Aired Jan 19, 2023

PFLAG at 50: Then and Now With An Iconic Organization

PFLAG is celebrating our 50th Anniversary and we invite you to join us as we kick off our year-long commemoration!

We hosted a conversation about this article as a part of PFLAG Connects and Something to Talk About Live on Thursday, January 19. Did you miss it? You can still watch it here!

Article: 50 years ago, PFLAG’s founder marched with her gay son. How’s it keeping up in 2022?

Source: NPR

Author:  Neda Ulaby

Questions for Discussion:

1. Prior to reading this article, how much did you know about PFLAG’s founding and its connection to early Pride marches? If you were familiar with the history, where did you learn it? If you weren’t, why do you think that was the case?
2. The article tells the story of one family who used both professional therapy as well as attending PFLAG meetings as the ways that they worked through their path to acceptance. In what ways do you think that PFLAG’s peer support model can be helpful for those struggling to gain acceptance for their LGBTQ+ loved ones?
3. Do you have a PFLAG story (e.g., “Here’s why I went to PFLAG” or “Here’s the first time I remember seeing PFLAG in my community”)? What is it? Looking at the work that PFLAG does today, has it changed since your first connection? In what ways?

Bonus Resources: Check out “Encore: After nearly 50 years, PFLAG says it still has a long way to go” from NPR by Neda Ulaby and these resources from Eric Marcus’s Making Gay History: The Podcast.

About Our Guests:  

Suzanne Swan, daughter of PFLAG founder Jeanne Manford

Avril Swan, granddaughter of PFLAG founder Jeanne Manford

Liz Owen, Director of Communications, PFLAG National

Something to Talk About Live is a series designed by PFLAG National’s Straight for Equality program to create conversation about LGBTQ+ issues. Each week we offer an article on LGBTQ+ topics and suggest a few questions you can use to lead a discussion with your ERG, community group, or PFLAG chapter.