Exploring Identity & Expanding Gender with Ryan Loiselle

Ryan Loiselle is a non-binary queer person (using he/him or they/them pronouns) and has been exploring radical identity and spirituality since their early 20s. While that journey has involved enculturation as a gay male and initiation into some more organized systems their experience has always been foregrounded by deep interest in expressing and celebrating their own queerness and discovering the inherent magic that can come out of liminal being. Under the name Sister Sharin' Dipity, they became fully-professed member of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence in 2003 and continues that work today as the current Prioress of the Portland Sisters. In 2018, he was initiated as a Brother of the Unnamed, an ecstatic spiritual path for men who love men that focuses on service and personal work with ancestors and the deities connected to that path. In his secular life, Ryan is a licensed professional counselor and gender therapist in private practice in Portland Oregon where they also serve as the Clinical Supervisor for Brave Space, a counseling center devoted to supporting a transgender, non-binary and other gender expansive individuals and their families. Episode Highlights Ryan tells us who the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence (SPI) are, how they began and what they do today. He also tells us how he first discovered them and his path to joining them. They share their ideas about the connection of the Sisters to the Radical Faeries. Ryan talks about how being a Sister shaped his spiritual life and his own queer identity. We discuss how the Sisters help us push and expand our ideas of gender through their own authentic explorations. Ryan talks about becoming a therapist and how he came to focus on gender and identity. They share how they use and practice existential therapy in their practice. We talk about breaking gender role norms, no matter what your sexual or gender identity is. Web links Find Ryan at InContextCounseling.com or Brave Space Connect with the Portland Sisters   Grab your FREE Guide - Needs, Boundaries & Self-Care for Queer Folks.  Download it here. Join the Queer Spirit Community Facebook group to continue the conversation and stay up to date on new episodes.  And follow us on Instagram! Join our mailing list  to get news and podcast updates sent directly to you.