This Way Out

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1. Stretch and remember, the only acceptable drama today is The View.
2. Sunday, July 12th, 4 p.m., Tea Dance Sunday at the Abbey, West Hollywood.
3. It's called a tea dance, but don't worry, nobody's spilling Earl Grey.
4. Monday, July 13th, 7 p.m., join your fabulous host, Michael Taylor Grey.
5. I know him personally.
6. Right here on IMRU KPFK 90.7 FM Los Angeles,
7. with producer of the Queer Community Calendar, yes, Miss Moonshine again, Arnella Barbara.
8. We'll bring you community news, great conversations, and everything happening in our queer community.
9. Trust us, this is one Monday you'll actually look forward to.
10. Stay out, stay proud, stay out loud.
11. And remember, glitter never litter.
12. Stay tuned for This Way Out.
13. Ciao.
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21. Welcome to This Way Out, the international LGBTQ radio magazine.
22. I'm Lucia Chappell.
23. In this week's News Wrap segment, the top court in the U.S. goes against female trans student athletes
24. and a Russian court goes against an extremist drag club staff.
25. U.S. Republicans nuke the family to kill Pride Month
26. and Turkey arrests outlaw Pride protesters
27. as it spurns a scarlet lady on a gay voyage.
28. Then Lieutenant Leonard Matlovich marches into a rainbow rewind
29. and thousands of diets march where pride dare not go.
30. Stay tuned to hear all of that here on This Way Out.
31. I'm Ava Davis.
32. And I'm Michael LeBeau.
33. With News Wrap, a summary of some of the news in or affecting LGBTQ communities around the world
34. for the week ending July 4th, 2026.
35. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in favor of banning transgender girls and women from school sports.
36. Currently, 29 states have laws or policies blocking young trans women from joining the teams consistent with their gender identity.
37. The case is centered around two young track and field athletes, Lindsay Hecox and Becky Pepper Jackson.
38. Prospective Boise State University player Hickox claimed that Idaho's 2020 transgender athletics ban violated her rights under the Constitution's 14th Amendment.
39. Pepper Jackson was in a West Virginia middle school when she was not allowed to try out for girls' sports.
40. She argued that her rights were violated under Title IX and the 14th Amendment All nine justices on the court decided that the bans do not violate Title IX the federal civil rights law meant to prohibit sex discrimination in education The six
41. conservative justices carried the ruling that the bans do not violate the 14th Amendment.
42. The ruling reaches beyond Idaho and West Virginia. It also provides more cannon fodder for the Trump
43. administration's pressure campaign against trans participation in school sports. Until now,
44. institutions could stand on Title IX precedents from the 11th and 7th Circuit Courts to rebuff
45. the administration's accusations of Title IX violations. The latest Supreme Court decision
46. nullifies those arguments. Camilla B. Taylor is the legal director of the queer advocacy group
47. Lambda Legal, who joined the ACLU in representing Pepper Jackson's case against West Virginia.
48. She told CBS News,
49. This sort of athlete ban is not just bad for trans young people who wish to participate on a team.
50. It's also bad for any woman or any girl who could be targeted because they don't conform in some way to a stereotype about what a girl looks like.
51. Who's going to be doing sex testing in schools to determine if a girl is female enough to participate on a sports team?
52. How dangerous is that?
53. The Delaware General Assembly has approved an amendment enshrining protections for marriage equality.
54. The amendment would establish the right to marry as a fundamental right, one that may not be denied or abridged on the basis of gender, race, color, national origin, or sex.
55. The legislation had failed to receive enough support the week before, but passed on the final day of their session, June 30th.
56. As of now, the 2022 Respect for Marriage Act requires that any marriage that is valid under state law must be federally recognized as legitimate.
57. However, after the overturning of Roe v. Wade, lawmakers have feared the Supreme Court will revisit the landmark Obergefell marriage equality case.
58. State Senator Russ Huxtable is the prime sponsor of the bill.
59. He declared, by enshrining the right to marry in the Delaware's constitution, we send a clear message that Delaware will protect the humanity of our citizens and affirm marriage equality regardless of sexuality, race, or gender.
60. The bill must now pass a second vote in next year's General Assembly session to be enshrined in the Delaware state constitution.
61. Republican governors from six U.S. states are pushing alternative labels for June,
62. hoping to introduce conservative counter-programming to pride.
63. Tennessee Republican Representative Bud Halsey introduced a Nuclear Family Month resolution in 2025,
64. but only recently got the votes for it.
65. The resolution advocates for the families they claim are under attack.
66. One husband, one wife, and any biological adopted or fostered children.
67. U.S. Representative Andy Ogles celebrated Tennessee's rebrand by posting on his official ex-Twitter account,
68. Homosexuality has no place in America. Happy Nuclear Family Month.
69. After some pushback, Ogles claimed that the post came from a staffer and it was taken down.
70. Tennessee Equality Project President Chris Sanders said the resolution adds insult to the existing injury.
71. He cited the myriad anti-LGBTQ measures adopted in the state in recent years, including a ban on transgender care for minors.
72. Indiana also adopted the Nuclear Family Month moniker for June.
73. Alabama made it Strong Families Month. Nebraska fashioned up Marriage and Family Month.
74. To top it off, Arkansas and Utah spawned what they call Fidelity Month.
75. Fortunately no state resources or personal commitments are required A Russian court has sentenced the country first conviction under the ban of the alleged international LGBT movement The owner and two employees of a queer nightclub in the southwestern city of Orenburg Russia
76. have been convicted of organizing and participating in an extremist organization.
77. The club, called Pose, was a space for drag performances, music, and dancing,
78. marketing itself as a parody bar theater to evade Russian LGBT restrictions.
79. Pose was raided by Orenburg regional authorities and Russia's National Guard in 2024,
80. months after the fictitious global queer conspiracy was added to Russia's official list of extremists and terrorists.
81. The three Pose workers were arrested by armed police in body armor.
82. All three defendants pled not guilty.
83. Poe's owner, Vyacheslav Katsanov, has been sentenced to seven years in prison.
84. Manager Diana Kamilianova was sentenced to six years and three months.
85. And art director Alexander Klimov is to serve two years and three months.
86. Russian LGBT rights lawyers now warn that the Poe's case will serve as a precedent for future prosecutions against LGBT people and their advocates.
87. They fear it will also destroy safe havens for LGBT people in Russia.
88. It's practically an expected ritual in the streets of Istanbul every June.
89. LGBTQ plus activists take the streets in protest and are met with a severe police crackdown.
90. This year's event in Taksim Square was no different, with Turkish police arresting over 50 people on June 28th.
91. Since 2015, the Turkish government has banned pride parades, historically using tear gas and water cannons to break up the crowds.
92. With the knowledge that police brutality would likely occur again this year, defiant protesters gathered to stand up for their rights.
93. Homosexuality is not illegal in Turkey, where more than 100,000 people attended Istanbul Pride in 2014.
94. However, after right-wing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was elected a month later,
95. pride was outlawed the following year.
96. Erdogan frequently uses LGBTQ people as scapegoats for economic uncertainty and civil unrest.
97. The city of Izmir saw a similar police crackdown, with 36 people detained.
98. Here is the sound of a father calling out in support of his child who is being taken away.
99. He shouts to his son,
100. You didn't steal or act dishonestly.
101. You defended your rights.
102. I'm proud of you, my son.
103. Finally, after battling to keep pride marchers out to the streets of its major cities,
104. authorities in Turkey have banned an LGBTQ plus cruise ship from docking in the country's ports.
105. Expected to dock in the port town of Kusadasu on July 7,
106. the tour, organized by Atlantis Events,
107. was supposed to take its epic all-gay voyage to Istanbul for two days.
108. Atlantis CEO Rich Campbell says they've taken the same trip 13 times in the past 25 years without a problem.
109. However, this time local authorities instead canceled the arrival,
110. stating that the passengers are what they called
111. incompatible with the fabric of their society and moral values They vow that there is absolutely no possibility of the group in question visiting our province for an event of this nature The incident enraged the cruise
112. star entertainer, Tony Award winner Patti LuPone. She ranted on social media,
113. a ship, a magnificent ship full of gay men and me, denied entry to Turkey simply because of who
114. is on board. I am furious, but I am sailing. I am ready to perform for all the wonderful men
115. who deserve so much better than this. And so LuPone and 1,900 gay men will set sail for Cairo
116. and Crete instead of Turkey on the Virgin Voyage's own ship called the Scarlet Lady.
117. That's News Wrap, global queer news with attitude for the week ending July 4th,
118. 2026. Follow the news in your area and around the world. An informed community is a strong
119. community. News Wrap was written by Jeb Bakke, produced by Lucia Chappell and Brian DeShazor,
120. and brought to you by you. Thank you. Help keep us in ears around the world at thiswayout.org,
121. where you can also read the text of this newscast and much more.
122. For This Way Out, I'm Michael LeBeau. Stay healthy. And I'm Ava Davis. Stay safe.
123. You're listening to This Way Out, the international LGBTQ radio magazine.
124. Now it's time to rewind the rainbow.
125. This is the Rainbow Rewind.
126. Where we take a quick look back at the people and the moments that made queer history.
127. I'm Brian DeShazen.
128. And I'm Sherry Lund.
129. This week we honor the July birthdays of Sylvia Rivera and Frida Kahlo.
130. Sylvia Rivera, born in July 1951, was a Latina-American civil rights pioneer,
131. transgender rights activist, and community worker who dedicated her life to uplifting
132. the most marginalized members of the LGBTQ community. As a trans woman of Venezuelan
133. and Puerto Rican descent, she focused her fierce advocacy on trans people of color,
134. unhoused youth, and low-income individuals. Frida Kahlo, born in July 1907, is celebrated
135. worldwide as a legendary bisexual and gender-fluid icon who openly defied the rigid patriarchal and
136. heteronormative social standards of early 20th century Mexico. While her marriage to muralist
137. Diego Rivera is widely known, Kahlo lived an unapologetically queer lifestyle, exploring her
138. fluid sexuality through romantic relationships and her radical artwork. Now, as the United States
139. celebrates its 250th anniversary, let's look back at patriotic LGBTQ milestones. On July 4th, 1965,
140. four years before the Stonewall riots, dozens of activists held the first organized continuous
141. gay rights demonstrations directly in front of Philadelphia's Independence Hall. Activists wore
142. strict formal business attire to underscore that they were employable, patriotic citizens. These
143. actions became known as the Annual Reminders and were led by iconic lesbian and gay activists
144. Dr. Frank Kameny, Barbara Giddings, K. Tobin Nahasen, and Craig Rodwell. And in 1975, Air
145. Force Sergeant Leonard Matlovich, a decorated Vietnam War veteran who holds both a bronze star
146. and a purple heart, purposefully came out on the cover of Time magazine to fight his discharge
147. from the military. He was the first openly gay man on the cover of a major mainstream
148. news magazine. But just as importantly, he connected and appealed to traditional American
149. liberties and patriotism.
150. Here's Lieutenant Leonard Matlovich from a 1975 interview on WBAI in New York City.
151. And up until this point, I had
152. I made a commitment to myself that I knew I was going to come out of the closet and then I'd get out of the Air Force and go off and live a happy ever after life.
153. Until I met a bank president in that bar who was scared to death that he would be found out and he'd lose his job.
154. And then I felt like I was thrown right back against the wall again.
155. You know, where do I turn? What do I do? This just isn't right.
156. I can't quit the Air Force and go to another job and have the same fears.
157. I just can't do it.
158. So I made a commitment to myself then and there.
159. Somehow, someway, I was going to fight this.
160. I didn't know how.
161. That's this week's Rainbow Rewind,
162. because remembering our past fuels our pride.
163. I'm Brian DeShazer.
164. And I'm Sherri Lund.
165. Stay tuned.
166. More This Way Out is coming up.
167. Come on.
168. Come on.
169. Come on.
170. We're out for power.
171. We're out! We're out! We're out!
172. Welcome to This Way Out Radio's coverage of the worldwide phenomena that is Dyke March.
173. As Pride Month in the U.S. comes to a close, we put a spotlight on Dyke Marches from coast to coast.
174. But first, we'll hear Lynn Ballin's interview of Professor Sarah Angivine,
175. a scholar of gender and politics who gives us a history lesson on the origins of Dyke March.
176. I am working right now on a research project called the Politics of Lesbian Identity.
177. In that research, I have been focusing on the history and origins of the Dyke March.
178. And so that happens on April 24th, 1993 in Washington, D.C.
179. It is the evening before the 1993 March on Washington for Gay, Lesbian, and by Equality and Rights.
180. otherwise referred to as the March on Washington.
181. And so I was looking at ACT UP Women's Caucus
182. and interviewing a group in San Francisco that had been active in that,
183. and then they brought up their role in organizing the Dyke March,
184. which I was surprised by because I had gone to grad school on the East Coast
185. and just kind of had accepted what I had been publicly consuming,
186. which was that the Lesbian Avengers started the Dyke March.
187. And it's an amazing political mobilization because it occurs without hierarchy and institutionalization.
188. So often marches and protests depend on maybe a large NGO or some type of formal community-based organization that will help support it with resources.
189. The Dyke March does not have like, you know, www.dykemarch.org.
190. There is no organization you could reach out to and get like a little kit that tells you this is how you do a Dyke March, right?
191. It's very organic.
192. It's all volunteer run.
193. It's kind of a phenomenon.
194. And if you contrast it to the Pride Parade, so often the Dyke Marches are around in conversation with, connected to the Pride Parade.
195. And in some places, it's like a compliment to the Pride Parade.
196. I think in other places, it's a challenge to the Pride Parade.
197. All that is so vital for a democratic polity, right, to show these different ways in which people experience their queer identity.
198. The Lesbian Avengers did an excellent job of getting their word out, getting the message across.
199. And you know they written books There been documentaries And they had a huge impact It very vital But the San Francisco group they were really vital in coming up with the name the Dyke March Just to
200. contextualize this, the 1987 March on Washington had not given lesbians a strong sense of
201. representation. This 1993 March, some of the activists in that group were like, okay, what
202. they're going to talk about it is the military and marriage and it was really just lgb let's be
203. honest because the title was lesbian gay and bi right we don't see trans rights come into that
204. conversation until the next decade people have been trying but as we can see 93 it's military
205. and marriage right it's very liberal and um and not all of the dykes wanted those things right
206. Some were very anti-military, anti-marriage as an institution.
207. We see it happening on the West Coast, and on the East Coast, they're doing the same thing.
208. They say, we're going to do something at this 1993 march.
209. Lesbian Avengers were planning to do the Eat Fire visibility event in front of the White House.
210. The West Coast were planning a march, and then there's an overlap, I think, of some of these activists.
211. And so the communication lines slowly overlap.
212. And again, this is pre-internet.
213. So we're talking about phone trees, like people are having conference calls and talking about how we're going to do this Dyke March.
214. And groups like the Prairie Fire Collective, ACT UP Women's Caucus, Women's Action Coalition, and other queer feminist groups.
215. And I just think it's important to know that, you know, it wasn't the Lesbian Avengers alone that came up with the Dyke March and organized it.
216. they were critical, vital, but they also were working in coalition with a lot of other groups,
217. and it wasn't necessarily smooth. And I just think it's so vital to understand that because
218. that's how democratic politics effectively work. And I think people want things to be smooth.
219. And it's just, you know, you work through the disagreements because you believe in the
220. objective and the dyke march is no different and in fact it's probably extra challenging because
221. of how dyke's political objectives often are highly inclusive right and and trying to make
222. sure that they're addressing multiple forms of discrimination oppression at all times
223. the collective was called the ad hoc committee for lesbian visibility they hand out their flyers
224. Everyone meets at DuPont Circle.
225. Nobody expected the numbers that they got.
226. They were like thinking there'd be maybe 5,000.
227. And in truth, there was more like 20,000.
228. So that was just very, I think, exciting for these organizers.
229. And they went back to their respective places and said, we have to continue this.
230. You know, this Dyke March isn't a one and done.
231. I think what I'm finding interesting in the research is how that Dyke March moment became mobilizing for all of these activists that took them back to their cities and were like, we want to do it.
232. My very first Dyke March took place in New York City.
233. I had no idea that these things existed.
234. And a friend of mine, a gay male friend, told me about it.
235. And he also told me that he would not be marching with me because his role was to stand on the sidelines and support I went with my new girlfriend I just remember walking the streets of New York City with all of these like strong queer women dykes
236. and it rained, so we were, like, kind of wet.
237. People were taking off their shirts.
238. You know, there were drums and whistles,
239. and we were taking the streets.
240. I mean, one of the principles of Dyke March
241. is kind of like taking the public space without permission
242. because it is your space.
243. It's like you're doing a confrontation in a collective.
244. I'm very interested in showing how many people
245. were a part of this original story.
246. Like, you know, and it wasn't necessarily perfect
247. and there were tensions and there were, you know, disagreements,
248. but there were also so many people coming together.
249. so it just is very that first one had an impact and I continue to go to them but now my interest
250. is really trying to make sure that it's included as a relevant component of LGBT history and and
251. our present because again back to efficacy if you know people have done this in the past and like
252. put in the work it also helps you continue. When trans rights are under attack what do we do?
253. Stand up, fight back!
254. When our community is under attack, what do we do?
255. Stand up, fight back!
256. Next, we travel to Washington, D.C., where the fierce spirit of Dyke March continues to burn.
257. The theme of this year's D.C. Dyke March was Dykes Against Ice.
258. Here, Abigail DeRoberts captures the voices of some participants.
259. No one is illegal on stolen land!
260. No one is illegal on stolen land!
261. No one is illegal on stolen land!
262. Hi, I'm Kayla and I'm here because I love D.C. and I love Dykes.
263. Some beautiful things that I'm seeing is that this is a mass required event.
264. We are walking pretty slowly to make sure that everyone can be together.
265. The marshals are doing an incredible job in making sure that we're safe, both from cars and the police.
266. I think this really speaks to traditional Dyke values because we know that we protect ourselves and historically we are the ones who protected ourselves.
267. We are taking up space just like the Lesbian Avengers taught us to.
268. This version of the march was brought back in, I think, 2019.
269. There was like a huge break and people have brought it back.
270. and I think it's a space that D.C. Dykes really want and need.
271. And I think something that is amazing is that they're still doing the fire eating.
272. And also that there's a rally where different people are speaking
273. and different groups are being highlighted
274. because we know that organizing isn't just here.
275. We're not going to make change.
276. We're not going to achieve justice just by doing one march.
277. So getting people plugged in to different groups in the city
278. and building community is the way forward.
279. Hi, I'm Grace.
280. I've been coming to Dyke March for four years.
281. This is my fourth one.
282. And I mean, I just love the community.
283. Like there's nowhere else that you can get this type of crowd,
284. like people who are all so passionate about the same thing.
285. Like every year, the cause is always so topical and so important.
286. And it's, on the one hand, it's so nice to know that there are so many Dykes
287. who are as passionate about being dykes and also about like the cause itself I think everyone should come to Dyke March I think more people should come out I think because it called Dyke March it can be a little intimidating to some people because they think it like maybe they not welcome
288. if they're not a lesbian or whatever.
289. But I think it's, honestly,
290. it's felt more inclusive than Pride in my,
291. just some cases in my experience.
292. So I think more people should come.
293. I'm Martha and I am a DMV resident
294. and I just, I am queer.
295. So I wanted to be here both to be in community with other queer people and also just to support this kind of action.
296. I think it's really cool to see the queer community showing support for intersectionality, issues that are not queer issues.
297. Yeah, I will say there's been a lot of care taken to make sure everything's accessible.
298. I'm not on the accessibility team, but there is one, and they're very heavily involved in the messaging.
299. I think being a dyke is a political word, and I would say if you want to use it,
300. then you should show up for communities that are not just lesbian or sapphic.
301. Dykes are unstoppable! Dykes are unstoppable!
302. Another world is possible! Another world is possible!
303. Now, we hear Emma Shulman's interviews from LA's Dyke Day, a community-funded free pride event in celebration of dykes of all genders and ages.
304. My name is Jules, my pronouns are they, them, and Dyke Day has been great.
305. It's nice to see people that I kind of look like and relate to.
306. Alright, yo, my name is Love Moore, my pronouns are she, her.
307. I'll say this is my second time participating in .J and already I can just see the growth
308. and visibility change so much.
309. I think it's an important opportunity for folks like energy to come together.
310. Just energy here, people are running to each other, walls are down, people are talking,
311. hanging out, chilling, like this is like new found family.
312. So I think this is important, especially during a time like this in history where the disconnection
313. seems to be running rampant but this is proof that we are connected way more than we uh like
314. to acknowledge so like it would be like day every day actually i think it's opportunity for
315. representation you know me and one of my best friends were just saying that it's so beautiful
316. to witness uh folks of all kinds all types uh and just yeah come together and commune i'm not sure
317. if i'm like in the thing that it has to grow i think it's how it has organically just taken form
318. and taking shape, I hope that all of our energy here will continue to nurture that part of it.
319. Growing sometimes can bring on, you know, unwanted corporations or people wanting to
320. finance, but really what's happening here is something that's happening from an organic,
321. group-based space. When we get a chance to participate in activities or things that are
322. community-driven, things that can help move the needle, I think we can. And also it's important
323. for us to live out loud, live in our own truth,
324. and continue to just let our own light shine, I guess.
325. Kim Wilson composed and performed our theme music.
326. This Way Out thanks the Gicking Assets Fund
327. of the Tides Foundation,
328. Richard Merck and Brad Payton of Silicon Valley
329. celebrating their 50th year together,
330. Lee Sloan, and all the listener donors
331. who make this program possible.
332. Visit thiswayout.org for how you can join them.
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