823: Wonder Cover with Lauren Chan

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Welcome back to Lez Hang Out, the podcast that does its little dance on the catwalk. 

This week, Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out with Lauren Chan (@lcchan), a Canadian model, TV personality, entrepreneur, and former fashion editor. She is also an outspoken advocate for LGBTQ+ and AAPI representation as well as an expert in the size-inclusive fashion world. 

If you happened to walk by a newsstand recently and took enough time away from petting the bodega cat to peruse the magazines, you likely saw Lauren. She made queer history with her Sports Illustrated Swimsuit appearance as the very first out lesbian to appear on the cover! Can you believe it took until now for an out lesbian to be featured? While we may think Sports Illustrated is a male-gaze aligned space, Lauren says that’s what makes it so perfect for these kinds of stories. By meeting people where they are and introducing them to concepts and perspectives they may not have had a reason to think about, Lauren provides a gateway to nuanced conversations and increased empathy. Sure, straight men may initially buy the magazine for the bikini pics, but if they stay for the coming out stories that can go a long way in changing the narrative toward LGBTQ+ people. 

Lauren came out in 2023, incredibly publicly, in her first appearance in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit where she made history as the first lesbian rookie! She discovered her sexuality in a very familiar way– with the lesbian masterdoc in hand, podcasts about coming out later in life on repeat, and an expanse of free time provided by the pandemic lockdowns. From divorcing her husband to now being engaged to be married again (but, to a woman) the short years since coming out have been a real whirlwind for Lauren. 

We are obsessed with how Lauren takes the media’s long history of objectifying women and flips it on its head. She may look like just another hot girl, but Lauren is a catalyst for change, inclusivity, self-love, body positivity, and sheer gay audacity. 

That’s a wrap on Season 8, lezzies! Thank you for hanging out with us this season, and we can’t wait to see you back for Season 9. Give us your own answers to our Q & Gay on Instagram and follow along on Facebook, TikTok, and BlueSky @lezhangoutpod. Find your fav tol and smol hosts Ellie & Leigh at @elliebrigida and @lshfoster.

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