Episode 87: Thriving Out Loud - The GenderCool Project

In this episode of "Gathering Ground," host Mary Morten sits down with Chase Glenn, Executive Director of the GenderCool Project, and GenderCool champions Chazzie Grosshandler and Ashton Mota to explore how storytelling, joy, and visibility are reshaping the conversation around trans and non-binary youth. At a time when legislation like Kansas's retroactive ID restrictions are making headlines, GenderCool is centering something the news rarely shows: young people who are not just surviving, but thriving. Together, Chase, Chazzie, and Ashton trace the origins of GenderCool, share their own powerful coming-out stories, and make the case that the antidote to fear-driven narratives is something deceptively simple -- actually getting to know trans youth as the full human beings they are.

Episode Highlights
- Chazzie Grosshandler on founding GenderCool at her family's kitchen table after coming out in fourth grade, and why she and her parents knew that if people could just get to know transgender and non-binary young people, everything could change
- Ashton Mota on coming out to his mom on his 12th birthday, growing up in a Caribbean household navigating cultural and religious dynamics, and how his family eventually opened their home as a foster placement for LGBTQ+ youth of color
- Chase Glenn on moving from policy advocacy in South Carolina to leading GenderCool in Chicago and why he sees personal storytelling, not legislation, as the most powerful force available to the trans community right now

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