University, a Christian university in Edmonton, Canada.
9. Proud Faith: How Youth Navigate Queer and Religious Identities
What do teens do when they realize they might be queer (LGBTQ+) and are also part of a faith community? There's a general belief that you can't be both: That embracing a queer identity means rejecting religion, and vice versa. While this is a myth--many queer persons are deeply religious--the expectations and the experiences of queer youth in Christian contexts is most commonly one of rejection. How do queer youth navigate this? In this episode we share research on the experiences of queer youth as they explore whether they can integrate their queer and religious identities. We discover some expected and also some surprising and hopeful responses.
25 Aug 2025
8. Transgender Stories
Transgender. These days just speaking the word can trigger intense emotional reactions. The topic has become a political hot potato. It's difficult to have a considered, thoughtful, evidence-based conversation about transgender. I invite you to take a deep, calming breath. We're going to take time to reflect on what the term transgender means and what experiences the word captures. In this episode, we start by listening. What do transgender persons say about their experience? What is it like to be transgender? We hear from Hannah and Gill, who generously and vulnerably share their journeys. In the spirit of humility, curiosity, and hospitality, let's listen.
8 May 2025
7. The Biology of Gender Identity
How do you know your gender? Is it something you learn from others? Something that is hardwired into your brain from the beginning? Is gender identity something tightly connected to to your biological sex, or can it vary independently of sex? These questions become concrete when someone's experience and expression of gender differs from what we expect. This episode, co-hosted by Jonathan Sieswerda, introduces the research into the biology and neuroscience of gender identity.
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