Thread by @CJ_Toronto

It was April 1986. Not a great time to be a gay teenager. Things were much different then. Gay rights were virtually non-existent, much-needed resources were hard to come by and if you had any questions, well... good luck to you.

Enter Sue Johanson.

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To this day, I don't know what prompted me to record the Sunday Night Sex Show on Q107 FM that night, but it would change my life in ways that I couldn't have imagined at the time.

That particular Sunday, Sue's guest was David Kelley, a gay activist, educator... 2/

...and frequent SNSS guest. He was Sue's go-to expert on all things LGBTQ in the 80s. As the Maxell tape slowly turned in my boombox, Sue and David (pictured below) had a wonderful conversation about gay rights, the need for acceptance and change in society and... 3/

...how vital it was for young LGBTQ kids to be accepted and loved by their parents. Why was I recording this? I had no idea. I had just met my 1st boyfriend earlier that year and I had no intention of rocking the boat by coming out to my mom. 4/

I was so paranoid that somebody would discover the tape that I literally put a padlock on it.

Again, it was the 80s.

They were different times. /5

Long story short, a few months later, my mom would stumble upon me and the boyfriend making out on the couch in the family room and my coming out story was born!

After the initial confrontation, she stopped talking to me for a while. I guess it was a lot to absorb. /6

One day, it occurred to me that maybe she could benefit from listening to that Sunday Night Show that I had recorded a few months earlier. So, I removed the padlock (lol) and left it in her room with a note. /7

Not long after that, we started talking again. She thanked me for the tape and, much to my surprise, said that she thought it would be a good idea if we made an appointment at Central Toronto Youth Services and go have a chat with David Kelley - Sue's resident gay expert. /8

And so we did. And that's when everything changed. David and my mom had an instant affinity for each other. He helped her understand all the things she was feeling and going through. He started out as a lifeline for her and quickly turned into a cherished friend. 9/

With David's support, she would go on, over the next few years, to become one of the original PFLAG parents in southern Ontario. Not content with simply 'being there' for parents struggling with their child's sexuality, she felt that she needed to do more.

And she did. 10/

From 1988 till about 1995, my mom would tour all over southern Ontario and the US northeast, giving presentations on LGBTQ rights and acceptance in high schools with David Kelley and Sue Johanson. 11/

So impactful was the presence of a parent at these presentations that Sue & David called her their 'secret weapon.' The three of them together changed and saved lives and I still have the letters my mom kept from parents and kids alike to prove it. 12/

They moved the needle on gay rights in Canada. Of that, I have absolutely no doubt. I remain immensely proud of them & thankful for everything they did and accomplished together.

And none of it would have happened without Sue's Sunday Night Sex Show. /13

Rest in peace, Sue.

Say hi to Mom and David for me.

Thank you for everything you did.

I'm lucky to have known you.

#RIPSue #SueJohanson #SundayNightSexShow #LGBTQ