Embracing Queer Arab Identity post 9-11

Rayan Anton (he/him), a queer and trans Palestinian, reflects on growing up as the child of immigrants while navigating identity, belonging, and life in a new country. He speaks about queerness, cultural inheritance, grief, and the weight of returning to a homeland shaped by distance and loss. This episode is a powerful conversation about self-definition, fluid identity, and making space for all the parts of who you are. Episode hosted and recorded by Forouz Salari (she/her) in Jan. 2026 - edited & mixed by Miranda Ramnarayan (she/her). Guest Bio: Rayan Anton (he/him) is a queer, trans Palestinian man and the child of an immigrant family who moved to Canada in the early 1990s. He is a Registered Social Worker and Psychotherapist in Ontario, Canada, working predominantly with queer and trans youth of colour - many of whom also come from immigrant families: http://www.rayananton.com He is also a parent to a young child and is often thinking about what it means to hold on to cultural identity for himself and to pass it on to his son, in a society that is determined to erase Palestinian culture and identity.