This Way Out - Monday, June 22, 2026

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1. Fabulous Irene and all of you for listening and supporting community powered radio.
2. Coming up next, our queer community calendar, followed by our international LGBTQ plus radio news magazine, This Way Out.
3. Please stay tuned for more queer radio here on KPFK 90.7 FM, Los Angeles.
4. For IMRU, I'm Michael Taylor Gray. Stay proud, stay visible, stay connected.
5. And as I always like to say, this is good night, but not goodbye.
6. to the kids on the street. From the battles that we fought to the love that we keep. We are many,
7. we are mighty, and we will not bow down. We are here, we are forever, singing gender out loud.
8. Trans and queer, bi and ace, every heart has its place. We're a chorus, we're a vow.
9. Here's our queer community calendar for June 22nd to the 28th, 2022nd. 20, 2022nd, I gotta go back
10. in time. 2026. Yes. Thanks for sticking with us. And yes, how'd you know? It's still me,
11. Michael Taylor Gray. And now it's time for your Queer Community Calendar for the week of June 22nd
12. through June 28th, 2026. For Tuesday, June 23rd, Queer Karaoke Night, 8 p.m. at The Jungle in
13. Hollywood. Remember, confidence is more important than pitch. Wednesday, June 24th, Queer Trivia
14. Night, 7 p.m. in West Hollywood. And if you're stumped, share is always a reasonable guess.
15. Thursday, June 25th, LGBTQIA2S Plus Community Mixer, 7pm at the Los Angeles LGBT Center
16. Your next best friend may be standing by the snack table, give them a look
17. Friday, June 26th, Pumped Fridays, 10pm in West Hollywood
18. Stretch first, your knees will thank you tomorrow
19. Saturday, June 27th, Drag Brunch at Hamburger Mary's in West Hollywood
20. with seatings at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m.
21. Calories consumed and the presence of drag queens don't count.
22. And Sunday, June 28th, drag brunch and community gathering,
23. noon in the garden at the W. Hollywood Hotel.
24. Pride month may be ending, but brunch is forever.
25. The Queer Community Calendar is produced by the always fabulous Arnella Barbara.
26. I'm Michael Taylor Gray.
27. Stay proud, stay loud, and stay tuned for This Way Out.
28. Thank you.
29. It's Champeta Criola from the coast of Caribe
30. Soca Calypso
31. Juju Music
32. Musica Afro Cubana
33. Cha Cha Cha
34. Afro Beat High Life
35. It's all in the mix
36. Radio Afrodiscia
37. Saturdays 4 to 6 p.m. showtime
38. Tune in
39. Hello everyone, my name is Susbik Walina and this is my response poem titled Question Work.
40. I'm thinking of James Baldwin's poem in this response.
41. What does it mean to be a queer feminist?
42. Welcome to This Way Out, the international LGBTQ radio magazine. I'm Lucia Chappell.
43. In the news, the Netherlands outlaws conversion therapy while Niger outlaws queer relationships.
44. The Trump administration locks horns with the world's top trans health organization and strips queer vets benefits too.
45. An assault in Idaho reawakens activists' push for inclusion in state hate crimes protections.
46. And an out lesbian referee makes FIFA World Cup history.
47. Then the get lit poets bring the past into the present for the pride season.
48. All that and more coming up on This Way Out.
49. I'm Ava Davis.
50. And I'm Nico Rico.
51. With News Wrap, a summary of some of the news in or affecting LGBTQ communities around the world for the week ending June 20th, 2026.
52. Conversion therapy is now banned in the Netherlands.
53. The landmark victory for queer rights was approved by the Dutch Senate on June 16th by a vote of 57 to 15.
54. The new law prohibits attempts to change a person's sexual orientation and gender identity through counseling.
55. Five Dutch political parties combined efforts to introduce the legislation.
56. Practices such as shock therapy and the use of medication to affect someone's sexual orientation or gender identity were previously prohibited.
57. The new legislation builds broader protections.
58. It bans conversion therapy targeting minors or adults in vulnerable situations.
59. Those in violation of the law may face up to two years in prison or fines up to 27,500 euros, about 31,500 US dollars.
60. Professionals involved in the debunked treatment may also lose their right to practice.
61. The legislation additionally prohibits advertising conversion therapy.
62. Advocates, survivors, activists, and organizations now finally see the fruits of their 15-year campaign.
63. The world's oldest operating LGBTI organization, CIOC Netherlands, delivered more than 8,000 signatures to the Senate in support of the ban earlier this month.
64. Following Senate approval, COC's chairperson Myrtil Danse proclaimed,
65. Finally, clarity. Cure is a myth.
66. You are good as you are, and attempts at cure are prohibited and punishable.
67. Seose counted at least 15 conversion therapy providers in the country at the time of the legislation.
68. The win for LGBTQ plus rights come shortly after Rob Jetton became the Netherlands' first openly gay prime minister.
69. There are currently seven other EU countries that ban conversion therapy outright.
70. The EU ruled against banning the harmful practice in May.
71. Anti-conversion campaigners seem poised to try and bring about the ban again later this year.
72. The U Federal Trade Commission is suing the World Professional Association for Transgender Health or WPATH The world leading transgender health organization is being accused by the Trump administration
73. of misleading families, doctors, and insurers about pediatric gender-affirming care.
74. Since Trump took office, the FTC has gone after gender-affirming care organizations
75. via probes and internal workshops.
76. The Federal Trade Commission, or FTC,
77. first attacked WPATH in January
78. with an investigation into the organization's statements
79. in support of gender-affirming care.
80. WPATH and other targeted organizations sued to cease the probes.
81. Federal judges ruled to halt the FTC's investigations of WPATH.
82. Now, the FTC has come back with a suit against WPATH, joined by Republican-led Alaska, Iowa, Nebraska, and Texas.
83. The case is being heard in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.
84. The FTC is supposed to have five commissioners, nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate.
85. In the fall of last year, the Supreme Court allowed President Trump to fire two Democratic commissioners.
86. His authority to do so is still being debated.
87. In the meantime, the FTC is operating with just two Republican commissioners and three vacancies.
88. In a recent public statement, DebutPath wrote that they are
89. in a strong position to prove that the FTC is acting out of pure retaliation
90. as part of the federal government's relentless and targeted campaign to undermine gender-affirming care
91. by attacking the First Amendment rights and the independence of professional medical organizations.
92. The perpetrator of a recent Idaho hate crime is only being charged with a misdemeanor.
93. After Pedro Villarreal III was arrested for allegedly spouting homophobic slurs and beating a gay couple,
94. authorities determined that Idaho's hate crime law does not apply Juan Olvera and Eric Reed
95. were dining in downtown Caldwell Idaho when a group of men began hurling a slurry of anti-gay
96. remarks at them the couple says they were chased down after leaving the restaurant and assaulted
97. unfortunately under Idaho law hate crime statutes only apply when the motive is tied to a victim's
98. race, ethnicity, or religion, not sexual orientation or gender identity.
99. They want to add the words.
100. This obviously isn't the first time there's been a public outcry for lawmakers to add the words.
101. Protesters gathered at the Idaho Statehouse in January.
102. Add the words has been the cry of activists for 15 years.
103. That's how long it's been since the first bill was printed to add the four words sexual orientation and gender identity to the Idaho Human Rights Act.
104. Since its inception, the measure has only had one public hearing.
105. Olvera and Reed hope that sharing the story of their assault will bring awareness to the Add the Words campaign and propel protections for queer Idahoans.
106. Niger's military-run government has criminalized same-sex relationships.
107. The new penal code by the junta on June 12th punishes what it described as an
108. immodest or unnatural act or practices lesbian gay bisexual transgender queer intersex asexual acts The feared debauchery of asexual acts or anything else that falls within that language can be met with five to ten years
109. in prison and fines. The penalty is also applicable to marriage officiants, witnesses of the spouses,
110. individuals who consent to the celebration of the marriage, and to the organizers.
111. The military junta seized power in 2023, and it's been fueling a moral panic surrounding sexuality and gender identity ever since.
112. In 2025, consensual same-sex sexual acts between adults were outlawed.
113. Transgender individuals remain unable to change their legal gender markers.
114. With the new penal code, social media and media outlets announced a large-scale crackdown within the past week.
115. Taya Braun is the chief executive of the Human Dignity Trust, a legal group that works to challenge and overturn laws that criminalize LGBT people globally.
116. In her online rebuttal to the Penal Code, she stated,
117. In criminalizing private consensual same-sex intimacy and using the coercive power of the state to repress other basic freedoms, Niger's military regime has shown a blatant disregard for fundamental human rights law.
118. Braun says, NIDA now joins 65 other countries that use these laws to expose a vulnerable group of their own citizens to fear, violence, and state-sanctioned hatred.
119. The Trump administration's Department of Veterans Affairs has eliminated health care programs for LGBTQ plus veterans.
120. In an internal memorandum obtained by the advocate, the department ordered VA health facilities nationwide to eliminate gender identity-based initiatives and to strip the LGBTQ plus designation from a network of medical coordinators created specifically to help queer veterans.
121. Medical professionals at VA hospitals told The Advocate,
122. People are worried this will mean loss of programming and services that are uniquely designed for LGBTQ plus veterans.
123. The future of programs such as Pride and All Who Served could be at risk.
124. Its support for LGBTQ plus veterans has been shown to reduce depression, anxiety, suicide risk, and identity-related stigma.
125. It also increases social connectedness and engagement for queer veterans.
126. The June 12th memorandum additionally directs facilities to comply with Trump's executive orders to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and recognition of transgender identity.
127. The LGBTQ plus veteran care coordinators must now be re-designated as simply care coordinators.
128. The Veterans Integrated Service Network's medical center directors and program offices have 14 days to certify compliance.
129. Finally, Brooke Mayo has become the first openly gay match official for the Men's FIFA World Cup.
130. She took the field in Atlanta as assistant referee for the Czech Republic's Group A draw with South Africa.
131. Mayo has been officiating for 24 years.
132. She was on the field for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, as well as at the 2024 Olympics.
133. She earned the title of 2025 U.S. Soccer Referee of the Year.
134. Maya lives in Colorado with her wife, Phelan, whom she calls one of her biggest supporters.
135. Joined by Tori Pinto and Catherine Nesbitt, the U.S. trio made history as the first all-woman officiating crew to oversee a World Cup match in the United States.
136. Mayo told the LA Times,
137. For us, it's just business as usual.
138. She does recognize the significance, though, saying,
139. I think there's still a lot of places in the world that need to see this, and that's why it's still important.
140. But our colleagues are used to seeing women around.
141. Help keep us in ears around the world at thiswayout.org, where you can also read the text of this newscast and much more.
142. For This Way Out, I'm Nico Raquel. Stay healthy.
143. And I'm Ava Davis.
144. Stay safe.
145. Rainbow Rewind, where we take a look back at the people in the moments that made queer history.
146. I'm Brian DeShazer. This week, we honor the June birthdays of Patricia Nell Warren and Harvey
147. Fierstein. Patricia Nell Warren was a groundbreaking American author and journalist, best known for her
148. pioneering LGBTQ plus literature. She made history with her 1974 novel, The Front Runner, which became
149. the first contemporary gay romance to achieve mainstream commercial success and land on the
150. New York Times bestseller list. The book resonated deeply with the LGBTQ plus community to the point
151. where hundreds of LGBTQ plus running clubs named themselves after it, forming the global network
152. of international frontrunners. I'm Patricia Nell Warren, author of The Frontrunner and its new
153. sequel, Harlan's Race, and you're listening to This Way Out, the international lesbian and gay
154. radio magazine. Harvey Fierstein is a legendary four-time Tony Award winning actor, playwright,
155. and tireless LGBTQ plus activist.
156. Fierstein broke boundaries by writing and starring
157. in the semi-autobiographical hit Broadway play,
158. Torch Song Trilogy.
159. Here's Harvey from 1982 or 83
160. before he won the Tony Award for Best Play
161. and Best Actor in a Play for Torch Song Trilogy,
162. courtesy of the Pacifica Radio Archives.
163. I know for anybody who's not fully out,
164. who, there are a lot of people that are out
165. to their friends, to even their bosses,
166. even to their parents, but not every member of the family knows.
167. You know, they may have distant cousins that don't know.
168. And it's really hard to explain how much easier it is.
169. When the whole world knows.
170. When the entire world knows.
171. When you, I mean, as Arnold Beckhoff's mother says in the play,
172. I don't know why you don't put on a sign and get it over with.
173. Just wear a sign.
174. It's just so much easier.
175. That's why it's so funny to me for everyone to be making a fuss
176. over being the first star of a Broadway play that's opened the gate.
177. Now let's rewind to a few June key queer milestones.
178. On June 11, 1999, President Bill Clinton issued the first presidential proclamation
179. recognizing June as Gay and Lesbian Pride Month.
180. On June 15 2020 the U Supreme Court ruled in Bostock v Clayton County that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects LGBTQ plus employees from workplace discrimination
181. And on June 24, 2016, President Barack Obama designated the Stonewall Inn and its surrounding areas as a national monument,
182. making it the first U.S. national park dedicated to LGBTQ plus history.
183. That's this week's Rainbow Rewind, because remembering our past fuels our pride.
184. I'm Brian DeShazer. Stay tuned. More This Way Out is coming up.
185. Last time on This Way Out, we learned that voices like Audre Lorde and Quentin Crisp
186. still work for the young poets of today.
187. We played clips of archival recordings
188. from members of Get Lit, Words Ignite,
189. a Los Angeles nonprofit that helps young people
190. discover the power of poetry, storytelling, and spoken word.
191. They wrote original work in response.
192. Our exciting experiment continues
193. with the head of education for Get Lit, Words Ignite,
194. Brian Sonia Wallace.
195. Brian is the first gay man and first millennial poet laureate of L.A. and the founder of Rent Poet.
196. He listened to this excerpt from a speech by writer, essayist, and civil rights icon James Baldwin,
197. who gave voice to the complexities of race, identity, and love with unmatched honesty and grace.
198. He comes to us courtesy of the Pacifica Radio Archives.
199. I have to say some very reckless things tonight.
200. And so I want to make it absolutely clear that I am talking for myself.
201. I am not, I might be at other platforms and other occasions, more or less representing this or that organization or this or that committee.
202. but tonight I am talking to you as Jimmy Baldwin who was born in Harlem 39 years ago who has a
203. certain responsibility to the people that produced him that is all of you and I'm speaking to you
204. if I may say so not as an organizer and not as a negro leader and not as a public figure not as
205. any of those things, but as one of the poets that you produced.
206. Here is Brian Sonia Wallace, poet laureate of the city of Los Angeles.
207. I'm thinking of James Baldwin's poem in this response and the idea of what it means to
208. have the responsibility of speaking for someone or for a people and the ways in which,
209. in the words of a friend of mine about the current generation, we are all terminally unique
210. and our experiences are so individualized
211. that it can be tough to find shared experiences
212. or find analogous experiences from other people
213. and the importance of that as we are within that experience
214. and thinking as well what it means to be a leader in a community,
215. in a movement, and still to take care of your own story
216. and still to be able to tell your own story
217. and to get in trouble for your own story. The Edge. Epigraph. Of all the unimportant
218. things football is the most important Pope John Paul II I built an athlete body over a frightened youth Me the queer kid in drama club The awkward American in another country reaching for a way to speak
219. How many of us find it on a soccer pitch?
220. In the calluses, a weight leaves on your palms.
221. My handprint tells the story of every time I overcame myself.
222. These muscles are another book I've written.
223. poem in motion
224. memoir at rest
225. to be queer
226. is to have a history
227. of trying to overcome
228. your body
229. we learn through practice
230. which desires can be put aside
231. and which are fundamental
232. to who we are
233. queer means the body
234. is not to be taken for granted
235. our village of outcasts
236. push toward acceptance
237. Learn to embrace the sports that haunted us as kids
238. As a way of speaking proudly
239. We come back tomorrow, win or lose
240. And the world is a little lighter
241. We strain, which is to say we remember to breathe
242. The body never lies
243. It needs no translator
244. To grow up in Los Angeles is to grow up between cultures
245. In school they taught us folklorico dances and taiko drums, Shakespeare and how to make ice cream with just milk and ice and salt.
246. Our playground screams spanned half a dozen languages, tethered by the handball we passed between us.
247. There is so much we cannot understand by speaking.
248. We had to learn, to walk, to love, to sing, and some of us didn't stop.
249. Knew if the body was capable of these miracles, it must be capable.
250. of others. My dad is patient. Every time I crash the bike, he does not reprimand the tears on which
251. I build my strength to try again. My mom holds my hands while my feet learn to kick until I can
252. tread water. We are all so much more than ourselves. It took family to get us here. We arrive with their
253. strength in our fingertips. More than blood, I am made of every training partner and coach and friend
254. and poet who ever scolded me, praised me, pushed me to be more because we find our best selves
255. through each other. Beyond every division, competition, a wild, hoping heartbeat. You can
256. learn to trust how someone else will move. Where they'll be when the ball leaves your hand. In that
257. moment you'll understand both physics and geometry and yes, even poetry. Where a body moves so
258. skillfully it becomes not just a body but a story, not just a story but a song. I am a queer, third
259. culture kids still learning to embrace myself in all my contradictions. And when I do,
260. this body will be waiting to tell me who I am. Our bodies together become a village, halting,
261. hollering, a challenge whose edge we step up to and keep going. Our villages join into a world
262. we get to make not easily, but through effort, art and sport and sweat the same. When we compete,
263. we know, whatever silent hours lie behind us, we are not alone. That was Brian Sonia Wallace.
264. The next historic figure we shared with the Get Lit Poets was Urvashi Vad. Vad was the first woman
265. of color to lead the National LGBTQ Task Force serving as executive director from 1989 to 1992 The author of Virtual Equality and Irresistible Revolution she spent decades advocating for a more inclusive vision of liberation From This Way Out archives
266. here's Irvashi Vad. Lesbian feminist is actually two dirty words. These words are dirty to the
267. ears of most people because women who are lesbians and feminists challenge the order and control of
268. our society. We represent a threat to the heterosexual norm. We challenge the invisibility
269. and powerlessness of womankind, and we have a self-proclaimed mission to destroy the patriarchal
270. world order. Threatening? You bet. Two get-lit poets responded to the late Irvashi Vad.
271. Allison Levy Reyes is 18 years old and a student at California State University, Dominguez Hills.
272. what does it mean to be a queer feminist the word feminist itself invokes a scary tone
273. who many believe it's the hatred of men and not the fight for equality the need to be represented
274. as equal and not a lesser no matter the gender that is feminism if you're anything like me
275. and grew up latina being a queer feminist in a culture where machista men are the norm
276. you're a single doll and nine out of ten times labeled as difficult so naturally you wear that
277. label and wear it well you dress yourself up and strut around with it through this you learn you
278. don't have the privilege to be quiet or be manageable whatever that means you learn queer
279. feminist stands for be the most opinionated you learn it stands for loudest in the room
280. the not taking just have a nasty attitude the rbf ready if someone tries you stand up like
281. you're seven feet tall like lebron couldn't even pass you learn don't let people know they got the
282. better of you become bulletproof when the only bullet is you refuse to hide your identity just
283. make others comfortable stand up for yourself and speak your truth and through all the nonsense
284. avoid the annoying boyfriend talk with your family try not to land on your tia's gaydar
285. dodge when your friends ask if you're queer or lesbian because how the hell are you supposed to
286. know, respond back with, I just love who I love because we are not who we love, but the actions
287. we do when faced with adversity. And the actions that I choose are the act of love, the act of
288. queer, the act of pride. That was Alison Leyva Reyes. 18-year-old Alina Sadovakova was born and
289. raised in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
290. A recent graduate of Bravo Medical Magnet,
291. she is the president of Keepers Poetry Club
292. and continues her poetic journey beyond school
293. as a get-lit player
294. and a recent Los Angeles Youth Poet Laureate runner-up.
295. Hello, everyone.
296. My name is Sizbeka Walina,
297. and this is my response poem titled Question Mark.
298. Is this normal?
299. Because a 3 a.m. poem has never happened
300. between me and men.
301. Is it normal to just wanna admire you?
302. When it's a guy I look for him looking at me but with you, you can just freely be.
303. Is this even normal? Being like this? When my whole life, mommy told me to settle with the
304. the right guy.
305. To not get stuck with one like my father