redefiningfamily

On this week's episode of Redefining Family, Jonathan has the pleasure of speaking with his old friend Jonathan Goldstein and his daughter Madi Goldstein.   At seventeen, Madi came out to Jonathan and his wife as transgender.  Since then, they have not only supported her, but have become advocates for her and the trans and queer communities.

Jonathan discusses the realization him and his wife had that Madi was struggling with her gender identity.  Madi explains that she felt a disconnect with her mind and body, which made her feel so very isolated.  With the support of her family, Madi is thriving and finally feels like she belongs.  Madi also talks about finding community and support online, and Jonathan discusses advice he has for parents of trans and queer children.

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More About The Goldsteins

Jonathan and his wife have been married for over 20 years and are the proud parents of two amazing kids. Madi who is 18 and Micah who is 16. In addition to parenting two amazing teenagers, Jonathan has been a youth group advisor to temple youth groups affiliated with the North American Federation of Temple Youth (NFTY) off and on since 1998. When he is not attending youth group events,  Jonathan can be found at his synagogue where he is a Cantorial Soloist. But, more often you can find him managing the Energy & Utility Practice at CG Infinity.

This week on "Redefining Family,"  Jonathan interviews internationally recognized and award-winning musician and composer Blake Allen.   Blake was raised Mormon and came out to his blood related family at 18 years old, which at the time, did not go over very well.  However Blake explains that since then, him and his parents have learned to love each other in the way that they know how, even after he stepped away from the Mormon church.

Blake also opens up about how in college, the suicide of a friend took him through a really dark time in his life, and how he then decided to live his truth and not be afraid of telling his family, and the world, who he really was.

Blake is now married to political drag champion Marti Gould Cummings, and his father even walked him down the aisle!  While Blake and his family are examples of how blood relatives can eventually come around,  it is always your choice if you choose to let them back in and to also have boundaries and decide the kind of relationship you want to have with them.

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About Blake Allen

Blake Allen, PhD(c) is an internationally recognized, award-winning composer, musician, orchestrator, and educator. Allen has performed on and off Broadway and at many major music halls around the country including Carnegie Hall, Dr. Phillips Center, Strathmore Music Center, Kennedy Center, as well as on and off Broadway.

Allen has 4 chart-topping albums, with his autobiographical musical-opera the shards of an honor code junkie (#1 Classical Charts and the #1 new cast album on Billboard) garnering 4 million streams. He currently is traveling around the globe with RuPaul’s Drag Race star, Tina Burner, as their music director and collaborator, with their latest show Mix Queen: A Relationship Mixtape topping the comedy charts. Allen also frequently can be heard performing viola with the New York City Ballet and on the Seven Seas on VACAYA with their spouse, Marti Gould Cummings.  

This week Jonathan speaks with Arsham Parsi,  an Iranian LGBT human rights activist living in exile in Canada.   Arsham discusses when he first realized he was gay and what it was like growing up in Iran knowing he was different.  

Arsham discusses the consequences of being gay in Iran, fleeing the country and how his family had to flee soon after.  He also discusses his relationship with his family, what his life has looked like since he had to flee Iran, and all of the work he does to help others like him.

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About  Arsham Parsi 

Arsham Parsi is an Iranian queer rights activist who was born in Shiraz, the largest city in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

He is the founder and head of the Iranian Railroad for Queer Refugees an international non-profit organization based in Toronto, Canada that is helping Iranian queers and those who escaped Iran on the basis of their sexual orientation, gender identity and expression.

He is currently living in exile in Canada, but whilst still living in Iran in 2001 he started Rangin Kamin (Rainbow Group), a group for LGBTQ Iranians which he later renamed Persian Gay and Lesbian Organization, and then again as the Iranian Queer Organization (IRQO). Because homosexuality is illegal in Iran and can be punished with death, Parsi registered the organization in Norway and kept most of his LGBTQ activism to online spaces, where he operated a chatroom for queer Iranians.

Parsi himself fled to Turkey in 2005, claimed refugee status, and was eventually resettled in Toronto, where he founded a new organization, the International Railroad for Queer Refugees (IRQR).

The organization assists LGBTQ refugees who have fled their home countries because of their identities and are currently living in Turkey. The organization provides food, shelter, guidance, and education until they are eventually resettled.

His work has earned him several human rights awards including the 2008 Felipa de Souza Award from the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission and the 2008 Pride Toronto Award.

His 2015 book, Exiled for Love: The Journer of an Iranian Queer Activist, chronicles Parsi’s incredible journey from his first understanding of his sexual orientation to his eventual exile. It explores the reality for LGBT people in Iran through his personal experiences.