Episode 5: Pride Beyond Shame (Ray Raymond)

Queer Becomings: Beyond Survival · Sep 4, 2026 · 59m

Ray grew up in post-revolution Iran knowing he was different, long before he had a word for it. For years he tried to pray that difference away, carrying a fear of rejection so heavy it shaped everything: the belief that if anyone truly knew him, he could lose his family, his community, everything he'd built. In this episode, Ray shares the biggest moment of his life: coming out to his father at 32, and the walk afterward when, for the first time, he felt 200 pounds lift off his shoulders. But acceptance from others wasn't the end of the story. Ray takes us into the harder work of finally…