08: My Life as a Nonbinary African – With Leon Mopecha

This week – in honor of Pride Month, we will be having Leon Mopecha to discuss “Their Life As A Nonbinary African” on episode 8. Though my discussion with Leon will be focused on their life and experience as a trans person, we will also be addressing the negative outlook, stereotypes, and discrimination faced by the LGBTQ+ community in our community.

In many African countries, homosexuality is still taboo, with society holding conservative views on gender identities and roles. This translates into a considerably high level of intolerance and discrimination towards LGBTQ people.

To overcome these issues faced by the LGBYQ+ community in our African Community, we hope that this conversation is better received than last year when we had this same discussion.  All we ask for is more tolerance and respect towards the LGBTQ+ community and that you learn and unlearn a couple of things from listening to this episode.

Meet Our Guest:

Leon Mopecha (they/them) is a nonbinary creator and educator from Cameroon, living in the United States. They use gender-neutral they/them pronouns. Leon majored in Communications with a minor in Anthropology from Widener University. Their biggest passions are linguistics, immigration and travel, intercultural communication, filmmaking, animation, and literature. In all of these fields, Leon likes to apply their unique perspective as an individual from a very diverse background, speaking on how to make media more inclusive and truly representative of society, raising awareness about previously erased or suppressed histories, and encouraging literacy and multilingualism in youth and adults.

Contact Leon: 

Instagram: @leon_thelion

Things You Will Learn in This Episode: 

[00:01 – 03:00] Introduction

• Introducing our guest – Leon Mopecha

[03:00 – 10:00] Anyoh Addresses Our Audience On LGBQT+

• The reactions from last year’s episodes on LGBTQ+
• Why we need to have these conversations

[10:00 – 50:00] Getting To Know Leon 

• Leon’s upbringing and how it impacted their gender identity
• Going through sexual abuse 
• Leon’s struggles with gender identity
• Dealing with family reactions, gossip, and discrimination from the community.
• How family members have changed their views and the support they offer now
• Addressing Discrimination & Promoting Love
• Leon’s ‘coming out’ story and how the family received it

[50:00 – 1:10:00] Transitioning & Dealing With New Realities

• The transition process and how Leon dealt with it
• Body changes, hormone changes, and Leon’s priority
• Learning how to live in America as a Trans-Black Man
• Dating life
• What we need to learn & unlearn 

[1:10:00 – 1:15:00] Final Words

• The need for respect and tolerance
• Leon’s final words
• Anyoh’s final words

Tweetable Quotes

“You may not support the members of the LGBTQ community, but I would plead with you to just respect them as humans first because we are human beings first before anything.” – Anyoh Fombad

“What people advocate for when they advocate for LGBTQ+ rights – we’re advocating not that everybody needs to suddenly become bisexual, but that there needs to be an acknowledgment that there are multiple kinds of sexuality and there are multiple kinds of gender identities.” – Leon Mopecha

“There are more than enough examples of people that are members of the queer community of the LGBTQ plus community, that have family, jobs, are famous or successful, are scholars, activists, advocates, you know, firefighters, police, whatever, they’re in every profession, all over the world, every culture, without exception.” – Leon Mopecha

“My last call is just for us to show empathy, regardless of who we’re dealing with; whether they’re members of LGBTQ plus community or whatever community. As human beings first, it is our duty to show respect and empathy for one another.” – Anyoh Fombad

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Connect with Living African Podcast: You can connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, or Twitter, or send us an email at hello@livingafricanpodcast.com.

Check out our website www.livingafricanpodcast.com for more resources and to learn more. Connect with host, Anyoh: You can connect with Anyoh on Facebook (@anyohf), Instagram (@anyohfombad), and Twitter (@anyohfombad).