From the erosion of rights in Russia and Senegal to the slow but real progress in India, Fabrice brings a global lens that most conversations about LGBTQ rights simply do not have. He and Jim also get deeply personal about what it feels like to be a visible, proud gay man navigating a world that feels like it is moving backwards, and what it will take to move it forward again.

In this episode:

• Why 96% of LGBT people live outside the US and why that context matters right now
• The gradual erosion of rights in Russia, China and Senegal and what it warns us about at home
• Why the LGBTQ community has never clearly defined what success actually looks like
• The case for economic liberation alongside legal rights: only 3 out Fortune 500 CEOs are out
• Why community unity is fracturing and what the NIMBY mentality inside our own movement is costing us
• The debt every visible LGBT person owes to those who came before them
• Why corporate withdrawal from Pride may not be the crisis people think it is
• How to use LGBTQ spending power, savings and investment as tools for change
• Why looking backward at Stonewall and the AIDS era may be slowing down the movement today
• How to protect your mental health and avoid doom scrolling when your community is under attack
• Why the answer to this moment is not a single unifying leader but a coalition of economic, political and cultural voices

Timestamps:

00:01 – Welcome and Fabrice's background: World Bank, UN and two nonprofits

03:28 – Coming to the US at 22 to come out and 25 years as a global citizen

05:14 – Only 4% of LGBT people live in America. What about the rest?

07:24 – Russia, China, Senegal and what global setbacks tell us about the US right now

11:19 – The LGBTQ community has never defined what success looks like

12:47 – Economic liberation: board seats, Fortune 500 CEOs and the power of our money

23:30 – NIMBY in the LGBTQ community: the Palm Springs story

29:06 – Are trans issues really dividing us or is that just an excuse?

31:04 – The debt every out LGBT person owes to those who fought before them

33:32 – Who could be the unifier for this community right now?

36:31 – Why copying the playbook from Stonewall or the AIDS era will not work today

39:39 – Digesting January 2025 and the double whammy of federal and state rollbacks

43:00 – Working on the piece you can actually influence

45:44 – Doom scrolling, occupied consciousness and keeping part of your brain on the future

48:38 – Surrogacy, global perspective and recognizing the Trojan horse tactics of opponents

51:41 – Corporate withdrawal from Pride and why reclaiming community ownership may be the answer

52:51 – Using LGBTQ savings, retirement funds and investment as tools for collective power

Mentioned in This Episode:

• COPPA (economic empowerment of LGBT people in the Global South)
• Free and Equal (UN Human Rights LGBT campaign)
• The Advocate
• Harvey Milk
• Larry Kramer
• Brian Sims

🔗 Connect with Fabrice Houdart:

LinkedIn: Fabrice Houdart

✨ Follow Jim Fielding & Ask For An Answer:

💼 Instagram: Instagram: https://instagram.com/hijimfielding/

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Website: hijimfielding.com

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