Reading the Rainbows

Heather Looy
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  • SOCIAL SCIENCES

How do we navigate the bewildering and rapidly-changing rainbows of sexual and gender diversity, and the rainbows of responses to this diversity? In this podcast I guide you through the research and the stories in a spirit of curiosity, compassion, humility, and hospitality. The goal is to provide accessible and digestible information to support your own journeys through this landscape. Your host is Heather Looy (rhymes with boy), a professor of psychology at The King's University, a Christian university in Edmonton, Canada.

  1. JAN 19

    9. Proud Faith: How Youth Navigate Queer and Religious Identities

    What do teens do when they realize they might be queer (LGBTQ+) and are also part of a faith community? There's a general belief that you can't be both: That embracing a queer identity means rejecting religion, and vice versa. While this is a myth--many queer persons are deeply religious--the expectations and the experiences of queer youth in Christian contexts is most commonly one of rejection. How do queer youth navigate this? In this episode we share research on the experiences of queer youth as they explore whether they can integrate their queer and religious identities. We discover some expected and also some surprising and hopeful responses.

    27 min

  2. 2025-08-25

    8. Transgender Stories

    Transgender. These days just speaking the word can trigger intense emotional reactions. The topic has become a political hot potato. It's difficult to have a considered, thoughtful, evidence-based conversation about transgender. I invite you to take a deep, calming breath. We're going to take time to reflect on what the term transgender means and what experiences the word captures. In this episode, we start by listening. What do transgender persons say about their experience? What is it like to be transgender? We hear from Hannah and Gill, who generously and vulnerably share their journeys. In the spirit of humility, curiosity, and hospitality, let's listen.

    48 min

  3. 2025-05-08

    7. The Biology of Gender Identity

    How do you know your gender? Is it something you learn from others? Something that is hardwired into your brain from the beginning? Is gender identity something tightly connected to to your biological sex, or can it vary independently of sex? These questions become concrete when someone's experience and expression of gender differs from what we expect. This episode, co-hosted by Jonathan Sieswerda, introduces the research into the biology and neuroscience of gender identity.

    42 min

  4. 2024-09-07

    6C. The Science of Sexual Orientation: How and How Should Research Affect our Attitudes?

    We casually toss around words like "gay," "straight,", "bi," and "ace" and use them as touchstones or calls to arms in our culture wars around sexual diversity. We often act as if we all know and agree on what these terms mean.  And regularly we bolster our own positions with claims about what "scientists say." So what do "scientists say" about sexual orientation? In this three-part series, I examine the challenges of defining what sexual orientation is for research purposes (part A), what the research tells us about the causes and consequences of variations in sexual orientation (part B), and both how and whether we can use this research as we engage in conversations around sexual diversity.

    16 min

  5. 2024-09-07

    6B. The Science of Sexual Orientation: What Does the Research Say?

    We casually toss around words like "gay," "straight,", "bi," and "ace" and use them as touchstones or calls to arms in our culture wars around sexual diversity. We often act as if we all know and agree on what these terms mean.  And regularly we bolster our own positions with claims about what "scientists say." So what do "scientists say" about sexual orientation? In this three-part series, I examine the challenges of defining what sexual orientation is for research purposes (part A), what the research tells us about the causes and consequences of variations in sexual orientation (part B), and both how and whether we can use this research as we engage in conversations around sexual diversity.

    34 min

  6. 2024-09-07

    6A. The Science of Sexual Orientation: Defining the Phenomenon

    We casually toss around words like "gay," "straight,", "bi," and "ace" and use them as touchstones or calls to arms in our culture wars around sexual diversity. We often act as if we all know and agree on what these terms mean.  And regularly we bolster our own positions with claims about what "scientists say." So what do "scientists say" about sexual orientation? In this three-part series, I examine the challenges of defining what sexual orientation is for research purposes (part A), what the research tells us about the causes and consequences of variations in sexual orientation (part B), and both how and whether we can use this research as we engage in conversations around sexual diversity.

    21 min

  7. 2024-07-28

    5C. Those Were the Days: Are Sex and Gender Binaries Real?

    The theme to the 1970s sitcom All in the Family, "Those Were the Days," is a lament for a time when, supposedly, a clear sex and gender binary existed and everyone conformed: "Girls were girls and men were men." What does the science say about these binaries? Are they real? Universal? Unchanging? In this series of three episodes, I explore three common arguments in support of a binary view of sex and of gender: Sexual reproduction requires two sexes contributing in unique ways (Part A); there are obvious physical and behavioral differences between females and males (Part B); and human societies are built on a binary female/male foundation (Part C). What does the evidence say? Are these binaries indeed "facts of nature," and if so, to what extent?

    9 min

  8. 2024-07-28

    5B. Those Were the Days: Are Sex and Gender Binaries Real?

    The theme to the 1970s sitcom All in the Family, "Those Were the Days," is a lament for a time when, supposedly, a clear sex and gender binary existed and everyone conformed: "Girls were girls and men were men." What does the science say about these binaries? Are they real? Universal? Unchanging? In this series of three episodes, I explore three common arguments in support of a binary view of sex and of gender: Sexual reproduction requires two sexes contributing in unique ways (Part A); there are obvious physical and behavioral differences between females and males (Part B); and human societies are built on a binary female/male foundation (Part C). What does the evidence say? Are these binaries indeed "facts of nature," and if so, to what extent?

    17 min
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About

How do we navigate the bewildering and rapidly-changing rainbows of sexual and gender diversity, and the rainbows of responses to this diversity? In this podcast I guide you through the research and the stories in a spirit of curiosity, compassion, humility, and hospitality. The goal is to provide accessible and digestible information to support your own journeys through this landscape. Your host is Heather Looy (rhymes with boy), a professor of psychology at The King's University, a Christian university in Edmonton, Canada.

Information

  • Creator
    Heather Looy
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    19
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2024
  • Show Website
    Reading the Rainbows