The future really is queer: How Queer Educator Representation Impacts Students | Ep. 190 (with Julia Lathin)

E190 - The future really is queer: How Queer Educator Representation Impacts Students | Ep. 190 (with Julia Lathin)

Published: January 22, 2026

Duration: 50:23


In this episode, host Bryan Stanton (they/them) talks with Julia Lathin (she/her), a lesbian art teacher in Los Angeles, about the evolution of her teaching—from closeted survival in a Michigan Catholic school with a morality clause, to building affirming, creative classrooms for queer youth in California.


Listeners will learn:

What it meant to teach under a “morality clause” while hiding key parts of her identityHow one small phrase—“pick a better word”—became a lifelong teaching mantraPractical ways to create safe, affirming art classroomsWhat happens when admin support is missing—and wh...