the dark side of growing up gay

In this episode, we're getting into something that doesn't get talked about enough - the trauma that comes with growing up gay, and why it doesn't just disappear once you're out. This isn't about the coming out story. It's about everything else. The daily conditioning, the messages you absorbed without realising, and the very real psychological toll of spending years navigating a world that wasn't built for you. We get into minority stress, internalised homophobia, and why so many of the ways we learned to survive, the scanning of rooms, the coded language, the constant editing of ourselves, are still quietly running in the background today. Because it's not as simple as getting over it.Links:If you fancy reading you can discover the Hey Gay Boy Substack here: jameswallis0.substack.comCome and say hello on Instagram @james_wallis or TikTok @jameswallis_If you'd like to support the podcast, you can buy me a coffee at buymeacoffee.com/jameswallis - it really does help!Everything else is at linktr.ee/jameswallisxWant to go deeper? The Hey Gay Boy Substack is where I explore all of this in long form, with thousands of subscribers already in the community. Find it at jameswallis0.substack.comCome and say hello on Instagram @james_wallis and TikTok @jameswallis_If you'd like to support the podcast, you can buy me a coffee at buymeacoffee.com/jameswallis.Everything else is at linktr.ee/jameswallis Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.