Igbo, Queer, and Unfiltered
Welcome to a podcast unlike any other, in which I bring my unique intersectional identity as a gay Igbo man from Nigeria to the forefront. This is a space where personal stories meet cultural insights, and where meaningful discussions about LGBTQIA+ issues, representation, and empowerment take centre stage. Each episode is a journey into the intricacies of being queer and African, examining themes of identity, perseverance, and visibility. As I amplify queer voices, spill some palm wine, slay stereotypes, and redefine what it means to be seen and celebrated, you can expect a blend of heartfelt storytelling, insightful discussions, and a...
The Real Cost of Visibility for Queer African People
The death threats, the coordinated attacks, the community, the joy and why I keep showing up.
Stay Connected
Welcome to myownkindofrunway, a place for unapologetic conversations, fashion, and queer joy.
Watch more videos:
https://youtube.com/channel/UC9jWWJwF_KzrY14FR9DXO4A
https://youtube.com/@igboqueerandunfilteredpod?si=0GZV68iNaWT5BumS
Visit my website:
www.myownkindofrunway.com
Listen to my podcast:
https://open.spotify.com/show/5EjOLr2ilFBqhaXkoTK72a
Instagram:
https://instagram.com/myownkindofrunway?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2...
Why Money Hits Different When You Are Gay and African
For most people money is about comfort. For gay African men it is about something more, it is about survival, autonomy, and the freedom to live honestly. Igbo Queer and Unfiltered is hosted by Charles Okeke, a gay Igbo man from Nigeria living in Manchester. New episodes every week.
Stay Connected
Welcome to myownkindofrunway, a place for unapologetic conversations, fashion, and queer joy.
Watch more videos:
https://youtube.com/channel/UC9jWWJwF_KzrY14FR9DXO4A
https://youtube.com/@igboqueerandunfilteredpod?si=0GZV68iNaWT5BumS
Visit my website:<...
Bisexual Invisibility
Bisexual people are told they do not belong in straight spaces. Then they are told they do not fully belong in queer spaces either. For bisexual Africans, that double erasure is even heavier. Igbo Queer and Unfiltered is hosted by Charles Okeke, a gay Igbo man from Nigeria living in Manchester. New episodes every week.
Stay Connected
Welcome to myownkindofrunway, a place for unapologetic conversations, fashion, and queer joy.
Watch more videos:
https://youtube.com/channel/UC9jWWJwF_KzrY14FR9DXO4A
https://youtube.com/@igboqueerandunfilteredpod?si=0GZV68iNaWT5...
The Church, Colonialism and Homosexuality in Africa
If colonialism and the spread of Christianity and Islam across Africa had not happened, would Africa be as homophobic now as it is at this moment?
This episode is for every queer African who has ever been told that who they are is un-African. The evidence doesn't support that idea.
Stay Connected
Welcome to myownkindofrunway, a place for unapologetic conversations, fashion, and queer joy.
Watch more videos:
https://youtube.com/channel/UC9jWWJwF_KzrY14FR9DXO4A
https://youtube.com/@igboqueerandunfilteredpod?si=0GZV68iNaWT5BumS
...
The Truth About Love and Dating as a Gay African Man
Sex, dating and love as a gay African man is not a simple conversation. We bring internalized shame into our relationships before the first date even starts. We navigate racial fetishization and exclusion in gay spaces. We carry complicated family situations that affect how we show up with partners. This episode is for every gay African man who has wondered if full, healthy, joyful love is actually available to him.
Stay Connected
Welcome to myownkindofrunway, a place for unapologetic conversations, fashion, and queer joy.
Watch more videos:
https://youtube.com/channel...
Why Gay African Men Are Struggling in Silence
Gay African men are carrying a specific mental health burden that almost nobody talks about. The religious trauma, the mental health system that was not designed with us in mind, the cultural displacement, the exposure to threat and violence, the grief, and the hiding. If you have never had a space to say out loud that you are not okay, this episode is for you. If you are struggling, please reach out. Samaritans are available 24 hours on 116 123. LGBT Foundation helpline is 0345 3 30 30 30.
Stay Connected
Welcome to myownkindofrunway, a place for unapologetic conversations, fashion, and queer joy.<...
Coming Out to African Parents
Coming out in mainstream LGBTQIA+ spaces is often talked about as a hopeful, even celebratory moment. But for gay Africans the reality is far more complex. The fear is different. The stakes are different. The community pressure, the family expectations, the financial dependency, the risk of losing everything. None of that gets talked about enough.
In this episode, I get into the internal journey that happens long before the conversation, how to do a genuine risk assessment before you come out, what to think about when you are ready to have the conversation. What to do when...
The Trap That Is Killing Gay Men(Kito)
I'm discussing Kito this week. The practice of luring, trapping and extorting gay men in Africa using fake dating profiles. It is one of the most urgent crises facing gay men in Africa, and it does not get nearly enough attention.
I cover what kito is, who is behind it, why the law makes it almost impossible for victims to speak up and practical steps you can take to protect yourself.
If you are a gay man this episode could save your life. Share it with someone who needs to hear it.
Stay...
Things Black Gay Men Are Still Not Allowed To Say
As we celebrate Episode 80, I'm saying things out loud that gay African men have never been allowed to say in our families, churches, queer spaces, or even to each other. I'm not going to sugarcoat the damage the church caused; I'm naming it. Eighty episodes of refusing silence.
Stay Connected
Welcome to myownkindofrunway, a place for unapologetic conversations, fashion, and queer joy.
Watch more videos:
https://youtube.com/channel/UC9jWWJwF_KzrY14FR9DXO4A
https://youtube.com/@igboqueerandunfilteredpod?si=0GZV68iNaWT5BumS
Visit my website:
<...The Uncomfortable Statistics About Homosexuality in Africa Nobody Wants to Publish
This episode discusses the real numbers on homosexuality in Africa, the research that has been done, what it has found, and the big difference between what African governments say and what the numbers show.
Stay Connected
Welcome to myownkindofrunway, a place for unapologetic conversations, fashion, and queer joy.
Watch more videos:
https://youtube.com/channel/UC9jWWJwF_KzrY14FR9DXO4A
https://youtube.com/@igboqueerandunfilteredpod?si=0GZV68iNaWT5BumS
Visit my website:
www.myownkindofrunway.com
Listen to my podcast:
https://open...
The Hypocrisy of the African Church on Homosexuality
The same church that calls gay love sinful has covered up abuse, ignored domestic violence and blessed corrupt politicians. This episode is the conversation they do not want you to have. Charles grew up in the church, and he knows the difference between an institution that is morally serious and one that is just morally selective.
Follow Charles on Instagram, TikTok, Threads and YouTube at myownkindofrunway. Igbo Queer and Unfiltered is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and everywhere you listen.
Stay Connected
Welcome to myownkindofrunway, a place for unapologetic conversations, fashion, and queer...
Homophobia was imported to Africa
African leaders call homosexuality a Western import. Same-sex relationships existed across Africa long before colonization. The criminalization came on the ships. The laws, the church, the rhetoric, all of it has a colonial fingerprint.
Follow Charles on Instagram, TikTok, Threads and YouTube at myownkindofrunway. Igbo Queer and Unfiltered is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and everywhere you listen.
Stay Connected
Welcome to myownkindofrunway, a place for unapologetic conversations, fashion, and queer joy.
Watch more videos:
https://youtube.com/channel/UC9jWWJwF_KzrY14FR9DXO4A
https://youtube...
What Nobody Tells You About Dating as a Gay African Man
This episode covers what most gay African men bring into dating before the first date even happens. Why secrecy does something very specific and very damaging to a relationship, how to navigate the family question honestly, what it looks like to date across cultures and what that requires from a partner. What a healthy relationship actually looks like for a gay African man who has spent years being told he does not deserve one.
Follow Charles on Instagram, TikTok, Threads and YouTube at myownkindofrunway and The African Gay Igbo Vlog Channel on YouTube. Igbo Queer and Unfiltered...
When Your African Family Chooses Religion Over You
What it costs to grow up with conditional love, how to survive and rebuild even when families do not support you, and the particular grief that a queer African child experiences when their family turns to religion instead of them.
Follow Charles on Instagram, TikTok, Threads and YouTube at myownkindofrunway and the African Gay Igbo Vlog Channel. Igbo Queer and Unfiltered is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and everywhere you listen.
Stay Connected
Welcome to myownkindofrunway, a place for unapologetic conversations, fashion, and queer joy.
Watch more videos:
https...
Nigerian Men Are Not As Straight As They Want You To Think
For the most part, Nigerian men are not as straight as they act. This is not about outing anyone. This is about culture, behaviour, performance, and the very specific way that heterosexuality works in the Nigerian society as a costume that many men wear because they can't imagine being anything else. Igbo Queer and Unfiltered is a podcast by Charles, a gay Igbo man from Nigeria, talking about queerness, identity, culture, faith, family, and everything in between with honesty and no apology. Subscribe and leave a review if this episode landed with you.
Stay Connected
...
You Are Never Too Old to Be a Gay Man
There is an unspoken rule in the queer community that by a certain age, you should know who you are. Come out young. Date young. Build your identity young. And if you didn't, if you lived your twenties and thirties avoiding shame, fear, religion, or family pressure, then you somehow missed your window.This episode pushes back against that lie.Charles talks about the myth of the gay timeline, why late bloomers are not failures, the ageism that exists in queer culture, and why reinvention is available at any age. This is for every queer person who has ever...
My Non-Negotiables as a Gay Igbo Man
For years, I negotiated things that were never meant to be up for debate. My identity. My dignity. My peace. My right to be seen.
In this episode, I share the personal principles that guide my life now as a gay Igbo man. These are not rules for anyone else to follow. They are the standards I chose for myself after years of trying to earn acceptance from people who were never willing to give it freely.
I talk about what changed, what it cost me, and why my peace stopped being something I hand...
The Real Face of Evangelical Christianity
This episode examines evangelical Christianity from the perspective of lived experience in a candid and reflective manner. The kind that stays with you, shapes you, and sometimes leaves scars. We are talking specifically about what evangelical Christianity has meant for queer people, and for queer Africans in particular. The silence, the shame, the conditional love dressed up as salvation. This is not an attack on every evangelical Christian or every church. But it is an honest conversation, and honest conversations are not always comfortable. Pull up. Let's talk about it.
Stay Connected
Welcome to myownkindofrunway...
I Outgrew The Version Of Me They Preferred
A version of you that appears dependable, submissive, and easy to understand is what many people become attached to. In this episode, we look at what happens when your personal growth goes against what other people expect of you, whether those expectations come from family, religion, culture, or long-term relationships.
Stay Connected
Welcome to myownkindofrunway, a place for unapologetic conversations, fashion, and queer joy.
Watch more videos:
https://youtube.com/channel/UC9jWWJwF_KzrY14FR9DXO4A
https://youtube.com/@igboqueerandunfilteredpod?si=0GZV68iNaWT5BumS
Visit my...
The Freedom Of Self Approval
What would your life look like if you stopped waiting for permission to be yourself? In this episode, I am getting into something deeply personal. The emotional cost of seeking approval from family, religion, culture, and society when your authentic life challenges everything you were raised to be. As a Gay Igbo Man I know exactly what it feels like to silently hope that one day the people you love will look at you and say we are proud of you. I know the weight of carrying that hope. And I know what it costs you when it never...
I Am Not Responsible For Your Discomfort
Stay Connected
Welcome to myownkindofrunway, a place for unapologetic conversations, fashion, and queer joy.
Watch more videos:
https://youtube.com/channel/UC9jWWJwF_KzrY14FR9DXO4A
https://youtube.com/@igboqueerandunfilteredpod?si=0GZV68iNaWT5BumS
Visit my website:
www.myownkindofrunway.com
Listen to my podcast:
https://open.spotify.com/show/5EjOLr2ilFBqhaXkoTK72a
Instagram:
https://instagram.com/myownkindofrunway?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==
TikTok:
https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMLDqhBft/
Shop My Looks:
<...Forgiving Someone Does Not Mean Letting Them Back In
Can you forgive someone and still choose to walk away? In this episode, we are getting into one of the most misunderstood parts of healing. Forgiveness and reconciliation are not the same thing, and nobody talks about that enough. So many of us were taught that forgiving someone means going back. Rebuilding. Pretending it never happened. But what if the thing that hurt you have not changed? What if the beliefs, the behaviours and the patterns that caused the damage are still sitting right there waiting for you? Forgiveness is something you do for yourself. Going back is a...
I Refuse To Be Your Secret
In this episode, we delve into a distressing reality that many queer individuals, particularly those from Africa, are familiar with: the experience of being accepted in private but denied in public.
Stay Connected
Welcome to myownkindofrunway, a place for unapologetic conversations, fashion, and queer joy.
Watch more videos:
https://youtube.com/channel/UC9jWWJwF_KzrY14FR9DXO4A
https://youtube.com/@igboqueerandunfilteredpod?si=0GZV68iNaWT5BumS
Visit my website:
www.myownkindofrunway.com
Listen to my podcast:
https://open.spotify.com/show/5...
I Stopped Explaining Myself
Stay Connected
Welcome to myownkindofrunway, a place for unapologetic conversations, fashion, and queer joy.
Watch more videos:
https://youtube.com/channel/UC9jWWJwF_KzrY14FR9DXO4A
https://youtube.com/@igboqueerandunfilteredpod?si=0GZV68iNaWT5BumS
Visit my website:
www.myownkindofrunway.com
Listen to my podcast:
https://open.spotify.com/show/5EjOLr2ilFBqhaXkoTK72a
Instagram:
https://instagram.com/myownkindofrunway?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==
TikTok:
https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMLDqhBft/
Shop My Looks:
<...The People Around You Can Block Your Healing
It is important to tell the truth in places where it wasn't meant to be told to truly heal. When you are trying to heal, it can be challenging to accept that the place where your pain happened is probably not the best place for you to grow.
Stay Connected
Welcome to myownkindofrunway, a place for unapologetic conversations, fashion, and queer joy.
Watch more videos:
https://youtube.com/channel/UC9jWWJwF_KzrY14FR9DXO4A
https://youtube.com/@igboqueerandunfilteredpod?si=0GZV68iNaWT5BumS
Visit my website:
<...It Was Never Really About You
This episode looks at what it means to become the target of other people's fear, insecurity, discomfort, and unresolved beliefs.
Stay Connected
Welcome to myownkindofrunway, a place for unapologetic conversations, fashion, and queer joy.
Watch more videos:
https://youtube.com/channel/UC9jWWJwF_KzrY14FR9DXO4A
https://youtube.com/@igboqueerandunfilteredpod?si=0GZV68iNaWT5BumS
Visit my website:
www.myownkindofrunway.com
Listen to my podcast:
https://open.spotify.com/show/5EjOLr2ilFBqhaXkoTK72a
Instagram:
https://instagram.com...
This Fear Was Never Yours
This episode breaks down the fear that many of us have not because we chose to, but because we were taught to.
Stay Connected
Welcome to myownkindofrunway, a place for unapologetic conversations, fashion, and queer joy.
Watch more videos:
https://youtube.com/channel/UC9jWWJwF_KzrY14FR9DXO4A
https://youtube.com/@igboqueerandunfilteredpod?si=0GZV68iNaWT5BumS
Visit my website:
www.myownkindofrunway.com
Listen to my podcast:
https://open.spotify.com/show/5EjOLr2ilFBqhaXkoTK72a
Instagram:
https...
Speaking Truth As A Gay Igbo Man Comes With A Cost
In this episode, we explore the emotional, social, and cultural implications of being the one who speaks openly, particularly in environments that are influenced by religion, tradition, and hierarchy.
Stay Connected
Welcome to myownkindofrunway, a place for unapologetic conversations, fashion, and queer joy.
Watch more videos:
https://youtube.com/channel/UC9jWWJwF_KzrY14FR9DXO4A
https://youtube.com/@igboqueerandunfilteredpod?si=0GZV68iNaWT5BumS
Visit my website:
www.myownkindofrunway.com
Listen to my podcast:
https://open.spotify.com/show/5EjOLr2ilFBqhaXkoTK72...
What It Really Costs To Be Yourself (Especially As An African Queer Person)
In this episode, I discuss the true meaning of defying expectations, particularly in African, cultural, and religious contexts where conformity is frequently required.
Stay Connected
Welcome to myownkindofrunway, a place for unapologetic conversations, fashion, and queer joy.
Watch more videos:
https://youtube.com/channel/UC9jWWJwF_KzrY14FR9DXO4A
https://youtube.com/@igboqueerandunfilteredpod?si=0GZV68iNaWT5BumS
Visit my website:
www.myownkindofrunway.com
Listen to my podcast:
https://open.spotify.com/show/5EjOLr2ilFBqhaXkoTK72a
Instagram:
...
Control, Religion, Power, And Obedience
This conversation looks at the difference between personal faith and religious institutions. It also looks at how religion has been used in the past to enforce obedience, control, and regulation, using things like fear of hell and shame to police sexuality, gender, and dissent.
Stay Connected
Welcome to myownkindofrunway, a place for unapologetic conversations, fashion, and queer joy.
Watch more videos:
https://youtube.com/channel/UC9jWWJwF_KzrY14FR9DXO4A
https://youtube.com/@igboqueerandunfilteredpod?si=0GZV68iNaWT5BumS
Visit my website:
www.myownkindofrunway.com<...
Grieving The Family I Imagined | Queer African Experience
This episode discusses a type of grief that isn't usually talked about. For many queer individuals, particularly those from African communities, this grief is both silent and profound.
Stay Connected
Welcome to myownkindofrunway, a place for unapologetic conversations, fashion, and queer joy.
Watch more videos:
https://youtube.com/channel/UC9jWWJwF_KzrY14FR9DXO4A
https://youtube.com/@igboqueerandunfilteredpod?si=0GZV68iNaWT5BumS
Visit my website:
www.myownkindofrunway.com
Listen to my podcast:
https://open.spotify.com/show/5EjOLr2ilFBqhaXkoTK72a<...
Preaching Love And Acting On Hate
The problem is not your faith if you actively practice homophobia; it's your character. This conversation breaks down the difference between religion, morality, and character, and it questions the contradictions that happen when belief systems are used to justify harm.
Stay Connected
Welcome to myownkindofrunway, a place for unapologetic conversations, fashion, and queer joy.
Watch more videos:
https://youtube.com/channel/UC9jWWJwF_KzrY14FR9DXO4A
https://youtube.com/@igboqueerandunfilteredpod?si=0GZV68iNaWT5BumS
Visit my website:
www.myownkindofrunway.com
Listen to...
When Parents Choose Religion Over Their Queer Children
When parenting turns into control, shame, and fear, this episode confronts the hard truth of many queer African children, their first experience of rejection does not come from the outside world, it comes from home. What does it really mean to grow up gay in places that don't accept you? We elaborate on everything that is being used as a weapon of control to emotional and mental harm.
Stay Connected
Welcome to myownkindofrunway, a place for unapologetic conversations, fashion, and queer joy.
Watch more videos:
https://youtube.com/channel/UC9jWWJwF...
Shame Is So Powerful In Our Culture
As queer Africans navigating culture, family, and belonging, this discussion focuses on identity, control, and the unseen structures that influence our self-perception.
Stay Connected
Welcome to myownkindofrunway, a place for unapologetic conversations, fashion, and queer joy.
Watch more videos:
https://youtube.com/channel/UC9jWWJwF_KzrY14FR9DXO4A
https://youtube.com/@igboqueerandunfilteredpod?si=0GZV68iNaWT5BumS
Visit my website:
www.myownkindofrunway.com
Listen to my podcast:
https://open.spotify.com/show/5EjOLr2ilFBqhaXkoTK72a
Instagram:
https...
Homophobia Is Not African Culture
In this episode, we talk about how colonial laws, imported religious ideas, and rigid social structures have shaped how homophobia is defended today. We also talk about how culture is used as a weapon, the difference between heritage and control, and the real harm that happens when intolerance is presented as tradition. Culture is not cruelty; it is language, stories, music, community, and strength.
Stay Connected
Welcome to myownkindofrunway, a place for unapologetic conversations, fashion, and queer joy.
Watch more videos:
https://youtube.com/channel/UC9jWWJwF_KzrY14FR9DXO4A<...
Why African Governments Target Queer People
As a gay African man, this is important to me. What's going on in Senegal and Uganda isn't random, it's not isolated, and it's not just about culture. It's a political strategy. When governments are pressured from problems such as economic hardship, unemployment, or corruption, moral panic can be a useful strategy. Fear takes over, laws get stricter, arrests happen, and queer people are made easy targets. This is because when a state decides who is criminal, it rarely stops at one group.
Stay Connected
Welcome to myownkindofrunway, a place for unapologetic conversations, fashion, and...
No! LGBTQIA+ Individuals Are Not Going To Hell
For far too long, hell has been used as a tool to silence, shame, and intimidate LGBTQIA+ individuals, particularly in religious settings. The idea that queer people are headed for eternal punishment is untrue; rather, it is a threat based on fear, control, and discomfort.
Stay Connected
Welcome to myownkindofrunway, a place for unapologetic conversations, fashion, and queer joy.
Watch more videos:
https://youtube.com/channel/UC9jWWJwF_KzrY14FR9DXO4A
https://youtube.com/@igboqueerandunfilteredpod?si=0GZV68iNaWT5BumS
Visit my website:
www.myownkindofrunway...
Struggling With Homosexuality
Many African homes see queerness as a battle that needs to be fought, repressed, prayed away, or put up with. But most queer Africans aren't really struggling with who they are; they're struggling with the fear, pressure, religious conditioning, and cultural consequences of being honest.
Stay Connected
Welcome to myownkindofrunway, a place for unapologetic conversations, fashion, and queer joy.
Watch more videos:
https://youtube.com/channel/UC9jWWJwF_KzrY14FR9DXO4A
https://youtube.com/@igboqueerandunfilteredpod?si=0GZV68iNaWT5BumS
Visit my website:
www.myownkindofrunway...
What Therapy Can Do For African LGBTQIA+ Individuals
In this episode, I speak directly to queer Africans who were brought up to pray through suffering, fast through trauma, and survive on their own. We explore the true nature of therapy, why it is stigmatized in many African homes. Asking for help is not a sign of rebellion but rather a duty to heal from the harm that homophobia, religion, familial pressure, and silence have caused us.
Stay Connected
Welcome to myownkindofrunway, a place for unapologetic conversations, fashion, and queer joy.
Watch more videos:
https://youtube.com/channel/UC9jWWJwF...
Homophobia Is Common In Our Homes
Home is where homophobia starts. It's not a coincidence that there is a lot of homophobia in African homes. It is taught, enforced, and protected by systems that are based on fear, control, religion, and silence.
Stay Connected
Welcome to myownkindofrunway, a place for unapologetic conversations, fashion, and queer joy.
Watch more videos:
https://youtube.com/channel/UC9jWWJwF_KzrY14FR9DXO4A
https://youtube.com/@igboqueerandunfilteredpod?si=0GZV68iNaWT5BumS
Visit my website:
www.myownkindofrunway.com
Listen to my podcast:
...
