Afleveringen
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Hey you. It's Tyson and Taylor here. We're thrilled to bring you back into the werkbook space for this new drop! Welcome back.
In this episode, we share a new story: What does it mean to stay soft in a world that keeps asking you to harden? For Ethan, that question stretches across continents, starting in Vietnam with lotto and parents, moves through to the United States with research work, follows into Brazil where visibility seems everywhere, and back to Vietnam, holding power and taking up space. All these with a pearl necklace sparkling their vibes.
EPISODE GUIDE
00:00 â Softness is a superpower
Weâre half full⊠and staying soft in a hard world is its own kind of rebellion.03:15 â Intersectional fabulous realness
Ethan talks intersectionality, living visibly, and why a pearl necklace can be both an accessory and a manifesto.08:00 â Identities arenât pie charts, darling
We unpack nationality, queerness, and the complicated business of belongingâto countries, communities, and ourselves.15:58 â Growing up queer in Vietnam
From media portrayal to hĂĄt lĂŽ tĂŽ, Ethan reflects on navigating early life and culture that built their curiousity.25:08 â Returning home as an openly queer leader
Thereâs something deliciously full-circle about coming back to Vietnam as your whole selfâand making institutions take notes.27:36 â The coming out story
We love a supportive family arc. Did Ethan get one?37:19 â Claim your power, teachers
Queer people belong in classrooms, research, leadership, and policyânot just surviving systems, but reshaping them.41:34 â Visibility isnât free labour
Research, allyship, tokenisation, lived experience, and money all in one segment!47:57 â Spirituality requires authenticity
From temples to trains, Ethan reflects on self-acceptance, higher powers, and why you canât build a life on a closet door.52:21 â Queer joy is Taylor. That is all.
Friendship, mentorship, found family; plus some traditions must endure. đâšFinal vibe check:
Softness is power, identity is fluid, and queer joy is in the conversationsâand a fabulous necklace đ
* All voice clips used are done so for lighthearted entertainment and often educational purposes under the creative commons licensing. Ethan mentions Queer Eye (for the Straight Guy) and so that's a brief clip.
* Intro and outro logo combined from music by Gamemaster Audio and AM Beef.
* Background ambience includes Liquid Memoirs - Transitions, Risian - Imagine a World, and Yair Cohen - Our Home.
* Queer joy background music includes excerpts from Jane The Boy - Electric by Electric. -
Welcome to this episode of werkbook! Tyson Seburn & Taylor Veigga explore what being Queer actually looks like for eleven Queer ELT folxâacross cultures, generations, religions, and life stages.
EXCLUSIVE RELEASE @ #IATEFL2026
In this episode, Ani, a Brazilian educator who identifies as travesti, shares her journey from navigating gender identity in a conservative environment to building a fulfilling life in SĂŁo Paulo. Our conversation explores language, identity, queer visibility, cultural norms, and the power of representationâmoving from personal struggle to joy, love, and future possibility. Itâs a grounded, deeply human look at how vocabulary, community, and visibility can help us be who we are in all ways. .
EPISODE GUIDE
00:00 Intro & meeting Annie
04:05 Identity, teaching & finding a way through
05:00 Moving to SĂŁo Paulo for safety and freedom
09:10 Culture, masculinity & being visible
15:00 Language, labels & reclaiming words
19:45 Religion, silence & early self-discovery
30:00 Gender roles & the pressure to perform
36:45 School, allies & early confidence
37:30 Pop culture, Gaga & representation
47:00 Allyship & asking better questions
55:00 Queer joy, love & building a future
1:00:10 Final thoughts on real allyship -
Zijn er afleveringen die ontbreken?
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Welcome to this episode of werkbook! Tyson Seburn & Taylor Veigga explore what being Queer actually looks like for eleven Queer ELT folxâacross cultures, generations, religions, and life stages.
In this episode, we meet with Gaye (he/she/they), who is from TĂŒrkiye. They are pansexual and bigender. Most of us donât grow up with the words to describe our identities that clearly; in fact, we arenât encouraged to. In this episode, Gaye reflects on how that absence shaped their understanding of gender and sexuality while growing up in a conservative, under-resourced context. They talk about working as a queer educator in an environment where openness isnât always possibleâsupporting students who are asking similar questions, often without the language to do so. Gaye also traces how access (or lack of it) to media and representation influenced that process: from discovering shows like The L Word to recognising how mainstream portrayals can both illuminate and distort queer lives.The conversation also touches on family, particularly Gayeâs relationship with their mother, and the complicated mix of care, silence, and expectation that comes with it. Throughout, Gaye returns to the role of educationânot as a grand solution, but as a daily, practical way of making space for honesty, visibility, and small shifts in understanding.
If you believe that stories like Gayeâs arenât heard enough in ELT contexts, Iâm so happy youâre here to listen to our latest episode.
EPISODE GUIDE
00:20 â Identity and labels02:32 â Language, survival, and growing up in TĂŒrkiye
06:20 â English opens up more possibilities
08:25 â The L Word, awareness, and distorted expectations
14:04 â Performing identity in restrictive environments
19:42 â Mental health for self-understanding
22:18 â Professional life and pressure25:02 â Grief and its relationship to queerness
28:39 â Queerness as motivation and connection
31:03 â Gaye's queer joy with students
* All voice clips used are done so for lighthearted entertainment and often educational purposes under the creative commons licensing.
* Intro and outro logo combined from music by Gamemaster Audio and AM Beef. Some background music by Diamonds And Ice. Queer joy background music by Jane The Boy. -
Welcome to this episode of werkbook! We explore what being Queer actually looks like for eleven Queer ELT folxâacross cultures, generations, religions, and life stages. Thank you, from hosts Tyson Seburn and Taylor Veigga, for caring and sharing inside and outside our communities!
In this episode, we share space with Chad Langford, a Queer American, who is a language teacher living in France for forever. Warning: there may be a little spicy language, but only until we reclaim it for ourselves.
EPISODE GUIDE
0:23 đ§đ»ââïž Tyson & Taylor say heyyyy
2:08 đ§đ»ââïž Ty & Tay are pronunciation queens
3:27 đ§đ»ââïž Chad clocks himself
5:14 đ§đ»ââïž Language bites until you don't let it
14:03 đ§đ»ââïž Growing up in our hometowns
17:50 đ§đ»ââïž Parking lots, bookstores, and balls
25:29 đ§đ»ââïž Bullying wasn't equal for everyone
30:52 đ§đ»ââïž Coming out, pt. 3
33:36 đ§đ»ââïž Queer rep in the 80s
37:46 đ§đ»ââïž Did we date in highschool?
42:30 đ§đ»ââïž French Queerness as an adult
46:20 đ§đ»ââïž Chad on lost solidarity
49:11 đ§đ»ââïž Witchy Queer joy boy
Chad refers to Consenting Adult (1985) and Tyson talks about The Golden Girls, S2E11 "Isn't It Romantic?" (1987).
* All voice clips used are done so for lighthearted entertainment and often educational purposes under the creative commons licensing.
* Intro and outro logo combined from music by Gamemaster Audio and AM Beef. Inserted micromusic clips include "Blame It on the Edit" by Rupaul and "Ein Lied fĂŒr Barbara" by Heideboys. Queer joy background music by Jane The Boy. -
Welcome to this episode of werkbook! We explore what coming out to family actually looks likeâacross cultures, generations, religions, and life stages. Tyson and Taylor include personal reflections on coming out to parents in Canada and Brazil shaped by religion, fear, and love, and situate these stories in and out of the broader contexts explored by the nine guests we get to hear from.
From there, we hear a range of voices: people who lived double lives to survive at home, those who are selectively out due to culture or language, those who never got to come out to a parent who passed away, and others whose families quietly âalready knew.â The episode closes with joyful, affirming stories of supportâwhile still acknowledging that coming out is rarely a single moment, but a series of ongoing negotiations shaped by safety, timing, and love.
Section 1 - This common experience with parents00:10:05 â Ani (Brazil)
Growing up evangelical, living a double life, and finding schoolânot homeâas a safe space.00:15:39 â Kanako (Japan)
Not being out to family, managing visibility on social media, and the limits of selective disclosure.00:26:16 â Gaye (TĂŒrkiye)
Grief, generational limits, and coming out to a parent only after their death.
Section 2 - It's understood00:29:59 â Elizabeth (UK)
A matter-of-fact, almost accidental coming out where queerness was already assumed.
Section 3 - We love you.
00:35:47 â Chad (USA)
Coming out first to an aunt, then to parentsâand reflections on the paths we choose to do so.00:41:03 â Giovanni (Italy)
A joyful, theatrical family âinterventionâ that ends in laughter and relief.00:44:49 â Ethan (Vietnam)
Immediate parental affirmation and the privilege of unconditional support.
Section 4 - Out isn't just to parents.00:50:10 â David (Canada)
Later-in-life coming out within a marriage, moving from queer theory to lived clarity.
Section 5 - Rounding things out
00:58:30 â Mitts (Brazil)
His mom was the gay beard until she wasn't and then she was again.
* All clips used are done so for educational purposes under the creative commons licensing.
* Intro music clips by Gamemaster Audio and AM Beef. Background music includes Aryeh "I Love You", Oded Distalmen "Coucou", and Dreamy Drums - Rhythmic Chop Beat. -
Welcome to our first episode, where we come out together as a community, podcast hosts, and podcast editors! Taylor says it best when she describes the stories we include as being "unpolished".
Taylor & Tyson discuss the origin of this project, the meaning behind the name (it's not incorrect spelling, we swear!), coming out stories, the phrase itself, and ways in which media has shaped the view of coming out. We attempt to show how we're merging two worlds: queerness and education.
Episode breakdown:
A - 0:00 Introductions
B - 5:02 Why werkbook is needed
C - 11:15 Coming Out Day history
D - 13:50 Taylor & Tyson discuss coming out stories
E - 18:57 Coming out vs Inviting in
F - 21:15 Heartstopper
G - 29:00 Elliott Page
H - 34:40 Preview of S1E2
* We refer to Human Rights Campaign and National Coming Out Day. Find out more here: https://www.hrc.org/campaigns/national-coming-out-day
* All media clips used are done so for educational purposes under the creative commons licensing.
* Intro music clips by Gamemaster Audio and AM Beef. Background music includes Like a Father.
