012: My Last Pulpit - LGBTQ+ Activism — with Mr. John Adewoye

<p>As mentioned in episode eight, last year - we got mixed feedback about the series of episodes we did with members of the LGBTQIA+ community to honor Pride Month. But in alignment with the goal of this podcast, not everyone will like every topic we talk about, especially topics that make people uncomfortable.<br /> <br /> You see, growing up, most of our parents never educated us on sex, relationships, and marriage because they believed that talking about it meant that they were encouraging us to do it. The truth is that as adults, many of us wish we had this education when we were younger. Also, whether they spoke to us about it or not, that didn’t mean sex and/or relationships weren’t still happening behind their backs.<br /> <br /> Using the same logic as the sex/relationship talk, whether we agree (or not) to educate ourselves about the lgbtqia+ community, or think that acknowledging them means encouraging their “practices” (as some people call it) in our African community, one FACT still remains: the lgbtqia+ community exists in the African community whether we agree or not. They are actually close family and friends and you may not even know it. You don’t have to agree with them or their values, but you should respect them for who they are and how they choose to live their life, just like you will expect to be respected. We can always agree to disagree in love and respect! I learnt a lot from this episode and hope you do too.</p> <p><strong>Meet Our Guest:</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mr. John Adewoye was born in Kwara State Nigeria and was the last child of the 4 surviving children of his parents. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Surviving” characterized his life story from his teenage years till he was 40 years old because of my sexual orientation. The struggle was really intense for him throughout his elementary school years where he was nicknamed "obinrin" meaning <em>a girl</em> because of his effeminate behavior. The teenage years were particularly traumatic for him