Shadow Banned for Existing: How Meta Made It Okay to Call Us "Mentally Ill"

Shadow Banned for Existing: How Meta Made It Okay to Call Us "Mentally Ill"

In this solo episode of A Queer POV, David Begor takes apart what Meta has done to the queer community, with receipts. It starts with a thought experiment. A friend who notices everything you do, knows everything you watch, and one day leans in and whispers that if you keep posting about being queer, they'll make you invisible. That friend is the Instagram algorithm. David walks through what's actually happened: Instagram quietly blocking #gay, #lesbian, and #trans for teens for months in 2024. More than 50 LGBTQ+ organizations shadow banned or shut down across the globe in 2025. Mark Zuckerberg's January 2025 announcement that gutted hate speech protections, written in plain English, that now allows users to call us mentally ill, abnormal, and "it." A $1 million donation to Trump's inaugural fund. The end of Meta's DEI team three days later. He covers the free speech lie, the legal precedent that says private companies are not the First Amendment, and the data the Trevor Project has been begging us to look at: anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation among LGBTQ+ youth all climbing. The Los Angeles jury that just found Meta liable for $4.2 million in damages. The 2,000 more lawsuits waiting. This one names names, cites sources, and ends where every solo episode ends. With a choice. All links and full source list are in the episode's blog post at davidbegor.substack.com [http://davidbegor.substack.com]. #AQueerPOV #FriendsLovesAndLife #QueerPodcast #LivingOutLoud #ShadowBanned #MetaCensorship #LGBTQYouth #TrevorProject #DeleteMeta #QueerCommunity This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit davidbegor.substack.com [https://davidbegor.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Still Here: Kenny Patrick on HIV, Sobriety, and Living Out Loud

Kenny Patrick and David go way back to 1983. Life separated them, but reconnecting a few years ago gave David a front-row seat to someone living with extraordinary depth, honesty, and humor. In this conversation, Kenny opens up about living with HIV since the age of 21, nearly 28 years of sobriety, a relapse in 2025, and getting sober again. They talk about identifying as non-binary after more than five decades, what community actually means and what it cost to lose it, and the surprising places where grace shows up, like a lesbian named Cosmic Carla who didn't let Kenny keep the lie, and a former Marine named Jer in a halter top and a huge smile. This one covers a lot of ground: the AIDS crisis as a 21-year-old, a doctor who said four months, trauma and the two paths survivors tend to take, forgiveness that has nothing to do with the other person, and a God who looks like a Black woman in a Chanel suit saying "welcome home" to a man no one else would touch. It's one of the most honest conversations David has had on this show. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit davidbegor.substack.com [https://davidbegor.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

After 60: Mark Tammaro on Divorce, HIV, and Building a Life That's Finally His

Mark Tammaro didn't plan to start over at 62. After a 16-year marriage, a career he set aside to support his husband, and an HIV diagnosis that's followed him for 35 years, Mark found himself single, starting fresh, and, for the first time in a long time, building a life that's entirely his own. In this episode, Mark talks about what it means to reinvent yourself after 60. He shares the story of losing his first partner to AIDS in 1992, surviving a diagnosis that was supposed to be a death sentence, and the slow realization that the comfortable life he'd built wasn't making him happy. He opens up about going back to school to become a certified personal trainer, the freedom and fear of being on his own, what dating looks like at this age, and why he's more excited about the future than he's ever been. This is a conversation about loss, resilience, faith, and the stubborn refusal to stop growing. In this episode: Reinventing yourself after divorce at 60 Living with HIV for 35 years and what survival really looks like Losing a partner to AIDS in 1992 Going back to school and becoming a certified personal trainer at 62 What dating, intimacy, and relationships look like as a single older gay man The courage to give up safety and comfort for something real Faith, gratitude, and why humor matters Connect with A Queer POV: Substack: davidbegor.substack.com [http://davidbegor.substack.com] YouTube | BlueSky | All @davidbegor This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit davidbegor.substack.com [https://davidbegor.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

We've Always Marched

We’ve Always Marched: Why We Protest, Why It Matters, and Why March 28th In this solo episode of A Queer POV: Friends, Loves & Life, host David Begor traces the full arc of LGBTQ protest, from the first Annual Reminder Day pickets in 1965, through Stonewall, Harvey Milk, ACT UP, and the fight for marriage equality, to the No Kings movement happening right now. David has attended Pride marches for forty years. In this episode, he makes the case that every single one of those was a protest, and connects that personal history to the largest nonviolent demonstrations in modern American history. This one is personal. It’s also a call to action. In this episode: →  Why Pride has always been protest, even when we didn’t call it that →  Pre-Stonewall heroes: Annual Reminder Day and the Mattachine Society sip-in →  Stonewall, Harvey Milk, and the White Night riots →  ACT UP, the AIDS crisis, and what happens when the government looks away →  The 1993 March on Washington, Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, and DOMA →  The fight for marriage equality: Prop 8 to Obergefell →  The No Kings movement: from five million to a projected eleven million →  Why anger matters, and how to aim it →  March 28th: how to show up safe and smart →  Harvey Milk’s Hope Speech and why it’s still the assignment Sources & Show Notes: Full sources, links, and show notes at davidbegor.substack.com [http://davidbegor.substack.com] Connect With the Show: If this episode resonated with you, share it with someone who needs to hear it. That’s how we take care of each other. Find David: Substack, YouTube, and Bluesky — all @davidbegor This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit davidbegor.substack.com [https://davidbegor.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

They're Coming for the Ring: The Fight to Overturn Marriage Equality

They're Coming for the Ring: The Fight to Overturn Marriage Equality In this solo episode of A QueerPOV: Friends, Loves & Life, host David Begor takes on one of the most urgent threats facing LGBTQ Americans right now: the coordinated effort to overturn marriage equality. From a Waco judge who handed same-sex couples handwritten refusals, to Jonathan Mitchell — the architect of Texas' abortion ban — now filing federal lawsuits against Obergefell, David traces the full strategy: who's behind it, what they're building, and what it could mean for your marriage. This one is personal. David got married in 2016, and he's not willing to look away. In this episode: →  The Hensley case and her December 2025 federal lawsuit to overturn Obergefell →  Justice Clarence Thomas's written call to reconsider marriage equality →  Project 2025's specific language targeting the Respect for Marriage Act →  The Idaho House committee's 2026 attempt to overturn Obergefell →  What the Respect for Marriage Act actually protects — and what it doesn't →  What you can do right now Sources & Show Notes: Full sources, links, and show notes at davidbegor.substack.com [http://davidbegor.substack.com] Resources: Lambda Legal — free legal resources for LGBTQ rights: lambdalegal.org [http://lambdalegal.org] ACLU — LGBTQ rights resources: aclu.org/lgbtq-rights GLAAD — advocacy and news: glaad.org [http://glaad.org] Connect With the Show: If this episode resonated with you, share it with someone who needs to hear it. That's how we take care of each other. Find David: Substack, YouTube, and Bluesky — all @davidbegor This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit davidbegor.substack.com [https://davidbegor.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]