Out & Proud in Finland

For the 37th episode of Private Parts Unknown, your hosts Courtney Kocak & Sofiya Alexandra take you back to Helsinki for a previously unreleased episode about being out & proud in Finland.

We explore how American & Finnish romance differ, Cristal's experience dating in NYC (aka the original Carrie Bradshaw), the linguistic connotations of dating vs. coffee in Helsinki, the lack of Finnish gay icons, being a queer role model, the importance of living an honest and liberated life, Hannu's experience coming out late in life (after 25 years of marriage & 3 kids), reactions from family, parents & children, being half of the 1st gay couple to get married in Finland, leaving the closet doesn’t mean automatic happiness, being honest about who you are yields rewards even if it seems risky, how to foster diversity in travel, why everybody should be celebrated not tolerated, why not "making a fuss" about being gay is dangerous & the feeling we want all straight men to have — plus, updates from Hannu & Caroline!

Thanks to the following people for lending us their voices & teaching us about their culture. Follow them on Instagram to learn more about them & their work:

• Cristal Snow – @iamcristalsnow
• Hannu Virtanen – @lifeof2men
• Caroline Suinner – @carolinesuinner

Also, go back and listen to the 1st four episodes in our Helsinki series if you haven’t already, including our companion episode: Gay Marriage in a Baby Gay Country. Private Parts Unknown is a proud member of the Pleasure Podcast network. This episode is brought to you by:

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• #MyHelsinkiResidence creator residence program hosted our stay in Helsinki. Check out myhelsinki.fi to plan your visit & follow @myhelsinki for beautiful pics of local hot spots!

Let’s be friends on social media! Follow the show on Instagram @privatepartsunknown & Twitter @privatepartsun. Connect with hosts Courtney Kocak @courtneykocak & Sofiya @thesofiya on Instagram & Twitter.

If you love this episode, please leave us a 5-star rating & sexy review! —> ratethispodcast.com/private