Pause. And Rewind...

“I joined a church in my early 20s that I was in for over a decade and they became like a surrogate family to me. They did everything for me. They were there for me through so many things including my daughter being ill & my house burning down. And then I told them I was a lesbian & I never heard from them again.” The intersection of religion & sexuality is a complex topic for many peo...

“I started looking back and thinking ‘why is it I want to be a general therapist?’ I realised it's because there was still some internalised homophobia. And I thought ‘I need to fight against this. I'm not going down this avenue. Let's do something about that’.” Overcoming shame & embracing who we are is a huge part of why Pride Month exists and it’s a topic I dive into with Dhi...

“Being proud is something that I never thought I would feel. And I'm not only proud of myself. I'm proud of everybody else that's on this journey. It takes real guts, strength and persistence.” It’s Pride Month and this statement from the latest episode of ‘Pause. And Rewind…’ couldn’t be more timely. James Dean (he/him) is a community facilitator, activist and pet sitter and co-lea...

“My education was stolen from me because I was gay.” That statement is exactly why we’ve always needed Pride Month - since it began through to today.  In this episode of ‘Pause. And Rewind…’ I’m over the moon to be joined by Nicola Fenton (she/her). Nicola makes up one half of the wonderful humans of the Older Queer Voices Podcast alongside her wife Raga D’Silva (my first ever podcast guest &...

“I am in all the circles that make me feel seen and there's nowhere really in my life that I feel like I need to hide anymore. Little me would be so happy.” I’m kicking off my Pride mini-season of ‘Pause. And Rewind…’ chatting to the adorable, hilarious & multi-talented Ki Griffin (he/they) . Ki is an actor, comedian, community advocate, educator & facilitator, public speaker & mo...

“We really focus on providing access, supporting predominantly black women, into the events industry where predominantly we are on the stage being the entertainers and the performers, but we're not seen behind the scenes. It’s really important for me to support many who look like me to come through into the industry and so they see there's actually people who look like us doing all the h...

“It took me until 41 to be like, ‘I actually like you’. It's a recent revelation because before then, I didn't like me. I liked what I did. It took a while to get there because you have to be demure, humble or whatever. And it's like, bitch, no. I can like myself. I can love myself. People can see that this is a journey and they could be like, maybe I wanna take a similar journey.”...

“I had an awakening if you like. I've been out for many years but not really in the lesbian scene. And all of a sudden I was in a room full of queer women all having really nice chats and I felt like a kid in a candy shop. That was only four years ago. I was really proudly a lesbian at that point. And I then really wanted to own it. I wanted to say the word more.” Embracing the term ‘lesbian’...

“Through a lot of the experiences that I've had in life, I've hidden away and been quite private with the stuff I do. I would have never dreamed of speaking about myself in a public space before.  But it's one of those things where I look at my career now and I'm starting to now understand that I've done a fair bit.” And at 29 years old, Trenton Tomlinson (he/him), this we...

“I didn't get a handbook when I transitioned like in the film Beetlejuice when they got ‘The Handbook for the Recently Deceased’. I didn't get ‘The Handbook for the Recently Transitioned’. I haven't got an instruction manual on how to be trans. I make mistakes but I'm allowed to do that because I'm learning.” It's Trans Day of Visibility and I have the perfect guest t...

“We don't see a lot of examples of trans people thriving. We see a lot of experiences of trans people having hardship, constantly having to explain themselves and having to justify their existence. We’re not seeing enough examples of trans people just growing up and being a bit boring… having a dog, a life and hobbies.” Encouraging people to look beyond the headlines when it comes to Trans+ f...

“I'm trying to be one of the voices to keep Northern Ireland on the map and having that voice from a rural background is important because it gives people coming from that opportunity to realise that they can be themselves regardless if they're gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans or whatever they identify as.” Being the visible representation that many queer folk need, especially those in rura...

“September 11 was very prominent for me. When that happened it really was the first time that I was aware of how society perceived me. As someone with a Muslim name. That's where I started to get a real sense of this injustice and it boiling down to the colour of your skin and the religion that you're practicing.” ‘Pause. And Rewind…’ this week is all about the brilliant Kamran Khan (He/...

“All my team members, who were identifying as men, were looking at me as someone hired only because of their perceived gender and not because of my competencies. And so I knew from the very first day that it would be a fight just to be recognized as a valid researcher among them. This threw lots of doubts on my first year.” This week’s guest on ‘Pause. And Rewind… is Cécile Deprez (they/them) and...

“I had no idea of just how pervasive the dehumanisation of disabled people is until I was visibly disabled.” My first guest to kick off season 5 of ‘Pause. And Rewind…’ is a bit of a legend, to say the least. It’s Nancy Kelley (she/her) and this conversation was pure gold.  Nancy is very much ‘OUT’ in life - in her words. Certainly when it comes to her sexuality having had a very LGBTQ+ focused ca...

“Behind the clapback queen, I just want a soft life. I'm actually meant to be a really nice person, but we're not allowed to be soft because the fucking world is so hard on us. And we've had to make these bravado kind of characters to defend ourselves.” Wrapping up ‘Pause. And Rewind…’ for the year with Charlie Craggs (she/her) was an absolute TREAT! Charlie is an award-winning cont...

“At this grand age of 60, I am filled with honesty, transparency, and living my best life. There are so many things that I'm celebrating and I am not going to sit here and be apologetic for all of the beautiful things that I have gained in 60 years.” Ageing is a beautiful & privileged experience and this conversation was a timely conversation with this week’s guest on ‘Pause. And Rewind…’...

“Confidence is a choice, not an emotion. You have to wake up every day and say ‘“I exist out of the social norms & I’m going to do that boldly. Loud. Empathetically’”. Stephanie Lynnette (she/they), my guest for my Trans+ Awareness Week episode of ‘Pause. And Rewind…’ is ON FIRE during this conversation and I am here for it! Stephanie is the Events Manager for London Trans Pride (the largest i...

“I've taken this attitude of not to wait. To just do. I can deal with whatever's going to happen. But I don't want to be that person anymore where I’m calculating risks and stuff. Just live.” This week’s podcast guest Luciana Cousin (she/her) & I chat a lot about the mental toll of having to calculate our daily safety & existence as queer people in this episode. It’s the rea...

“Regardless of the job or industry, inclusion is everyone's work. Every job I've had has always been about serving others. And I think that actually the work of inclusion is serving others and helping people achieve more than what they really thought they were ever capable of.” This week’s guest on ‘Pause. And Rewind… is one of the kindest, most generous & patient humans I’ve ever me...

“It's like I'm not crazy. What I'm saying is correct. And it's correct for people who are Black, like myself, who are trying to find themselves in not 'the man and woman' but are trying to find themselves in the energy.” I first came across Zee Monteiro (them/them) via a We Create Space article, written in 2022, entitled ‘ Being both Non-Binary and a Black Woman ’ - a...

“I love the fact that I don't fit into one thing. I don't believe in conforming. I believe in the fact that I can just be myself. I am not your regular, schmegular woman. And I don't intend to be a regular, schmegular woman.” Hands up… I am a fangirl of Janae Rochelle Owyn (she/her). We met earlier this year at the Diva Awards where I got to see her recognised for her work as a cont...

“There are certain base levels of respect that you must have for each human being. You know trans people are some of the most marginalized in society. Where is your humanity? Where is our collective humanity?” A poignant & timely question from this week’s guest on ‘Pause. And Rewind…’  Oscar Davies (they/them) is the first publicly recognised non-binary barrister and a sought out speaker and a...

“It’s Ali being Ali.” And that’s exactly why this week’s guest on ‘Pause. And Rewind…’ is so so loved!  Ali Hendry (she/her) trains coaches across many different areas including relationships, holistic life coaching and mentoring as well as being a coach herself in many of these areas including DEI & public speaking. She also hosts the Diva Relationship Room on Instagram every Thursday at 6pm...

“‘If there's something you want to do, go and do it. Seize the day, make sure it happens. Do everything you can to make it happen. So my advice to you, young man - literal words - seize the day.’ And that's actually how Out There was born.” This life changing exchange at Angkor Wat in Cambodia between this week’s guest on ‘Pause. And Rewind…’ and a stranger changed the course of his care...