For Steve Daigneault, the heteronormativity of his communities was a form of torture. In a world that had no place for queer people, his struggles with his sexual identity led him to join a cult, attempt suicide and to use drugs as a way to escape from the torture of heteronormativity.

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Time Stamps:

0:00 - Faking Straightness and Smashing the Moment
0:46 - Intro
2:12 - Growing up on the road
4:42 - An outsider
7:56 - Steve coming to terms with his sexuality
10:25 - Heteronormativity at school
13:31 - Early drug use
15:31 - Steve joins a cult
24:49 - Leaving the cult and coming out
28:48 - Drugs as an escape
30:50 - Moving to DC and harder drugs
35:04 - Balancing work and addiction
39:27 - Rehab, 12 steps, and cults
45:15 - Acceptance is the key
47:41 - What would you say to your younger self?