This Way Out: The International LGBTQ Radio Magazine

Twenty years ago this month, the marriage equality storyline in Canada was poised at a frustrating turning point (reported by Heather Kitching). The world’s largest folk festival has for two decades included queer events, including Gay Sunday (reported by Agnes Kruger). And in NewsWrap: U.S. President Joe Biden addresses the U.N. General Assembly on the Universal Convention on Human Rights, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan makes an embarrassing mistake confusing U.N. development summit banners with LGBTQ rainbow flags, “The Nigerian 69” who were arrested for a “same-sex wedding” are released on bail, a Hong Kong court orders the legal recognition of both lesbian moms on their baby’s birth certificate, Kim Kyu-jin is hailed as South Korea’s first open lesbian to give birth, the U.S. military announces an initiative to upgrade the status of queer service members who were discharged under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the U.S. federal judge who tried to ban the abortion pill launches an unhinged attack on family-friendly drag shows, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Ava Davis and Maarcos Najera (produced by Brian DeShazor).  All this on the September 25, 2023 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

Today we have “don’t say gay,” but in the late 1980s the British coined the expression “no promo homo” for Section 28, a law that restricted discussion of LGBTQ issues — even beyond the classroom! The 15-year struggle to bring it down ended on September 18, 2003. Actor JM J (Jim) Bullock talks about life as the voice of “Queer Duck.” And in NewsWrap: Canada’s Conservative Party pledges to ban pediatric transgender healthcare if they regain control of the federal government, hundreds march in Belgrade Pride despite Serbian church and government opposition, Andorra’s Prime Minister Xavier Espot Zamora says he’s never been in the closet, California’s Democratic Party-controlled legislature votes to penalize school boards for banning books, a U.S. federal judge allows enforcement of Florida’s adult gender-affirming healthcare ban, a U.S. judge in Texas extends a hold on a drag show ban, seven are arrested at a sit-in for PEPFAR while U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy remains silent, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Michael LeBeau and Tanya Kane-Parry (produced by Brian DeShazor).  All this on the September 18, 2023 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

The works of Emily Dickinson and Audre Lorde were standard classroom fare twenty years ago, but these days the right wing is clearing them off the shelves. Janet Mason revisited Dickinson and Kathy Sanchez profiled Lorde in September 2003. And in NewsWrap: a “historic” ruling by Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal calls on the government to legally recognize same-gender couples, a Bulgarian lesbian couple gets the European Court of Human Rights to order a framework for certifying same-gender relationships, the Texas Supreme Court allows the enforcement of the state’s pediatric trans healthcare ban, a Georgia federal judge gets out of the way of another ban on trans healthcare for children, California Attorney General Rob Bonta wins a temporary injunction against the Chino Valley Unified School District’s new trans-outing policy, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Joe Boehnlein and Melanie Keller (produced by Brian DeShazor).  All this on the September 11, 2023 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

LGBTQA+ representation was proud and loud when activists returned to the Lincoln Memorial on August 26th for the 60th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Highlights include Hope Giselle (National Black Justice Coalition), Kierra Johnson (National LGBTQ Task Force), Stacey Stevenson (Family Equality), Sheila Loretta Emerson (P-FLAG/Philadelphia) and Peppermint (GLAAD). And in NewsWrap: nearly 70 people arrested in an Ekpan, Nigeria raid will be prosecuted for “conducting and attending a same-sex wedding ceremony,” two Ugandan men face charges of “aggravated homosexuality” under the Anti-Homosexuality Act, Global Affairs Canada warns LGBTQ citizens about travel to the United States, hundreds protest Saskatchewan order for students to get parental permission to change their preferred name or pronouns, California’s Attorney General sues school district for anti-trans policies, a Maryland judge rejects religious parents’ bid to pull their children from classes featuring LGBTQ-related storybooks, a temporary restraining order blocks a Texas drag performance ban, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Kalyn Hardman and Wenzel Jones (produced by Brian DeShazor).  All this on the September 4, 2023 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

The queer cross-country journals of “This Way Out” veteran producer JD Doyle capture a slice of pre-AIDS gay male culture in the U.S. (interviewed by Brian DeShazor). And in NewsWrap: Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court rules that purveyors of anti-queer hate speech should face significant jail time, Germany’s Cabinet proposes a “Self-Determination Act” to help trans and non-binary people officially change their name and gender on government documents, a Beirut drag show is raided and a popular children’s board game is banned in Lebanon, the first four people are arrested under Uganda’s “Kill the Gays” law, Ethiopian police raid suspected queer venues in Addis Ababa, anti-transgender laws in Idaho, Alabama and Georgia receive positive and negative action in federal courts, bi sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson breaks records for the 100-meter title at the World Athletics Championships, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by John Dyer V and Tanya Kane-Parry (produced by Brian DeShazor).  All this on the August 28, 2023 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

The anniversary of the historic 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom comes again when a rightwing political backlash threatens the movement toward true democracy. The situation was similar in 2003, when we reported on the 40th anniversary (featuring Martin Luther King III and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force’s Matt Foreman). A nationally televised 2008 LGBTQ Democratic Presidential Forum presented by the Human Rights Campaign was one of Barack Obama’s first stops on his way to the White House. And in NewsWrap: the International Chess Federation at least temporarily prevents transgender women from playing against cisgender women, trans social media influencer Wendy Guevara wins the first season of La Casa De Los Famosos México, vandals attack Berlin’s queer Holocaust monument, Williams Institute researchers find that many Florida parents long to escape the “don’t say gay” Parental Rights in Education Act, Baptist-run Baylor University in Texas prevails with a religious exemption case before the U.S. Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights, nonpartisan judicial watchdog group Fix the Court files a misconduct petition against the Texas appeals judge who sent corporate lawyers to a certifiably anti-queer legal hate group for “religious liberty training,” and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Melanie Keller and David Hunt (produced by Brian DeShazor).  All this on the August 21, 2023 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

Australia’s aboriginal legacy is well-represented by the drag alter ego of Graham Simms, performer and activist Nana Miss Koori (interviewed by Barry McKay). And in NewsWrap: the World Bank will put a pause on new loans to Uganda because its Anti-Homosexuality Act undermines inclusion and non-discrimination principles, Iraq’s Communications and Media Commission proposes a policy for a “Don’t Say Homosexuality” country, Malaysia outlaws Swiss watchmaker Swatch’s rainbow products, China’s government forbids Taiwanese pop star A-Mei’s “Rainbow” anthem at Beijing concert, Texas federal district judge selects an identified anti-queer hate group to provide “religious liberty training,” the rural Oklahoma town of Prague celebrates its first LGBTQ Pride, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Ava Davis and Marcos Najera (produced by Brian DeShazor).  All this on the August 14, 2023 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

Twenty years ago this month, Canada’s top court had just ordered marriage equality, civil unions hit the agenda in New Zealand, the U.S. Congress took up a bill to secure rights for lesbians and gays in bi-national relationships, and the long fight for transgender rights was just getting underway. Reports from August 2003 feature U.S. Representatives Jerrold Nadler and Mary Gay Scanlon, New Zealand M.P. Tim Barnett, U.S. President George W. Bush, California State Assemblymember Mark Leno and Shannon Minter of the National Center for Lesbian Rights. (Correspondents: Hugh Young, Jim Waters, Cathy Sanchez and Bryan Goebel) And in NewsWrap: eight followers of an Islamic splinter group are arrested outside a Kuala Lumpur shopping center for an LGBTQ-supportive protest, a U.S. House subcommittee’s hearing on pediatric gender-affirming care turns into a platform for the Republican majority’s bigotry, U.S. federal appeals courts weigh in on trans rights and drag bans, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt executive orders transgender women out of existence, armed neo-Nazis join Gays Against Groomers to disrupt a Wisconsin town’s Pride in the Park, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Michael Taylor-Gray and Sarah Montague (produced by Brian DeShazor).  All this on the August 7, 2023 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

Put away your preconceived notions of what constitutes drag — with Fauxnique, it’s complicated! Monique Jenkinson was the first cisgender woman to win the Miss Trannyshack Pageant. Her memoir recounts her beginnings in classical dance evolving into her stage shows combining feminism and extravagant drag (interviewed by Out in the Bay’s Eric Jensen). And in NewsWrap: the Superior Court of Justice of Lima orders the federal records agency to register Peruvian lesbian’s marriage to her foreign female spouse, 33 men are arrested in a warrantless raid on a gay sauna in Venezuela, gay Chechen singer Zelimkhan Bakaev was killed because his photo was taken with dictator Ramzan Kadyrov, The 1975 lead singer Matty Healy’s diatribe against Malaysia’s anti-LGBTQ laws angers both queer activists and government authorities, two Arizona trans girl athletes stop a ban on their competing in school sports with a court injunction, J-pop star Shinjiro Atae comes out “Into the Light,” and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Kalyn Hardman and David Hunt (produced by Brian DeShazor).  All this on the July 31, 2023 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

Sydney, Australia’s David Jones department store really rocked the World Pride scene, despite the expected backlash. Corporate rep Ross Sabatini talks about the campaign’s service to the public and the bottom line, and correspondent Barry McKay meets the big display window performers and records the reactions of people passing by. And in NewsWrap: the Supreme Court of Ghana rejects a lawsuit aimed at stopping Parliament’s consideration of a probably unconstitutional anti-LGBTQ bill, Kenya’s “Family Protection Act” is mimicking Uganda’s “Kill the Gays” law, the names of non-biological lesbian mothers are being disappeared from their children’s birth certificates by Italy’s far-right government, Jamaica’s refusal to grant diplomatic immunity to the husband of a gay U.S. diplomat is becoming an international riff, the Indiana Roman Catholic high school guidance counselor fired when her marriage to a woman was discovered loses in appeals court, a notorious San Francisco church hosts a Drag Queen Bible Story Hour, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Michael LeBeau and Ava Davis (produced by Brian DeShazor).  All this on the July 24, 2023 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

Music biographer James Gavin takes a deep dive into the life of enigmatic gay rock star George Michael in his latest book, celebrated at a Grammy Museum special event (recorded with permission by Brian DeShazor). And in NewsWrap: a mob of violent rightwing protesters attacks Tblisi Pride and forces the attendees to evacuate, a Southeast Asian LGBTQ conference in Jakarta relocates after social media threats, Japan’s Supreme Court rules in favor of a trans woman’s right to use office bathrooms that conform to her gender identity, Russia’s lower house of parliament passes the final reading of a proposal to ban all medical and legal gender changes, anti-transgender rights court decisions handed down in three U.S. states, a Wisconsin trans girl temporarily has the right to use the appropriate campus bathrooms, a Wisconsin teacher is fired for teaching her first graders to sing the Miley Cyrus-Dolly Parton duet “Rainbowland,” and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Michael LeBeau and Ava Davis (produced by Brian DeShazor).  All this on the July 17, 2023 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

Mitja Blažić is an independent journalist from Slovenia with a long track-record in LGBTQ politics. He attended the World Pride Human Rights Conference in March of this year. This Way Out Sydney, Australia correspondent Barry McKay found him along the Mardi Gras Parade route, where they talked about the queer accomplishments in his country. Barry also covers the subsequent disruptions at Slovenia’s Pride events. And in NewsWrap: an Iraqi lawmaker submits a proposal for an official ban on same-gender sex, the Czech Republic’s Chamber of Deputies passes the first reading of a bill to open marriage to same-gender couples, a Navajo Nation Council delegate introduces a tribal marriage equality bill, two U.S. Supreme Court rulings come down on two sides of LGBTQ rights, Democratic governors veto anti-queer Republican measures in three U.S. states, a Florida mom has no “love” for a children’s biography of lesbian tennis star Billie Jean King, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Sarah Montague and John Dyer V (produced by Brian DeShazor).  All this on the July 10, 2023 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

A controversial U.S. Supreme Court term ends with a trifecta of right-leaning rulings, including a swipe at LGBTQ+ rights based on free speech. Equality California’s Jorge Reyes Salinas, Slate columnist Matthew Stone, Guardian columnist Moira Donegan, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, UC Berkeley law professor Dan Farmer and New Republic reporter Melissa Gira Grant comment (reported by Christina Aanestad of KPFA News and Amy Goodman of Democracy Now!). The Los Angeles School Board’s lesbian President Jackie Goldberg reads a story to educate the book-burners. And in NewsWrap: Nepal’s top court orders the government to register same-gender marriages, over a hundred Pride activists are arrested in Turkey, U.S. federal judges slam Tennessee and Kentucky pediatric trans care bans, Kansas to reverse gender identity changes transgender people have made to their state documents, Hamburger Mary’s serves a drag ban loss to Florida’s DeSantis, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Marcos Najera and Nico Raquel (produced by Brian DeShazor).  All this on the July 3, 2023 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

Many LGBTQ Ugandans have fled to Kenya since their country’s new Anti-Homosexuality Law went into effect, but they’re in as much danger there as they were at home. Australian David S. Ayliffe founded Humanity in Need - Rainbow Refugees to give them support (interviewed by Sydney correspondent Barry McKay). And in NewsWrap: Estonia becomes the first Baltic nation to adopt marriage equality, Eswatini’s Sexual and Gender Minorities organization wins legal recognition from the Supreme Court, Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo ban positive portrayals of LGBTQ people on television, local South Korean officials physically try to block the Daegu Queer Culture Festival, violent plots against Pride are foiled in Vienna and Nashville, pediatric gender-affirming care bans hit trouble in U.S. courts, the Southern Utah Drag Stars’ family-friendly show must go on, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Kalyn Hardman and David Hunt (produced by Brian DeShazor).  All this on the June 26, 2023 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

The West Coast all-trans woman rock band of the early 2000s responds to the nationwide epidemic of anti-trans fever with a stellar comeback (interviewed by Eric Jansen of Out in the Bay Queer Radio and Podcast). And in NewsWrap: Britain’s National Health Service limits trans young people’s access to gender-affirming therapies to research settings, Iceland’s new ban on conversion therapy includes transgender people, Queensland no longer requires surgery as a prerequisite for legal gender and name changes, the Australian Capital Territory leads the country in protecting the rights of intersex people, Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs vetoes a bill to force trans students to use sex-segregated campus facilities according to their birth certificate gender, Texas expands its ban on trans female athletes to higher education, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker stands in the library door against book bans, Tony winner Michael Arden reclaims the “F” word, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Wenzel Jones and Nico Raquel (produced by Brian DeShazor).  All this on the June 19, 2023 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

LGBTQ voices in early 1970s Los Angeles were brought to the radio airwaves by a young gay volunteer broadcaster whose historic recordings have been found after 50 years “in the closet.” We share excerpts from programs on healthcare, politics and building the nascent movement (produced by Brian DeShazor). And in NewsWrap: the leader of Thailand’s progressive new post-military coup government reiterates a pledge to pass marriage equality legislation at Bangkok Pride, a fifth Japanese district court rules that banning civil marriage for same-gender couples is unconstitutional, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signs a bill to deprive trans youth of gender-affirming healthcare, Missouri’s Republican legislature and governor deny transgender healthcare for minors and block trans student athletes, a U.S. federal judge derides Florida’s ban on trans youth healthcare, a U.S. judge pans Tennessee’s drag show ban, out gay Congressman Robert Garcia crowns RuPaul “the queen of drag” in a Pride month speech to the U.S. House, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Melanie Keller and Allan Tijamo (produced by Brian DeShazor).  All this on the June 12, 2023 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

June Pride season started early with the late-May recognition of what would have been Harvey Milk’s 90th birthday. As right-wing forces try to rip LGBTQ history out of the textbooks, we fill the gap with a conversation with the San Francisco County Supervisor shortly after he took office (with This Way Out’s Greg Gordon), and coverage of the White Night Riots in the aftermath of his assassination. And in NewsWrap: Uganda’s President Yoweri Musevini signature on the latest version of the notorious Anti-Homosexuality Act terrifies LGBTQ people, the re-election of Turkey’s homophobic Islamic President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan causes deep concerns among human rights activists, Latvia’s out Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs makes history as the first queer head of state of a Baltic nation or in the European Union, Japan’s Nagoya District Court becomes the second to rule that the ban on same-gender civil marriage is unconstitutional, Jerusalem Pride draws the largest crowd in years despite the antipathy of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government, the U.S. Pentagon defends an Air Force base from a Pride month drag show, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Joe Boehnlein and Ava Davis (produced by Brian DeShazor).  All this on the June 5, 2023 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

Australian TV’s unique 70s soap opera “Number 96” broke down barriers that paved the way for a positive response when the AIDS crisis hit. The show is making its mark again with a Toronto LGBTQ Film Festival “Best Feature Film” win for Andrew Mercado’s new documentary that tells its story (the conclusion of a three-part interview by Barry McKay). And in NewsWrap: the European Court of Human Rights orders Romania to recognize queer couples, Choctaw lesbian moms win validation for same-gender marriage and the right to adopt their foster daughter, Thailand’s newly elected progressive government will put marriage equality near the top of its legislative agenda, Pakistan’s Federal Shariat Court challenges the country’s transgender rights law, June Pride season is off to a rocky start for Target stores and other LGBTQ-friendly corporations, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Brian DeShazor and Lucia Chappelle (produced by Brian DeShazor).  All this on the May 29, 2023 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

Television in most of the world was still in the closet when audiences Down Under embraced the groundbreaking soap opera, “Number 96.” The gay characters were key to the off-beat show’s success according to Andrew Mercado, producer of a new documentary about it (part 2 of a three-part interview by Barry McKay). And in NewsWrap: Estonia’s government sends the legislature a draft bill to open civil marriage to same-gender couples, Namibia’s Supreme Court orders the recognition of lesbians and gays married to foreign spouses abroad, Taiwan’s legislature votes to allow married same-gender couples to jointly adopt children, the Beijing LGBT Center is abruptly shuttered under a Chinese government crackdown, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis quadruples-down on anti-LGBTQ campaign, Nebraska simultaneously nixes abortion and pediatric gender-affirming care, queer advocates file a preemptive lawsuit against Texas’ gender-affirming care ban, Missouri Attorney General withdraws his unilateral ban on all trans healthcare, West Hollywood wishes "This Way Out" a happy 35th anniversary, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Sarah Montague and Michael LeBeau (produced by Brian DeShazor).  All this on the May 22, 2023 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

Australian soap opera “Number 96” was an amazing breakthrough for LGBTQ visibility, made possible by a unique moment in the social and political scene … and one television network’s last ditch effort to stay afloat! Producer Andrew Mercado’s new documentary reveals the surprising story (part 1 of a three-part interview by Barry McKay). And in NewsWrap: India’s Supreme Court reserves judgement on a collection of marriage equality cases, Sri Lanka’s high court rules that decriminalizing same-gender sex would not violate the Constitution, the U.S. Supreme Court decides that a transgender Guatemalan woman can stay in the country to pursue her asylum request, two Republican-dominated U.S. state legislatures force school officials to inform on trans students, Montana equality advocates challenge the state’s pediatric gender-affirming care ban, Washington’s transgender youth get protection from their unsupportive parents, Indiana high schoolers circumvent the cancelation of their queer-themed play, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Brian DeShazor and Wendy Natividad (produced by Brian DeShazor).  All this on the May 15, 2023 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/