The Nearest Exit May Be Behind You with Seth Anderson-Matz and S. Bear Bergman

Ok, I"ve started to embody my transness. Now what? Today we meet Seth Anderson-Matz and we’re talking about the queer book that saved his life: The Nearest Exit May Be Behind You by S. Bear Bergman. And Bear joins us for the conversation! Seth Anderson-Matz is a queer & trans community organizer and minister. He has lived and worked in the Twin Cities area all his life, and currently resides in South Minneapolis with his wife (Jenn), one big dog (Roxie), one tiny dog (Saul), and one weird cat (Lucy). S. Bear Bergman is the author of nine books, founder of Flamingo Rampant press, and frequent consultant in equity and inclusion to business and government. Bear began his work in equity at the age of 15, as a founding member of the first ever Gay/Straight Alliance and has continued to help organizations and institutions move further along the pathways to justice ever since. Alternately unsettling and affirming, devastating and delicious, The Nearest Exit May Be Behind You is a collection of essays on gender and identity that is irrevocably honest and endlessly illuminating. With humor and grace, these essays deal with issues from women"s spaces to the old boys" network, from gay male bathhouses to lesbian potlucks, from being a child to preparing to have one. It offers unique perspectives on issues that challenge, complicate, and confound the "official stories" about how gender and sexuality work. Connect with Seth and Bear instagram: @s.andersonmatz website: sbearbergman.com instagram: @bearbergman bluesky: @sbearbergman.bsky.social Our Bookshop Visit our Bookshop for new releases, current bestsellers, banned books, critically acclaimed LGBTQ books, or peruse the books featured on our podcasts: bookshop.org/shop/thisqueerbook Buy your own copy of The Nearest Exit May Be Behind You: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9781551522647 Become an Associate Producer! Become an Associate Producer of our podcast through a $20/month sponsorship on Patreon! A professionally recognized credit, you can gain access to Associate Producer meetings to help guide our podcast into the future! Get started today: patreon.com/thisqueerbook Credits Host/Founder: J.P. Der Boghossian Executive Producer: Jim Pounds Associate Producers: Archie Arnold, K Jason Bryan and David Rephan, Bob Bush, Natalie Cruz, Jonathan Fried, Paul Kaefer, Joe Perazzo, Bill Shay, and Sean Smith Patreon Subscribers: Stephen D., Terry D., Stephen Flamm, Ida Göteburg, Thomas Michna, and Gary Nygaard. Creative and Accounting support provided by: Gordy Erickson Quatrefoil Library Quatrefoil has created a curated lending library made up of the books featured on our podcast! If you can’t buy these books, then borrow them! Link: https://libbyapp.com/library/quatrefoil/curated-1404336/page-1 Join us April 10 at 6pm at Brooklyn Public Library!  An evening of queer first loves, first queer heartbreaks, friendship, finding oneself through writing, and just a little bit of internet stalking with Mia Arias Tsang and Chloé Caldwell. Free and RSVP: bklynlib.org/this-queer-book Support the show