Teaching While Queer: Romain Galati

Teaching While Queer S1E1 Romain Galati

Intro: [00:00:00] Teaching While Queer is a podcast for LGBTQIA+ teachers, administrators, and while anyone who works in academia to share their stories. Hi, my name is Bryan Stanton, a queer theater educator in San Antonio, Texas each week. I bring you stories from around the world centered on the experiences of LGBTQIA+ folks in academia.

Thank you for joining me. Journey and enjoy Teaching While Queer.

Host: Hello everyone. And welcome to teaching wild queer podcast. My name is Bryan Stanton. I am your host today. I have the wonderful joy of going international today, and I'll be speaking with Romain who teaches German, but lives in Valence, France. Hello. welcome. Thanks so much for taking the time to speak with me today. I'm really excited, to get talking with you. So tell me a little bit, about yourself. What, what do you [00:01:00] teach? 

And yeah, let's just start there. What do you, where do you teach and what do you teach? 

Romain: So first, thank you for the invitation. I hope you will understand my English. I have studied languages, English, German, and my father is Italian, so I speak Italian too.

Host: Wow. 

Romain: Yeah, so language is kind of my stuff. and I work mainly as a translator. That's what I studied translation studies and then at some points I got asked by a school if I could teach German. And I say, well, I'm not supposed to be a teacher, but I like languages. So I'm happy to share them with some students. And I say, why not? So I, I studied and now it's been eight years since I started teaching. So I basically teach at the university engineering school. And I also teach I with adult training. 

Host: That's amazing. So can you tell me a little bit [00:02:00] about what it was like for you, you know, as a young person, a, a gay student in, in the world?

Romain: Oh, for me, it was I wouldn't say easy because it's never so easy, but mm-hmm, . I just make this very easy for everyone that I openly talk about it. So it's like when you meet other students, I say, what have you done during the weekend? I was my girlfriend doing this and that, I was just like, yeah, I was with my boyfriend and we did this and that.

Maybe I have to tell that I am in a very long relationship. It's been now 20 years, so. I met my husband when we were, when I was 15 and we are still together. So , while I, I think when you find one that can support you so long, it's the right one. right. 

Host: Absolutely. I met my husband when we were, I was 22. And so Not quite as long, but like definitely found that person. I [00:03:00] was like, great. I could stop looking now. Yeah. 

Romain: So for me, I was, I was in a stable relationship and I mean, it was just making this a normal thing. Like it, it, it, I will not say, yeah, I'm gay, we're wearing rainbow flags and and listening to Lady Gaga out loud or anything about just, okay, that's me.

I I'm, I have personality that I'm like this like this, and part of it is being gay and having a boyfriend and If you are not happy with it, it's not my problem. It's your problem. And I have to say also that at the language school, there were not so many boys. And we were like three boys out of 50 students because I live in a small city in a small area.

So it's not like the big town, Paris and stuff. It's like, it's, it's a very small town. And yeah, we were just three guys and two of them were gay. So it was not really something difficult. I would say. 

Host: Awesome. Do you think that being in a small town made it like [00:04:00] there's that what's the best way to word? There are those people who do like fly out of the closet with rainbow flags everywhere and, and are, are very public. Do you think that growing up in a smaller town or going to a university where there wasn't, you know, a lot of even just males in the room influence that decision, or do you think that it was just like, you know what, I'm just gonna be me and, and I'm gonna be low key because that's my.

Romain: Well, I, I, I was born here and grew up there. So I, I didn't have the experience of big cities where you have a, a, a gay community or LGBT community. So I, I was just living my life. And also at that time, we didn't have so much internet, so it was not so easy to, to, to really know about the pride and the, all the flags and stuff.

So, I was just being myself and if, if [00:05:00] people liked it, it's good. If not then I, I had my family that knew already about it and accepted. I was living with my, my, my boyfriend. So for me, the, the security was there already. I mean, if you, if, if the other students were not happy, I can, I can study without them.

I, I just do my own work and for all the other activities that I had because I was doing some voluntary work sometimes the topic came and I was just very open about it, but I was, for me, they call what, what I, what I think very funny is that sometimes people say, oh, you like the normal gay.

Like, like you, we don't see that. We cannot guess that you're gay. Say I'm not, I'm not hiding it. I'm just being myself. I mean, what does it mean to look like gay? Is it because I have to, to wear a flag or, or ? I don't know. I'm just, I'm just wearing my own clothes and I just being myself. So sometimes I take [00:06:00] it as a compliment, but sometimes it also mean like the other are not normal. What do you mean? Like with that? So. 

Host: Yeah. I, I feel that I'm married. I have children. And so I, I say that for a lot of people, I feel like I'm the palatable gay, like it's I'm easier to digest than somebody else who may be more flamboyant or more feminine than I am which at sometimes is like, okay, great, thank you. And then other times I'm kind of. But there's nothing wrong with flamboyant or feminine and all of that stuff. So I feel like that I get that same kind of energy that you're discussing. And I kind of get that vibe too because we follow each other on social media and I was like, oh yeah, we are very similar in that kind of just living your life.

And it's not necessarily always. Rainbow flags in unicorns though. I do have an eight year old. So a lot of my life is rainbow flags in unicorns, cuz she is a, she loves them. 

Romain: But for different reasons, for different reasons. 

Host: [00:07:00] Exactly. 

Romain: But also you have some straight guys that are very flamboyant and feminine and it doesn't mean that they're gay. So it's, it's two different things, your sexual orientation and the way you. 

Host: Yep. I agree with that entirely. And the idea of there was a long time that they, there was this coined phrase, the metrosexual, like the, the, well put together straight man who gets gets their nails done and and keeps their, I eyebrows on point or whatnot.

And they're just basically doing self care in a different way than most folks. And so it's so interesting that like for a long time, It had always been correlated that like your, your sexual orientation and your, your gender expression, really like your masculine, feminine side of things were tied together.

And in reality, that's just not the truth. So it's kind of cool to be like living in this world right now, where people are kind of opening up to that idea that gender has nothing to do with, [00:08:00] with who you love that, and, and how you express yourself. 

Romain: But still you have sometimes some conversation that are more related to the community and some that are more to the straight atmosphere. I'd say, for example here I, I know in the us it's less important, but soccer is here very important. Right. And. And last time we had a, a school exchange, the students made fun out of me, me saying so can you name at least three players of the French national soccer team? I was like, oh my.

Host: Let me get Google. 

Romain: Say what this guy, the one we see. I know the one we saw on, on TV, on advertisement, but other one, I don't, I have no idea about the French national soccer team, but for all the, the, the teenagers, they were like, why you dunno the name of this one? And this. I say, come on, you don't know the name of the singer of your Eurovision either. So , don't blame me. 

Host: [00:09:00] right. You do your research. I'll do mine. It's fine. 

Romain: My world cup. It's at your vision. That's it? 

Host: That's awesome. It's funny because I have the same conversations here about American football and I'm like, "don't even ask," like, "I'm not gonna be able to answer any questions you, you have."

Romain: Yeah. The super bowl is just the big concert for Madonna or Lady Gaga. 

Host: Yeah. I was like, oh right. The super bowl. Right. That's where they're playing a sport around the big concert. That's exactly. That's exactly how I view it. Like, oh, great. The Spice Girls did it once. That's awesome. So as you were growing up, it seemed like things were relatively calm. You were able to just kind of be yourself in your own space, which I think is super awesome because I don't think a lot of us who are our age got to experience that in the world. And even for myself, I, I got that to some extent, because I had a lot of time I was outed, which is horrible, but I, [00:10:00] I, because of that, I had a lot of time to get comfortable with who I was. But how do you think that informs you as an educator? Like what is it like either working with LGBTQ students or even those who maybe are like, Ugh, "I don't agree with LGBT people." 

Romain: Well, I'm a language teacher. So part of the language work is to speak and to express yourself in the foreign language.

So I try to bring some topics that helps the students to express themselves in a different way so they can express different words, different way of talking and Part of that. I, I don't want to do all the year about LGBT topics or about the discriminations or and especially there are.

For me, there are students at the university, so they are about to go into the, the real world after. So I have to prepare them to go for a job interview to write their [00:11:00] CV. And so we do a lot of the work about how do you present yourself to go to work in a company and stuff, but also when you have.

When you go to another country, you have to, to also know about the culture of this country. It's not just the language. It's also the local culture. And especially in Europe, we have all the different countries next to each other. So we the German culture is very different from the French culture.

So we, and also are not so long ago we were enemies. So. We it's very in the history. It's very different. And that's why we have to also know about that. Cause the same word can have different meaning in in the two countries. But anyway part of that is also. To, to discuss about the situation in the country.

So I have a topic that I address about inclusion and discriminations. And it's not all about LGBT community, but also about women rights about rights for disabled people about [00:12:00] racism. So it's, it's like a big, a big topic about discrimination. I also talk about LGBT.

It's not like LGBT is a small part. It is a part like all the other part of it. And and especially the. In Germany, it's very, it's very different. The way people have been accepted on for the LGBT community, like the, the gay were sent to concentration camp during world war II and it was the pink triangle.

And so we have, there is this big story that is very important in the German history that we can share with the, the students into German. But history is also connected because world war II was just 70 years ago. Mm-hmm the Berlin wall fell 30 years ago. So it, it, it's not so long ago that the continuant ones was divided and actually it's very new.

That we are United in the European union. So when we are what we learn in, in, at history school, it's like we were fighting each other during centuries. [00:13:00] In Europe. And you have all the places around like in, in France you have a lot of big streets that are named after world war. I like the verdant street or the, the, everything is reminding about the war and the big king and the like in my city, Napoleon is a big thing because he studied there. And so you say, yeah, I, French hero Napoleon, and then you talk to the German and say are you sure, yeah. 

Host: Depending on who's perspective, you're talking about. 

Romain: Yeah. So it, it it's like, it's all connected and it's all not so old also that we had all the, the war in Europe. So, and even today you have the war in Ukraine.

Host: Yeah. 

Romain: So war is not very far away from us. And, and so that's where you also think, okay. We live in, in, in, in the European union, but still it's very fragile. It's something that can be really easily destroyed and all the countries have the national [00:14:00] interest. And because we are, don't share the same language, we don't share the same culture. So. It's not that easy. And when you learn language I like to think that learning alone language is like creating a bridge with this, a new country. And, that's why it's important to know about the culture. And of course here, we're talking about the big picture, but when you look in details, Then you can see the, the, the story for the LGBT community that is very different from, all the countries in Germany. They were sent to the concentration camp to death and just after the war, they were sent to prison. They just took the, the, the gay, because of course it was mostly gay mm-hmm because lesbian were more accepted by the Nazis guess. 

Host: Right. And it's wild. Right. I feel like that's still a common trait. 

Romain: yeah. And, and then, just after the war, they were sent to prison. So for, for them, the, the nightmare were continuing and in France, we had to wait until [00:15:00] 1981, until the homosexuality was, to say de-, how decriminalized? 

Host: Yeah, decriminalized.

Romain: And in, in France we had, 2013 was the big, law about, the, we, we call it marriage for, for all mm-hmm so same sex marriage.

Host: Same for us. 

Romain: Yeah. And, it has been, a very difficult moment, because the, we knew that there were a conservative part of the French society. But there were, it was not something that you will say out loud, like, Ooh, the gay are not good. Or the. But then at that time, what we, what we heard from the people against the same sex marriage was ho very horrible. Like it was a nightmare for, even for adults like me. Well, where I, I can take the, an insult and reply back, but for the teenagers. Was like, there will say, a child can only be raised [00:16:00] by, his dad and, his mom. And, there are no other kind of families and, all the homosexuals are perverts and, so you could have, it was unleashed. The hatred was unleashed. And unfortunately, even today, it's still going on. So I feel like we. Say we, the positive improved we regress. 

Host: Yeah. That I there's a, a, a phrase that is one step forward, two steps back. And I feel like that is kind. Reminiscent of this experience. 

Romain: Exactly. Because when we had, at first we have a kind of partnership, where you can, that was working also for some sex couples. And at that time it was like in the nineties. So there were some, opposition, but then they say, yeah, it's not, it's not a real marriage. It's like something in between. It's like, it's, it's just a partnership. But then when, ask about the marriage, then it was, it became really violent. And I was at the demonstration, you know, [00:17:00] people in France like to go to the streets and and how can you react as a, as a gay person or member of the LGBT community?

And you see like 500,000 people on the street, saying gay is not normal. 

Host: Yeah. 

Romain: And it was like seven years ago. It's not, it's not very long ago. 

Host: What's wild is, is it feels like it's on a cycle cuz I think. Here at least dealing with similar things and, but they've changed their target. It's no longer like attacking adults really. It's like in, in America, the attacks are headed towards children. You were talking about, activism going to the streets and how that was seven years ago. And I think you were getting to, what, like, what is it like now? 

Romain: So the law has been, voted and accepted. And, so the, the, the populist movement, we're saying that it'll be apocalypse in France, but apparently the country is [00:18:00] still there. so I think, god doesn't hate us so much in the end. 

Host: Yep.

Romain: I think it's the, it's the whole, it's not just about the gay communities. There is so much hatred in France now. And we just had the presidential election mm-hmm where, President Macron has been reelected. But okay. We can say that, we don't have, rightwing, president or, left wing because the left wing are not be, better on that point. I mean, every time it's extreme, of course they are against the, the community, and the... we can see that they are a stronger position now because, you can see that, 42% of the French people voted for white extreme party to be president. And, they're always talking about immigrations, immigration immigrations, and, there was this guy called Zemmour in France, who was, a lot about. Talking about, the [00:19:00] LGBT community that he was complaining, that today the, the French male are not real men anymore because women have too much power. And, we are, Netflix is supporting the LGBT lobby. So it's all this. Stuff that you can hear. It's just bullshit. But you have some people that are looking at you in the eyes and say, yeah, I vote for this guy. I believe what he says. And you say, but come on. It's it's so stupid. You can prove it. Like, just explain to, three years old and he will understand why can't you understand that? What he's saying is stupid.

There was a woman on Twitter. I was, debating with mm-hmm and, and she, and she told me, this is not a threat, but I tell you, if you homosexualize as my son, then you will see me in the court. I say, how can I homosexual your son? I mean, he, he is who he is. If he is gay, he's gay. He's not gay. He's not gay, but I it's not because I will go to the school talking about [00:20:00] tolerance, inclusion that he will sudden and say, okay, now I'm, I'm switching to gay. No, you it's not talking like that. 

Host: It's magic.

Romain: Yeah. And you had, there was one woman at the French presidential election saying that, we should not allow operations for, for trans, children, before 18. Say, of course it's already not legal because, it's, the law is already there. Because we don't, we don't operate children. But still, if we can accept their pronouns or their new name, that's a good thing for the trans, teenagers and the government made, law not so law. It's like a decree. I dunno how you, how you call that. But, to improve that, that, in the school in France, we can name, we can easy the process to change the name and the pronouns. So they try to improve that. And then, you have this guy from the right extreme saying, yeah, now they want all the children of the, the young teenagers to change sex [00:21:00] and... 

Host: All of them. 

Romain: No, we just want them to live their life. Like they are, because unfortunately what you can read in the news is like, maybe three weeks ago there was, a young trans boy that, jumped from the windows and died, and mean that's what you can read on, on the newspaper. So that's the reality and that's what we need to address. Not these crazy people, that are believing in. I don't know what, but, far from the. truth 

Host: What's wild for me is that we're doing, dealing with similar situations in, in different countries at the same time. Like we're, we're looking at, laws here in America that are being passed on a local level at state levels and whatnot that are supposed to be restrictive of transgender students.

And even here in Texas, like doctors have an obligation now because of a law to turn away. Transgender patients. And recently there was a, a, a young man who committed suicide because, because he was [00:22:00] transgender, he went to the hospital to be treated and they turned him away and that just added to the compounding of whatever he was going through. And it drives me crazy that. It's like, there's some sort of guidebook on morality. That's happening around the world that is basically saying like, you know, what's wrong is gay people and trans people, but what's right. Are all these other things that are probably morally wrong. But we're not gonna, we're not gonna look at those things. We're just gonna put a spotlight on this. And so it's really interesting listening to you because it's. You're in a, you're telling me stories that very well could have been in the paper here. And talking about politicians who very well could be running for office, you know, down the street or wherever. So it's wild to me, just how polarizing we humans are on other human beings. And that we're "such a huge problem" worldwide. It's just, [00:23:00] it's crazy. 

Romain: But here in France, we are just, two hours with the flight away from Russia. Mm-hmm so, I mean, you can see the, the worst situations just nearby, even in Eastern Europe, within the European union, you have some countries like Poland or Hungary that are attacking the LGBT community. You have their No Gay Zone that they are creating in Poland also in Hungary. And it's, it's just our. They are, they're not so far away and that's where you can. And when they're starting attacking the LGBT community, you can be sure they're attacking the women rights. They are attacking the, the migrants.

So you, when you it's, it's all linked together. It's not just one community, targeted. It's all the minorities that are targeted. 

Host: Oh, you're right. I absolutely, I absolutely agree with that. It, it seems like there is. A push to [00:24:00] continue having control from like heterosexual male perspective. It's wild times.

It's funny because I keep thinking like, wow, it's gotten so much better. And at the same time, like, dang, I'm tired because I spent my whole life fighting, for rights. I mean, when I met my husband, it was illegal for us to even. Have relations with each other and then , and then we couldn't be married. And then we adopted children before we were married, which was fantastic.

And then we were legally married and all these things have happened that are like improvements and big things, but then there's another battle around the corner to fight. And it's, it's been wild and I can't think like for me, I have, a lot of. Struggle when I think about the eighties and the AIDS epidemic. And, and just thinking about how, like there's an entire generation of people that were completely wiped out because of negligence because [00:25:00] the government didn't think that they deserved to live. And so it, it's interesting that. Things have gotten better, but as you were mentioning earlier, it's like, we get better.

And then, and then it's like, okay, we're gonna have to take a step back here and then, and then keep pushing to move forward. So you are working at university. And one of my favorite things about university is that you don't have to deal with parents too much. Right? you're dealing with your students. That is my dream one day.

Romain: You, you, you do a little bit, but, they're all adults. So that's also why I consider that I can talk about all the topics and also the difficult topics, from our society because they're adults. So they're are able to speak freely. 

Host: I love that. That's the dream one day I wanna go teach at university, because it's hard not only working with your students, but then there's like people behind your students [00:26:00] that for like a high school teacher or secondary.

Well, still 

Romain: the, the parents are looking at what you're teaching and also the students themselves. They have high expectations of what you are doing. So you can, you should also come prepare and, bring good stuff, because otherwise they will complain and they will tell you right to your face. You're a bad teacher. It didn't occur to me. I just got the, the right, the good comments, but it took her to one of my colleagues. And, once she told her that it's her lesson were useless and, it's not very nice to hear these kind of comments. And then you have to argue with them because they, they will explain to you, they'll say you are doing this and this is bad and say, okay, So they have high expectations, but the, my solution is to bring German chocolate and and then they say, you're the good teacher.

Host: Yeah, absolutely. 

Romain: It's cultural. 

Host: Right. You're just immersing them in the culture. [00:27:00] I love that. And then it's a tiny little bribe but it's alright. 

Romain: And also they are, they are adults, but still they are children. And, this year, for example, there were one student who say, so, so I have a big question. Do you, do you, can we do a German meal for the last lesson? Like. I was like, is this really your point? Is it really your main issue in the, in the lesson? Okay. We, we can, we can organize that. 

Host: Right?. Absolutely. But also you need to learn that vocabulary. 

Romain: Exactly. I said you can only eat what you can pronounce right. 

Host: Wonderful. I love that. that's awesome. Have you had any experiences that you think, negatively impacted you with regard to like working with your administration or people in like, in a workplace power, or has it been relatively smooth as other things have been in your life?

Romain: You mean as a teacher, [00:28:00] as a teacher? 

Host: Yeah. 

Romain: Yeah. I haven't had, negative feedbacks on, on that, but I'm sure most of my students know, because, they just need to Google my name and find my Twitter or and they, they, and they would know , i, I won't say that I had, very negative experiences and also the university, they are, they're really free and they're very happy that I address this topic. but I can hear sometimes the students between each other making negative comments. And, I had one student who was very open and loud during the class and the next semester he was hiding at the end of the room. And I say, mm-hmm, something wrong. Happened then. And, i, there is a boundary, you know, you cannot also go too much into details with the students because you're the teacher, so you should not go too, personal with them.

So I just went to, to talk to him. I hope he's okay. And that if he needs to [00:29:00] talk, he has my email and can, can write me, that's all I said, but I, I think he felt understood. When I was doing that. And in my class, at least it was starting to behave like before, after that. So I, I also addressed this topic and, I'm, I'm not, I'm not saying this is right, or this is wrong to the student. I say, explain me your reflection. You, you say that, so. Explain me why you think that, and then the other students will reply back anyway. So , 

Host: I love that the idea of reflection, because I think you get a lot more out of that understanding people's perspectives than being told, like this is right and this is wrong and that's all there is to it. But in, in reality, a lot of, a lot of life is a gray area. Like the, the truth is somewhere in between everything. 

Romain: And there was a very interesting discussion that we had, with the students. [00:30:00] Maybe last month because there was for the international day against phobia transphobia mm-hmm . And, there was a group of students that were really, really queer. So with makeup and, so like really activist . And, and so the other students, they, they, one, one ask, " you said you want to be accepted and tolerated and, be who you are, but in the end, aren't you the one that are excluding yourself." and, and, those other students say, "no, you are excluding us." like, "no, we are not excluding you because we are in the same class and we are learning, at the same class, but you want to be like so different and so extremely different from the other that you exclude yourself, directly. It's not that the other are excluding yourself, that you don't want to be integrated. You want to be unique." From one, one side, you, you, we have [00:31:00] to accept that if they want to be this way, that's their own thing. But at some point they're really excluding themself and, and, there are, there, there, there are this part of the LGBT community that is going too far, in my opinion, 

like for young, young pride parade, the. 

They are doing a zone where it's not mixed. So you have, the, the, the zone for trans people that are only allowed for trans people. You have the zone for, disabled people that are, is only for disabled people. You have the zone where it's only for, queer colored people. And I think it's going too far, because of course you have minorities within, within the communities that we need to also, integrate more. And, of course there is racism within the LGBT community. And sometimes when you hear, when you can read on, on dating app, "no fat, no fem no". Then, [00:32:00] then of course there is hatred within the community as well. And it's something to address. But I think at some point it's going so far away that the, I had a discussion with one of the organizer and he told me I was just a, a white gay.

And I say, yes, I am. And what's the problem. So you, you, so I am supposed to be a threat to the, all the minorities because I'm a white gay, I know I want to be an ally I want to, I mean, I'm not a woman I'm still supporting women rights. So, i, when there was You know, there also Mar marching for women rights, on special occasion.

And I'm going there also, and I'm not a woman, so I'm not a trans person, but still I support trans rights. So why do you want to exclude me from that? But that's what they are doing at this parade And in the end, 

I think they are re dividing the community. And, on the other side, the, the, the proportion. Of, [00:33:00] of gay people from LGBT people that are voting right. Extreme is getting bigger and bigger. And I think we need to find this guy back and bring them in the right place. But if we exclude, exclude and exclude, then we will be so, so few. 

Host: Yeah, I agree. I think that it's, it's easier to pick us apart if we are separated within our own community than if we're standing together. It's easier to then, for other groups to be like, well, look. You're already separating yourselves. And so I'm gonna pick on this group right now, and I'm gonna pick on this group right now, and then ultimately the whole community is negatively impacted. And I think we see that in, the huge backlash happening right now with trans folks around the world. Like, we're like, okay, you know, Marriage equality was passed for many nations around the world. And so now, now we're going to pick out on, on the transgender community [00:34:00] because, this group was too United and they won their little battle. 

And so I I'm with you on that in the, in the segregation, within the community and, and, and the racism and transphobia that exists within the LGBTQ community is, is not ruining, but it is, weakening the strength of a community on a whole, because we are only as strong as our weakest link And if our weakest links are saying, We're are not a community. My community is just people who are exactly like me. Then there is no strength there. We can't stand together as United as, as we could. So I'm with you. I was at women's marches and I've been at marches for trans folk. This world is how old and we're, we're still quibbling over the color of people's skins.

Like it's just wild or where, what people's origins are or what their religions are. And it's just kind of like, there's so many things that we have that are similar, that if you just look. You just look at the other person, [00:35:00] you'll realize that we're just humans and we shouldn't be arguing about, you know, what you believe or who you love, or how you express yourself, or even the, the idea of, not the idea, but even thinking about how people are so avidly against, transgender folks. I'm like. Why someone should be able to tell you who they are, it's not your job to tell them. 

And so it's just, it's so interesting that all of these things are kind of happening, happening in cycles. I feel like we're just repeating ourselves over this. Each decade is the same kind of battles, but with slightly different language.

And that it's happening everywhere. It's not something that's like, oh, this is an American thing. Or this is a, a French thing, but it's literally across the board. and I think that's something that is powerful. They started doing international prides, or world pride day, I think 

Romain: World Pride. Yeah. 

Host: Yeah. And I, and I love that idea because I think that it reminds [00:36:00] people that we're not. Separately fighting a battle like this is happening all around the world. And if we just stood up and realized that like, here I am in Texas, and there you are in France and we're doing the same kind of things to protect people, that's a big deal.

And that it may seem like 42% of, of the govern or 42% of the populace is voting for this, this group. But you know, if we are the, the majority. In America and we're the majority in France. And we're the majority in all of these locations that there's a lot more, hope than, than what it can be perceived as from when you're looking just at your, your own space and within your own little world.

Thank you so much Romain for being here today. I really appreciate it. It was so wonderful learning about your experiences, what you do as an educator, as well as just connecting over the similarities that we face in the world. So thank you so much for your [00:37:00] time. 

Romain: Thank you for inviting me. awesome. Well, have a great day.

Host: You too.

Outro: Thank you for joining me for this week's episode of teaching wild queer. If you haven't done so already, please consider subscribing on your favorite RSS feed and sharing the podcast with your friends and family. New episodes will come out every other week during the school year. If you're interested in joining us on this teaching wild queer podcast, please email us at teaching wild queer podcast, Gmail dot.

Have a great day.[00:38:00]