Former US President Barack Obama has encouraged young men to ensure they make friends with a diverse range of people across society, including gay and non-binary people.
The former US President was a special guest on the podcast hosted by his wife Michelle and her brother Craig Robinson.
In the episode they discussed how to raise emotionally intelligent young men in response to a listener’s question.
President Obama said young men needed a range of role models and recalled that one of his college professors, who was a gay man, was a big influence on his development.
He acknowledged that at the time it was much harder for LGBTIQA+ people to be out in their professional lives.
“[He] became one of my favorite professors and was a great guy, and would call me out when I started saying stuff that was ignorant,” the former president said. “You need that! To show empathy and kindness.”
He also said people should consciously ensure they make friends with a wide range of people.
“By the way, you need that person in your friend group so that if you then have a boy who is gay or nonbinary, or what have you, they have somebody that they can go, ‘Okay, I’m not alone in this,’” he said. “That, I think, is creating community. I know it’s corny, but it’s what they need.” he said.
During his presidency Obama was seen as an advocate for the LGBTIQA communities. During his term in office he voiced his support for marriage equality, after previously being opposed to changing the laws.
He was also the first president to mention the LGBTIQA+ communities during an inauguration speech, and also highlighted transgender parents during his term in office. He also called for African nations to respect gay people and remove laws against homosexuality.
