Episode 211: George Azar

Coming Out Pod

Health & Fitness, Sexuality, Comedy, Mental Health

4.9 • 584 Ratings

🗓️ 17 August 2022

⏱️ 75 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Raised in a traditional Middle Eastern family, author and podcaster George Azar ("My Gay Church Days") knew that he was attracted to men even before puberty hit. But when his older brother came out in middle school and was summarily put into therapy, George receded even further into the closet. He became a Young Republican in order to gain his father's approval, and was subsequently drawn to Christianity, which promised a "remedy" for his homosexuality. George excelled so much in the way of the Church that he became a pastor, all the while being told - and believing - that his queerness was a gateway to (you guessed it!) pedophilia and bestiality. His journey towards self-acceptance included seeing a "conversion therapy specialist," and eventually doing his own deep dive on what the Bible *actually* says about homosexuality. Despite everything he's been through, George is absolutely EFFERVESCENT, and he shares his story with an incredible amount of grace and humor!

Follow George everywhere at @mygaychurchdays, and check out https://www.mygaychurchdays.com/ for all the info on George's book, podcast, and more!

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello everybody.
0:07.0	Hey y'all.
0:08.0	Welcome to Coming Out with Lauren and Nicole. We are a weekly podcast where we have on queer folks from all walks of life. They tell us the tales of how they came out to friends, family, and the world at large.
0:19.0	Because who doesn't love a coming out story? Today we are
0:22.3	here with George Azar. Hello, George. Hello, I'm so excited to be here. Thank you for having.
0:28.8	We're so happy to have you. Okay, so George is a fellow podcaster, an author, and is getting into the world of motivational speaking.
0:42.2	So perhaps we will touch on that later.
0:44.4	But most importantly, George has written a book called My Gay Church Days, and version
0:50.4	two of that book is upcoming.
0:53.8	So the title probably gives you a little indication of where
0:58.6	our story might go today. But yeah, I'll throw it over to you, George. Is there anything you want to
1:04.1	say to our listeners? Oh, thank you. Yeah. It's been a wonderful journey writing my book.
1:12.5	It's gotten so much attention, I guess, if you will, that I'm ready to release a second version,
1:17.9	which hopefully I said winter later this year, but it's looking like with all the trauma
1:22.5	that I'm unpacking.
1:24.1	It may be earlier next year.
1:27.7	Delay it on account of trauma is a great is a great byline for the
1:32.4	and just literally for anything.
1:35.6	I mean, I just think that should be a perfectly acceptable excuse for delaying.
1:40.3	Yeah, for just showing up late anywhere.
1:43.2	Yeah, absolutely.
1:43.8	You're like, sorry, I delayed on account of trauma.
	...

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