815: Aging Gay-fully

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Welcome back to Lez Hang Out, the podcast that wants to be forever young.

This week, Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out and talk about the overall experience of aging as a queer person in an ever-changing society. With Ellie and Leigh both having birthdays around the time of recording this episode, they thought it would be interesting to take a look at the nonlinear experience of aging and the differences between coming out back in the day and coming out now. The entire concept of queerness has evolved and changed throughout time both as a political identity and a sexual one. There is widely used language and understanding of queerness and queer identities that just did not exist in the same way when Ellie and Leigh were gaybies. 

When Leigh got married, she was only able to do so because gay marriage had been legalized in the state of Massachusets (not the entire country, literally just that state). Back then, even just being able to get married at all was astounding and a huge win. And honestly, that was not that long ago! Ellie talks about how when she first showed her girlfriend The L Word, Bailey asked her if Bette and Tina were married. This feels like a wild question to us, because of course we know that it was illegal to be married when this show was actually being made and aired. But for younger gays that have grown up with gay marriage being legal for the majority of their lives, that huge shift in queer rights and overall societal attitude toward the community that we experienced just doesn’t register in the same way for them. 

With the landscape of queer rights being continually nonlinear and unfortunately experiencing a backslide at the moment in many areas across the globe, it is so important for queer people of all ages to share our experiences with one another. 

Remember, you can 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 respectively.

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