Al Cho - Celebrating Queer Life and Family Through the Lens of Intersectional Identities
“The majority of people who go through trauma and crisis will recover. They will adapt to their situations, and there's many paths to doing that.” - Al Cho
Y’ALL! Proud older step-sister moment here as I get to introduce you to my step-sibling, Al!
Al and I have been step-siblings since we were 16 and 17 years old, respectively. We’ve seen each other go on different paths, pissed each other off, laughed with each other and celebrated lots of family events together. What’s even more exciting is that we’ve chosen similar paths for this next phase of our lives. Al has just graduated with their MSW and is here to talk about some of the amazing work they’ve been doing.
Al is a co-investigator on LGBTQIA2S+ aging and advocacy based in Columbus, OH (my hometown), where they develop intergenerational programming focused on arts and resilience. They also work on advocacy efforts to support trans aging and long-term care facilities AND creating equitable aging environments for African American older adults. I told you I was a proud sister.
A lot of Al's work interweaves their intersecting identities as a transmasculine person of Asian descent. “It compounds and creates a narrative that formed my life in so many different ways,” they explain. “We tend to truly emasculate Asian men.” But Al has also received the converse of that stereotype: the hypersexualizing of Asian girls and women, the gender they were assigned at birth. “It’s like being of two worlds,” Al says. Their ways of surviving and existing as a neurodivergent, transgender, Asian kid in a predominantly white school system, shaped their life in substantial ways. “Otherness, no matter what, will create barriers and some limitations.”
Otherness bonds Al to communities that are bursting with the most beautiful, deliberate living and intergenerational healing. That bond offers an opportunity to create a viable, visible future for generations of LGBTQIA2S+ folks while honoring the queer elders. “I look the work they did to make our lives possible,” Al says. “I get joy when they get to see the way their load has lightened over the years.”
A family affair, AND some badass work supporting Queer elders, and seeing the future of Queer and Asian excellence all in one episode? Hell yes!
"AL would like to extend his heartfelt gratitude to the Age Friendly Innovation Center, Dr. Holly Dabelko-Schoeny, and Christine Happel. Their invaluable support, guidance, and expertise have been instrumental throughout his research process.
The Age Friendly Innovation Center has been a beacon of knowledge and innovation, helping to navigate the complexities of aging through advocacy, research, and interventions. Christine Happel, in particular, has been an incredible partner, offering their guidance, encouragement, and deep understanding of the field."
RECOMMENDED EPISODES
CWH238 - Giulietta Durante: Fight the Patriarchy by Nourishing the Cyclical Needs of Our Hormones
CWH228 - John Gasienica: A Revolutionary Approach To Disrupting Pain With Pain Reprocessing Therapy
GUEST CONTACT AND BIO
Al Cho (he/they) is an MSW and a co-investigator on LGBTQIA2+ aging and advocacy in Columbus, Ohio. He develops intergenerational LGBTQIA2+ programming focused on arts & resilience and contributes to advocacy efforts on trans aging in long-term care facilities and creating equitable aging environments for African American older adults. They are also my sibling and
Let’s be friends! You can find me in the following places…
