‘Coming out’ looks different for everyone. For some folks it’s simple, quick, and not as dramatic as the movies make it seem. For others however, coming out feels like climbing Mount Everest during the most extreme snow storm known to man.
‘Coming Out’ also doesn’t just happen once. It’s often a lifelong journey.
It starts within, then it’s coming out to your friends and family, classmates and coworkers and every time you meet a new person.
The scary part is sometimes coming out can just be down right dangerous depending on a person’s circumstances.
Local podcaster Pamm Meyers realized this and decided to make a safe place for LGBTQ+ folks to share their stories.
“I started thinking years ago that I wanted to write a book about coming out stories,” says Meyers.
Instead of writing a book, a friend of Meyers suggested she start a podcast where folks from the LGBTQ+ community have a safe space to tell their coming out stories. On Valentine’s Day two years ago, Lip Service: A Podcast of Our Coming Out Stories, was born.
Meyers started her podcasting endeavors in 2020 when she launched 3Q – New Mexico’s Premier Business Podcast in order to support and shine a light on small business owners during the COVID pandemic. Meyers soon realized she had the resources and experience to start the podcast she had long thought of doing.
In the first two years since launching Lip Service, Meyers has published roughly 90 episodes. All episodes involve stories of coming out, but some dive into religion, the pain of being outed by someone else and what it’s like coming out in places other than New Mexico.
“Really, it takes bravery and courage for people to share their coming out stories, a lot of people are very afraid to do it,” says Meyers.
Getting a guest to tell their story on the podcast isn’t always easy but Meyers has had some luck being able to get all different walks of life to stop by and open their heart for all to hear.
“A lot of them I know or I have connected with through volunteer work,” she says. “I’m on the Equality New Mexico board, and I was previously the executive director of the New Mexico Out Business Alliance and the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. So I’ve connected with a lot of these people just through my network, but some have reached out to me.”
Lip Service has also hosted guests who have made a strong impact in the LGBTQ+ community here in New Mexico. In the early days, Lip Service hosted Marshal Martinez, executive director of Equality New Mexico. More recent guests include Storm Miguel Florez, a trans and queer filmmaker who recently directed the documentary, The Whistle.
Preparing for an interview takes a lot of time and work for Meyers.
“I do some research on the individuals that I’m going to interview and try to find out a little bit about them first. And then we just proceed once they log on to record,” says Meyers.
Lip Service: A Podcast of Our Coming Out has seen a lot of growth within the past two years of its initial release. In its first year it reached around 2,000 listeners and now has more than 5,000 listens. Meyers hopes the podcast continues to grow in the future as time goes on.
“I would love to see that go bonkers. I’d love to see that number explode, because I think it’s so important to record our stories for history, and to support those who are still coming out to know that they’re not alone,” says Meyers. “People reach out to me in person, through messenger, and email. Every single one is like, ‘Thank you so much for doing this for our community.’”
Lip Service: A Podcast of Our Coming Out, can be found on any platform where you listen to podcasts and a new episode is released every week.