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Lydia Bennett is a pansexual polyamorous person and spoke about how the relationships in their life fulfill them in different ways. -
![Julie Rosenfeld, an associate professor at the University of Missouri School of Music, stands in her office on Wednesday, May 15, 2024, at the Fine Arts Building in Columbia. “When I was coming out in the 80s, and 90s, I mean, that's what would you called women who were [attracted to the] same sex. You called them lesbians. And, I mean, I love Sappho, the Isle of Lesbos. I thought it was a really great term, as a matter of fact. I liked the term. I thought it was a great way to identify. You know, ‘Jewish, lesbian, violinist.’ Sounds great to me. So, I never shied away from it,” Rosenfeld said. “I'm a baker also. So, ‘Jewish, lesbian, violinist, baker. All those things are important to me. But, I like the term. I think it's a great term. Were that we all were like Sappho.”](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/bd58851/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1750x975+0+0/resize/280x156!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F91%2Fb4%2Fa5b0e316435388adde92690d1f29%2F20240515-bas-queer-joy-julie-rosenfeld-0023.jpg)
Julie Rosenfeld: "It's been a wonderful relationship, and hopefully will last until one of us dies."Julie Rosenfeld describes herself as a “Jewish lesbian violinist baker.” She spent much of her career working as a touring violinist in a string quartet and now teaches violin at the University of Missouri School of Music. She spoke about how she met and fell in love with her quartet second violinist more than 40 years ago. -
![Willow Wilson sits on a chair in her living room on Friday, April 5, 2024, at her apartment in Columbia. When Wilson was selecting her name, she said she originally had nearly 100 names to choose from on a Word document. For a while, Wilson said she almost committed to the name “Rumor” because it had a “cool, sultry” and “femme fatale” feel. “But I eventually settled on the Willow just because I think Willow Wilson is such a distinctive name,” Wilson said. “It's kind of like [a] Peter Parker, Clark Kent kind of vibe. … Not to sound too egotistical, but that is a very main character name, and I kind of liked that. And I liked that it was very earthy and crunchy and kind of, you know, hippie, a little bit. So, I think Willow was kind of like, where I was like, ‘Yeah, I like that: Willow Wilson.’ That definitely sounds like a lady who's about town and making the most of her life.”](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/a50fa5a/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1750x975+0+0/resize/280x156!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F41%2F05%2F730cbb9e4211a4e6e37f185c7caf%2F20240405-bas-queer-joy-willow-wilson-0019.jpg)
Willow Wilson is a transgender woman in her mid-20s and spoke about the process of learning and unlearning how to be a woman during her transition. -
Clayton Morton is a 31-year-old agender and asexual “ish” person. They spoke about finding the language to describe themselves. -
Em is a 14-year-old pansexual teen who has known she was queer from a young age. She spoke about coming out as a young person and the support of her family. -
Macey Hoover is 25-year-old trans man and a dedicated singer. He spoke about beginning the process of medically transitioning and how he’s adapting to his changing voice. -
Abby Dickinson is a 22-year-old bisexual person, and spoke about coming out in a straight-passing relationship and combating bi-erasure. -
Wives Laura Borghard and Kristie Douglas have a large, blended family – with four sons between the ages of 10 and 25 and a relatively new grandbaby. They’ve been married since 2020, and they spoke about the origins of their love. -
Tisya Cooke is a Jewish transgender woman. She’s actively involved in her synagogue and spoke about carving out space for queer people in Judaism. -
![Caitlin Cunningham laughs while sitting on their couch on Saturday, April 20, 2024, at their home in Columbia. “When you know so much darkness, suddenly the light is so bright,” Cunningham said. “I mean, queer joy will blind you. You should live so brightly that it hurts people’s eyes. Other people should have to put on sunglasses [because] you’re living so brightly.” Cunningham, who is 40 years old, is pansexual, nonbinary and non-monogamous. “You know the big joke is always, ‘Oh, you know you’re non-monogamous when your color-coded calendar is shared with four other people.’ And, it’s true. You have to be on top of your A game in terms of keeping things organized because you’re going to hurt somebody’s feelings otherwise,” Cunningham said. “Yes, it’s difficult. Yeah, you joke about calendars and getting together and having enough energy and everything, but ultimately time and energy are the limiting factors. Love is not the limiting factor.”](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/468fc3f/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1750x975+0+0/resize/280x156!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F2d%2F59%2F5bde8f414630bd00882735cb327a%2F20240420-bas-queer-joy-caitlin-cunningham-0032.jpg)
Caitlin Cunningham is nonbinary and pansexual. They spoke about their first queer crush and how it helped them better understand their sexuality and their gender identity.
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![Julie Rosenfeld, an associate professor at the University of Missouri School of Music, stands in her office on Wednesday, May 15, 2024, at the Fine Arts Building in Columbia. “When I was coming out in the 80s, and 90s, I mean, that's what would you called women who were [attracted to the] same sex. You called them lesbians. And, I mean, I love Sappho, the Isle of Lesbos. I thought it was a really great term, as a matter of fact. I liked the term. I thought it was a great way to identify. You know, ‘Jewish, lesbian, violinist.’ Sounds great to me. So, I never shied away from it,” Rosenfeld said. “I'm a baker also. So, ‘Jewish, lesbian, violinist, baker. All those things are important to me. But, I like the term. I think it's a great term. Were that we all were like Sappho.”](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/74d366c/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1750x975+0+0/resize/560x312!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F91%2Fb4%2Fa5b0e316435388adde92690d1f29%2F20240515-bas-queer-joy-julie-rosenfeld-0023.jpg)
![Willow Wilson sits on a chair in her living room on Friday, April 5, 2024, at her apartment in Columbia. When Wilson was selecting her name, she said she originally had nearly 100 names to choose from on a Word document. For a while, Wilson said she almost committed to the name “Rumor” because it had a “cool, sultry” and “femme fatale” feel. “But I eventually settled on the Willow just because I think Willow Wilson is such a distinctive name,” Wilson said. “It's kind of like [a] Peter Parker, Clark Kent kind of vibe. … Not to sound too egotistical, but that is a very main character name, and I kind of liked that. And I liked that it was very earthy and crunchy and kind of, you know, hippie, a little bit. So, I think Willow was kind of like, where I was like, ‘Yeah, I like that: Willow Wilson.’ That definitely sounds like a lady who's about town and making the most of her life.”](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/bcc3008/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1750x975+0+0/resize/560x312!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F41%2F05%2F730cbb9e4211a4e6e37f185c7caf%2F20240405-bas-queer-joy-willow-wilson-0019.jpg)
![Caitlin Cunningham laughs while sitting on their couch on Saturday, April 20, 2024, at their home in Columbia. “When you know so much darkness, suddenly the light is so bright,” Cunningham said. “I mean, queer joy will blind you. You should live so brightly that it hurts people’s eyes. Other people should have to put on sunglasses [because] you’re living so brightly.” Cunningham, who is 40 years old, is pansexual, nonbinary and non-monogamous. “You know the big joke is always, ‘Oh, you know you’re non-monogamous when your color-coded calendar is shared with four other people.’ And, it’s true. You have to be on top of your A game in terms of keeping things organized because you’re going to hurt somebody’s feelings otherwise,” Cunningham said. “Yes, it’s difficult. Yeah, you joke about calendars and getting together and having enough energy and everything, but ultimately time and energy are the limiting factors. Love is not the limiting factor.”](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/799d701/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1750x975+0+0/resize/560x312!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F2d%2F59%2F5bde8f414630bd00882735cb327a%2F20240420-bas-queer-joy-caitlin-cunningham-0032.jpg)