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WELL.
OK, NOW WE'RE GOING TO FOCUS ON
ORIES THAT HELP SUPPORT LGBTQ
YOUTH SEEING AND READING A
NARRATIVE THAT REFLECTS WHO YOU
ARE IS POWERFUL AND EMPOWERING
AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT GENDER
AUTHOR AND SPOKANE NATIVE JASON
JUNE IS DOING WITH HIS NEW
YOUNG ADULT NOVEL CALLED JS GAY
AGENDA WHICH IS ACTUALLY SET
RIGHT HERE IN SEATTLE.
I REMEMBER JUST HOW I FELT WHEN
I WAS A TEEN AND I COULDN'T
FIND THINGS THAT SHOWED GAY
STORYLINES OR STORYLINES.
I COULD COUNT ON LESS THAN FIVE
FINGERS THE BOOKS THAT I KNEW
ABOUT WRITTEN BY GAY AUTHORS
ABOUT GAY CHARACTERS AND WHEN
TEENS CAN SEE THEMSELVES IN
BOOKS THEY KNOW THAT THEIR
EXPERIENCE IS VALID AND THAT
WHAT IS IN THEIR HEART ISN'T
QUOTE UNQUOTE JUST BECAUSE IT'S
NOT WHAT THEY NECESSARILY SEE
THE MOST OFTEN DOESN'T MAKE IT
NOT RIGHT FOR THEM.
AND WHEN YOU CAN SHOW THAT HAVE
VERY SIMILAR HEARTS TO TEENS
TODAY THAT REALLY JUST LETS
THEM KNOW THEY'RE NOT ALONE AND
THAT THEY CAN START TO DEVELOP
THEIR LIFE AND THEIR
PERSONALITY THE WORLD AROUND
THEM IN THE WAY THAT THEY KNOW
IS SO RIGHT FOR THEM THAT THAT
BELONGING AND NOT BEING ALONE
IS SO IMPORTANT ESPECIALLY AT
THAT AGE.
TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU HOPE
READERS TAKE AWAY FROM JAY'S
GAY AGENDA WHICH IS BASED IN
SEATTLE, RIGHT?
ABSOLUTELY, YES.
IT STARTS IN RURAL EASTERN
WASHINGTON JUST OUTSIDE
OF SPOKANE, WASHINGTON, WHICH
IS WHERE I WAS BORN AND RAISED
AND I ACTUALLY LIVED IN A SMALL
FARMING COMMUNITY NORTH
OF SPOKANE.
BUT THEN THE BULK OF THE NOVEL
TAKES PLACE IN SEATTLE WHICH
WAS THE SCENE OF MY SORT OF GAY
AWAKENING AND IS FOR JAY.
WELL, WHAT I HOPE THAT READERS
TAKE AWAY IS THAT FOR READERS
I HOPE THEY SEE THAT THEY'RE
WORTHY OF THE SPOTLIGHT, THAT
THEIR ROMANCE, THEIR LUST,
THEIR HORMONES, THEIR DATING IS
JUST AS WORTHY OF CELEBRATION
AS STRAIGHT TEENS ARE.
I KNOW THAT'S EVERYWHERE WHERE
WE SEE SORT OF THE STRAIGHT
SEXUAL AWAKENING AND ROMANTIC
AWAKENING AND I WANT TEENS TO
KNOW THAT THEY GET TO HAVE THAT
TOO.
AND I WANT STRAIGHT READERS TO
KNOW THAT IT'S REALLY FUN TO
SHARE THE SPOTLIGHT AND THAT WE
HAVE THIS SHARED HUMANITY AND
SO MANY OF OUR EXPERIENCES EVEN
IF OUR PARTNERS ARE DIFFERENT
OR GENDERS MIGHT BE DIFFERENT.
OUR EXPERIENCES CAN BE VERY,
VERY SIMILAR AND TO BE ABLE TO
CONNECT THROUGH THAT NEED FOR
LOVE, FOR RELATIONSHIPS, FOR
LUST IS REALLY A MAGICAL THING.
NOW THAT CONNECTION IS SO
IMPORTANT.
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IF HE SAW
YOU BEING INTERVIEWED ON TV?
OH MY GOD.
I THINK JAY WOULD JUST THINK SO
WILD STILL LITTLE ME THINKS
IT'S SO WILD.
SOMETHING THAT I KEPT IN THE
CLOSET FOR SO LONG UNTIL I CAME
OUT MY SENIOR YEAR OF HIGH
SCHOOL I NEVER COULD HAVE
IMAGINED WOULD BE SORT OF THE
SEED OF MY FIRST NOVEL AND I
NEVER IMAGINED THAT I WOULD
HAVE A BOOK WITH THE PHRASE GAY
AGENDA IN THE TITLE.
IT'S JUST SUCH A CELEBRATORY
MOMENT IT REALLY HITS MY HEART
IN THE BEST WAY THAT THIS CAME
OUT ON JUNE 1ST THE FIRST DAY
OF PRIDE MONTH.
I LOVE THAT THE TITLE IS IT'S
VERY BOLD AND WORDS ARE VERY
POWERFUL AND I THINK A LOT
OF US HAVE A HARD TIME HAVING
THESE DISCUSSIONS BECAUSE THEY
DON'T KNOW THE RIGHT WORDS.
FOR EXAMPLE, I JUST LEARNED THE
WORD GENDERQUEER TODAY AND I
WANTED TO ASK IF YOU COULD KIND
OF HELP EDUCATE ON WHAT
MEANS.
MEANS. ABSOLUTELY. SO I IDENTIFY AS GENDERQUEER
BECAUSE I DON'T SEE MYSELF AS
FITTING ON EITHER SIDE OF THE
GENDER BINARY WHERE BEING A
BIOLOGICAL MALE WHO MUST ACT
MASCULINE OR A BIOLOGICAL
FEMALE THAT MUST ACT FEMININE.
THOSE ARE THE ENDS OF THE
GENDER BINARY AND I SEE MYSELF
AS SORT OF IN BETWEEN THAT
WHERE I WAS BORN BIOLOGICALLY
MALE.
BUT MY OVERRIDING ENERGY IS
FEMININITY AND I USE FEMININE
CODED WORDS LIKE WHEN I'M
TALKING WITH MY GIRLFRIENDS
I'LL SAY THAT WE'RE ALL SISTERS
,WE'RE TOGETHER AND I DON'T
MEAN THAT IRONICALLY I'M SAYING
THAT BECAUSE WE'RE CONNECTING
TO OUR FEMININE SPIRITS, OUR
FEMININE ENERGY.
AND SO FOR MY GENDER QUEERNESS
IT'S CENTERING MY FIRM SENSE
OF SELF.
BUT THEN FOR SO MANY OTHERS
THEY COULD HAVE TOTALLY
DIFFERENT ENERGIES.
SOME OF THEM MIGHT BE MASCULINE
OR FEMININE.
OTHER ENERGIES MIGHT BE CERTAIN
SPIRITS.
WE DON'T EVEN HAVE WORDS YET IN
OUR COMMON SOCIETAL LANGUAGE.
BUT USING THAT TERM GENDER IS
JUST SORT OF THIS COMMONALITY
BETWEEN US FOLKS THAT FEEL LIKE
WE'RE NOT A PART OF THE ENDS
OF THE GENDER BINARY.
RIGHT.
IT'S HARD BECAUSE I THINK WE
ARE ALL SO HUNG UP ON TITLES
SOMETIMES BUT IT IS ALSO
NECESSARY IN ORDER TO HELP
EXPLAIN SOMETHING.
SO I'M REALLY GRATEFUL THAT YOU
EXPLAIN THAT TO ME.
HOW ARE YOU CELEBRATING THIS
THIS YEAR?
YOU KNOW IT'S STILL SUCH A
STRANGE TIME AT THE END OF OUR
PANDEMIC BUT MY FAVORITE SORT
OF LIKE HOKIE PRIDE TRADITION
IS TO JUST TAKE STOCK OF WHERE
I'M AT LIKE I KNEW I WAS AS
YOUNG AS THREE.
I DIDN'T HAVE THE TERMINOLOGY
TO DESCRIBE THAT OR KNOW HOW IT
IS DIFFERENT AND THEN I SOLIDLY
KNEW I WAS GAY BY THE TIME I
WAS 14 OR 15 AND THEN I DIDN'T
FIGURE OUT MY GENDER QUEERNESS
UNTIL I WAS THIRTY TWO.
SO I JUST WANT EVERYONE TO KNOW
OUT THERE IT'S OK IF YOU DON'T
HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS ABOUT
YOURSELF RIGHT THIS VERY MINUTE
BUT EVERY PRIDE JUST TAKE STOCK
OF WHERE YOU'RE AT RIGHT AT
THAT TIME AND CELEBRATE THE
JOURNEY THAT YOU'VE GONE ON TO
GET TO WHERE YOU'RE AT TODAY
AND UNDERSTAND IT'S OK IF