Longtime local CBC Radio journalist Wil Fundal explores gender identity – including their own – in They & Us, a new six-part podcast.
The podcasts introduces listeners to gender identity and why it matters.
Some people identify in traditional binary terms - female and male - using pronouns 'she' and 'he' while some people identify as non-binary, which is an umbrella term for people who do not identify as one or the other.
That is a simplified definition of a complicated subject that Fundal, who identifies as non binary with pronouns 'they' and 'them,’ helps listeners navigate by offering a safe environment for those who are non-binary to tell their stories, experts to provide information about gender identity and Fundal to share a bit of their own story.
"The podcasts are an entryway to learning about it," Fundal said. "It's not the definitive guide."
Fundal said they believe the six podcasts are enough for people to start thinking about what gender identity means.
"It gives enough for people to understand it and then they can do their own research to learn more about it," they said.
The idea of creating the podcasts came about a year ago and shortly after that Fundal approached the guests and fellow CBC journalist Andrew Kurjata to help produce the project. Included in the podcasts are snippets of Fundal's own experiences like when they wore their high-heeled red boots to work for the first time and when they came out to their father.
During the podcasts, listeners also hear from a musician, a medical program student, a First nations educator and other area residents who chose to share their stories.
"The experiences they had illustrate some of the issues that exist," Fundal said. "It's not going to be all of it but it is going to be some of it."
These first-person stories aren't something most people can easily access.
"We don't talk about it," Fundal said.
So during the process Fundal made the promise to create a safe space for those they interviewed.
"The intention is so that people can better understand these lived experiences - because I didn't live those experiences - I've lived my own - and that's how we got to some of the topics and issues we talk about in the podcasts," Fundal said.
The entire podcast series is an illustration of the issues demonstrated through those personal experiences.
"It's relatable because you have co-workers, friends - you may even have family members - who may have not told you but they might be somewhere in that spectrum of gender identity and so if we continue to not talk about it and if we just kept going I think people will be left behind."
Fundal said that's not something they want to have happen.
"Because one day you will meet someone who introduces themselves 'Hello, my name is Wil Fundal and my pronouns are 'they' and 'them',' and I've experienced this when I've told people where they don't know what to do. It's like I've just taken my clothes off and now they're like 'ahhhhhh'. They're in shock. My idea of making the world a better place is to say you don't have to be scared when I just want people to know and I want them to be able to manage it and deal with it."
They & Us is available through the CBC podcasts page and also through podcast apps.
