Speaking Queerly
Faith Fundal was at work at the CBC, preparing a news broadcast in July 2019, when they heard something that would change their life.
In the radio segment before Fundal’s, medical student Harper Perrin was interviewed about what it means to be non-binary.
“Suddenly, my mind is blown,” Fundal says in Episode 3 of They & Us, their CBC podcast that aired for six episodes in summer 2020.
“I was sitting in the studio thinking, this is literally me,” they continue. “What they’re talking about knowing that I’m neither male nor female and I identify as non-binary … This, all of this, makes sense.”
Faith was experiencing something that podcast listeners know very well — the feeling of empathy and understanding that comes from hearing a story or experience explained to you out loud.
Canadians from the LGBTQ2S+ community are finding their voices and recording podcasts to share, inspire listeners, and give unaltered, direct access to important and sensitive conversations.
Whether they’re illustrating the nature of gender identity in Canada, sharing their personal stories, or breaking down queer media and culture, these LGBTQ2S+ podcasters are using the power of their voices to bypass a mainstream media that has so often ignored them and going straight to the public themselves.
Faith Fundal is the host of They & Us, an original podcast from CBC British Columbia.
Three months after eloping to Las Vegas from Victoria in 1996, Geri Kramer told her partner Sarah that she thought she was trans.
The conversation didn’t go much further, until 25 years later in 2020 when Geri officially came out as a trans woman to Sarah, their family, and the world.
In their podcast “Meet the Kramers,” which began that same year, Sarah and Geri talk about both of those conversations and more, speaking to each other about growing up, coming out, their lives, and their marriage.
“When I was first coming to terms with my trans-ness I had a hard time finding podcasts I could listen to about personal trans stories,” Geri says.
“I found a lot of ‘nuts and bolts’ podcasts about the how’s and the why’s. But at that time, I couldn’t find any podcasts about relationships and being in love while you transition. We wanted to share our story because of that.”
The podcast has been a big success for the Kramers. Geri says a lot of people have reached out to her to say their experience with their own gender has changed due to listening to the podcast, but the change is happening close to home, too.
Sarah and Geri Kramer are hosts of Meet the Kramers.
“For me, talking to Geri about her experiences as a child and listening to her story now with ‘new lenses’ has helped me to see her in a way that I never understood before her transition,” Sarah says, explaining that her partner is more “unguarded” now.
“We don’t just talk about my trans journey but also about mental health, therapy, and coping mechanisms. There are so many people out there who are just like us, who struggle just like we do,” Geri adds.
“It’s been very eye opening to know I’m not the only one.”
“I couldn’t find any podcasts about relationships and being in love while you transition. We wanted to share our story because of that.”
A broadcaster for nearly 15 years, Faith Fundal is no stranger to the power of audio. But when Fundal started They & Us in 2020 — their first ever podcast — they discovered it was a different beast to other work they’ve done in the past.
“When you listen to podcasts, it’s so intimate, right?” Fundal says. “News reading is very, like, ‘Here's the news, this is super serious, you must listen.’ Whereas with podcasting, I learned how to speak as if it's just you and me in the room and we're talking about stuff that's important.”
Fundal says the conversational aspect is an important factor in driving empathy for their subjects on the podcast.
“Using the podcast medium, it's sort of easier to relate when you're hearing people's stories, like hearing their voices. People telling their stories, their lived experiences,” Fundal says.
For Fundal, that also involves weaving their own life story into They & Us — a decision that at first seemed out of place.
“As a journalist, you're not supposed to describe your experiences,” Fundal says. “But over the past couple of years, our idea of what journalism is and what a journalist is, has changed. We're now recognizing that our own lived experiences affect what we know, what we don't know, how we feel.”
For Isaac Würmann, a writer and podcaster, the medium of sound offers a lot more accessibility and flexibility than the written word, which can be even more important when telling stories about the LGBTQ2S+ community.
“I do think that in podcasting there's more space and more flexibility. You just have an hour-long conversation with someone and put that out into the world, almost unedited,” Würmann explains. “And then maybe this person who's telling the story can somehow feel like that’s more kind of control over their story and their narrative.”
“That can be really important when you're talking to folks from generally underrepresented communities,” he adds.
Würmann hosts How Did We Get Queer? a podcast that breaks down queer culture and media in Canada. He echoes Fundal’s sentiment about how a good podcast can draw a listener in.
“I love just going for a walk and having my headphones in and hearing someone tell a story,” he says. “It just feels a lot more intimate, often, than when we’re reading an article.”
It’s not all easy, though, Würmann says. There aren’t many podcast production companies out there, and a lack of institutional backing and funding means his podcast and many others are just labours of love.
On How Did We Get Queer? hosts Thomas O'Donnell and Isaac Würmann delve into the historical background of Canadian queer life and culture.
Fundal has the same thought.
“If I didn't work with CBC, would I have had the same reach? Probably not. If I didn't work for CBC, would I have the same credibility? Probably not.”
“These are privileges that I have. And that's why I did it,” Fundal says. “When we did They & Us in Canada, there wasn't a major network that had done something like this. Like, we were thinking, ‘How is this possible? How has a major network not done that in Canada?’”
Geri Kramer also notes she was “craving” Canadian podcasts that talked about the trans experience but couldn’t find them online. But another problem presented itself in the form of talking about difficult topics and putting it out for the world to hear.
“There is a lot of extra vulnerability because I’m telling my story to so many people all at once,” she says.
Both Geri and Sarah believe in an “educate, motivate, inspire” philosophy with their podcast and other projects, which extends to any trans people — young or old — who listen to them.
“I don’t feel like I need to cope with the extra vulnerability because I’m just so grateful to have the opportunity to share with everyone,” Geri says.
As she explains herself, the podcast was the perfect medium for her to break away from the life she’s lived and really begin to shine a light on herself now that she’s out of the closet.
“I’m not a writer. I’ve never been much of a communicator because I was in the closet and was very guarded with most people,” she says. “And it’s very affirming for me to be using my voice in a new way. I can’t imagine any other way to tell the story.”
