Feeling so grateful to have had this conversation with Tanner. Tanner is an incredibly brilliant artist and thinker and happens to be one of the best friends of my younger sister from their earliest years, so I’ve had a good seat to watch his story for many years. This is a longer conversation than normal, but there was so much important stuff to get through.
Also, I say this at the beginning of the episode, but I’ll say it here too. It’s important to me that no one comes to this space needing to feel like they need to self-censor or justify. It’s likely that if you are an active Mormon, this will be a hard episode to hear. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t listen (you probably should).
There is no need to agree with what we say, but it does seem vitally important to hear the stories of the queer people from the world we grew up in. They are vibrant and brave and I know I learned a great deal in hearing Tanner open up about some of his life.
You can find him here:
http://voyagela.com/interview/meet-tanner-k-williams-tanner-k-williams-tantron-highland-park/
https://shoutoutla.com/meet-tanner-k-williams-he-him-creative-director-photographer-artist/
On Scrupulosity, coming out at BYU, the physical toll of keeping secrets, sex work and living a beautifully honest life with Tanner Williams