No Way! They Were Gay? Copy

Did you know that Mahatma Gandhi had a soulmate and it wasn’t his wife Casaba? It was the male Architect Hermann Kellanbach. Or that a gender-fluid Pharaoh ruled Egypt for 22 years over 2000 years ago?

 

In this week’s episode of “The Be Ruthless Show” I spoke with Queer activist and author Lee Wind about the important LGBTQ+ topics he is passionate about, and his amazing book “No Way, They Were Gay? Hidden Lives and Secret Loves”.

 

Growing up being taught a straight-washed false facade of history contributed to Lee feeling isolated and alone as a Queer kid. In his latest book Lee shares the empowering Queer stories from history he wishes he was taught in school, in hopes that Queer kids don’t wait until their 20s to come out as he did. 

 

Introducing our incredible guest: LEE WIND

Lee Wind’s superpower is stories – true and fictional – that center marginalized kids and teens and celebrate their power to change the world. Closeted until his 20s, Lee writes the books that would have changed his life as a young gay kid. His Master’s Degree from Harvard didn’t include blueprints for a time machine to go back and tell these stories to himself, so Lee pays it forward with a popular blog with over 3 million page views (I’m Here. I’m Queer. What The Hell Do I Read?) and books for kids and teens.

 

His latest book is the middle-grade nonfiction “No Way, They Were Gay? Hidden Lives and Secret Loves” (Lerner Publishing Group/Zest Books, April 2021), honored as a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard selection. 

 

With day jobs for the Independent Book Publishers Association (as their director of marketing and programming) and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (as their official blogger), Lee’s superhero job is storytelling to empower readers to shine with their own light. 

 

You can find Lee Wind on most social platforms: Instagram | Twitter | Facebook

 

Purchase Lee Wind’s latest book “No Way, They Were Gay? Hidden Lives and Secret Loves” here.

 

A sneak peek into this week’s empowering episode with Lee Wind …

Here’s a preview of what we covered during my fascinating conversation with Lee Wind, including time stamps so you can jump straight into the subjects you find the most relevant.

 

[00:01:18] How Lee’s long journey of acceptance and authenticity led to a life mission that is really close to his heart: Creating a world where kids feel empowered to be authentically themselves at any age. And do schools need to adopt a more inclusive approach when it comes to history education?

[00:08:47] How American Idol’s rigid attitude is damaging to Queer contestants and viewers, and why everybody should be putting their pronouns next to their name.

[00:12:57] The empowering stories from history you wish they taught in schools.

[00:18:11] What triggered Lee’s passion to learn, and share, the real stories from history. And how he came up with the perfect title for his book “No Way, They Were Gay? Hidden Lives and Secret Loves”

[00:21:56] How being Queer was foundational to the accomplishments of many important historical figures, from Eleanor Roosevelt to Mahatma Gandhi.

 

What an empowering episode this was! A big thank you to Lee Wind for this educational deep dive! I loved learning about the real, and important, stories from history and I know you will too.

 

Listen to this week’s episode of “The Be Ruthless Show” with Lee Wind now.