G&STC Therapist In Training Sula Malina talks with Gabrielle Kassel about Celebrating Pride in the Middle of a Global Pandemic

Check out G&STC’s therapist in training Sula Malina talking with Gabrielle Kassel at Shape Magazine about How to Celebrate Pride In 2020 Amidst Protests and a Global Pandemic.

Here are some highlights:

On Pride:

“[Pride is] generally a place for LGBTQ folks to build a sense of community, be reminded that other folks have similar experiences, desire, and struggles, and can bring us a sense of pride, inspiration, and comfort in who we are”

Diversifying your life:

"Cisgender and heterocentric messages permeate the media and institutions of daily life," says Malina. If you're not a sociologist that may sound a little heady, so to understand what that means, turn on the TV and scroll down the list of shows. Ask yourself: How many of these feature queer main character roles? If you're lucky, Glee, Skins, or Degrassi will be on and the answer will be one. But typically it's a big whopping zero.

"Filling your Instagram feed with queer and trans folks can help push back on those dominant narratives and queer the messages we're getting on the daily," says Jesse Kahn, L.C.S.W., C.S.T., director and sex therapist at The Gender & Sexuality Therapy Center in NYC. Thanks to the DM-slide, like, re-tweet, and heart functions, doing so can also help connect us to online queer and trans communities that celebrate queerness and gender fluidity, he says.