How your Circle Can Save your Life with T.J. Jourian

Today we have another Dem Bois Podcast First! In this episode, my guest TJ Jourian shares a difficult time in his life where he had to revert back to his previous gender and how that affected his mental health. And, I want to give an emotional warning, because we do discuss suicide ideation. We also discuss masculinity, being trans identified vs. being a man, cultivating healthy higher education environments, and much more! 

We talk:
TJ’s transition journey - 5:48
How his family accepts his identity now - 15:50
How reverting back to his previous gender affected his mental health - 24:42
TJ’s higher education and how he navigated those spaces - 34:47
The importance of community in higher education -  47:10
How you can work with TJ - 54:12

References
Boys Don’t Cry (movie)
Brown Boi Project
Emergent Strategy by adrienne marie brown

Read more about our guest in his bio below:

T.J. Jourian is a scholar, consultant, and coach with Trans*Formational Change. He helps changemakers – diversity workers, activists, creatives, scholars, and leaders – reclaim and transform their energy, as they transform the world. T.J. partners with colleges, companies, conferences, and community-based organizations across Turtle Island in their efforts towards equity and inclusion. His research examines race, gender, and sexuality in higher education; masculinity, transness, and racialization; and campus gender and sexuality practitioners. T.J. has published extensively, including the co-edited books Queerness as Being in Higher Education: and Queerness as Doing in Higher Education: Narrating the Insider/Outsider Paradox as LGBTQ+ Scholars and Practitioners.

• http://www.tjjourian.net/
• https://www.instagram.com/tjjourian/
• https://twitter.com/tjjourian
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/tjjourian/

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