Circa: One Institute’s Queer Histories Festival | This Way Out Radio Episode #1957

This Way Out
Sep 30
8 min read

The venerable historical preservation organization celebrates LGBTQ+ History Month with an LA County-wide programming series where the past and the future intermingle. One Institute Executive Director Tony Valenzuela talks about the trailblazing histories and vibrant cultural contributions around the festival theme “Reclaiming Freedom” (interviewed by Jason Jenn).

And in NewsWrap: a report from the international track and field governing body World Athletics finds that up to 60 event finalists would not have passed its newly instituted genetic sex test, the U.S. government straddles a line between erasing its transgender citizens and labeling them dangerous terrorists, U.S. President Donald Trump puts the blame on trans rights in his diatribe over the current federal budget standoff, reparations for gay men in Tasmania who were victims of the Australian state’s laws against homosexuality and cross-dressing are approved by the Lower House, Filipina designer Veejay Floresca is Project Runway’s first trans winner and Vietnam’s entrant in the Miss Universe pageant will be transgender star and singer Nguyen Huong Giang, the Australian horror movie "Together" has been pulled from Chinese cinemas after censors used AI to replace one of the male grooms in a gay wedding with a woman, former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg consider whether to discuss his gay sex life with conservative commentator Tucker Carlson, and more international LGBTQ+ news reported this week by Marcos Najera and Ava Davis (produced by Brian DeShazor).

All this on the September 29, 2025 edition of This Way Out!

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Complete Program Summary

for the week of September 29, 2025

Circa: One Institute’s Queer Histories Festival

NewsWrap (full transcript below): World Athletics, the international track and field governing body, is discovering that excluding transgender women from women’s sports is more complicated than its policy … the U.S. government appears to be straddling a line between erasing its transgender citizens and labeling them dangerous terrorists … Donald Trump was prolific in his use of the “T” word in his diatribe over the current federal budget standoff … Tasmania’s lower house approves compensation to gay men who were victims of the Australian state’s laws against homosexuality and cross-dressing … Filipina designer Veejay Floresca is the first trans contestant to take home top honors in TV’s Project Runway … Vietnam makes history by naming transgender reality TV show star and singer Nguyen Huong Giang as the nation’s entrant in the Miss Universe pageant … China “de-gays” the Australian horror movie Together … rightwing commentator Tucker Carlson questions former U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s gayness [with audio excerpts from their separate comments] (written this week by LUCIA CHAPPELLE and DAVID HUNT, produced by BRIAN DeSHAZOR, and reported this week by MARCOS NAJERA and AVA DAVIS) (written this week by LUCIA CHAPPELLE and DAVID HUNT, produced by BRIAN DeSHAZOR, and reported this week by MARCOS NAJERA and AVA DAVIS).

Feature: Yes, you’re right to be concerned when the government reaches out to snatch the memories that prove your existence. Fortunately, queer communities around the world have established their own independent historical preservation institutions. Even more fortunately one of them is putting on a month-long festival where the past and the future intermingle. This Way Out’s JASON JENN chats with the One Institute’s Tony Valenzuela about Circa (segment intro’d by SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK, with internal music by THE PROPELLERHEADS WITH SHIRLEY BASSEY and PANSY DIVISION, and segment outro music by JANELLE MONAE).

[circafestival.org] [https://www.oneinstitute.org]

NewsWrap

A summary of some of the news in or affecting

LGBTQ communities around the world

for the week ending September 27th, 2025

Written by Lucia Chappelle and Davis Hunt

reported this week by MARCOS NAJERA and AVA DAVIS,

and produced by BRIAN DeSHAZOR

The international track and field governing body is discovering that excluding transgender women from women’s sports is more complicated than its policy. World Athletics received a report from its health and science department at the close of its recent championships in Tokyo. It found that during the last 25 years up to 60 event finalists would not have passed the organization’s newly instituted genetic sex test.

World Athletics president Sebastian Coe contends that screening for the SRY gene is what he calls “a reliable proxy for determining biological sex.” However, the researcher who discovered the SRY gene says that’s an oversimplification of his findings. Dr. Andrew Sinclair told the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, “Using SRY to establish biological sex is wrong because all it tells you is whether or not the gene is present.” The SRY gene can lead to a variety of differences of sex development, including those who are identified female at birth but have testosterone levels higher than World Athletics permits.

The questionable sex tests give rise to “harassment, questioning and privacy violations towards all women, especially, but not exclusively, women who are transgender, gender-non-conforming or intersex,” according to a spokesperson for interACT, an organization for the empowerment of intersex youth.

In related story, transgender runner Sadie Schreiner is taking the National Collegiate Athletic Association to court for barring her from a track and field tournament. Schreimer tried to enter the public event apart from her Rochester Institute of Technology team to avoid the NCAA trans ban. She’s suing under the New York State Human Rights Law.

The U.S. government appears to be straddling a line between erasing its transgender citizens and labeling them dangerous terrorists. Intelligence assessments issued by the Department of Homeland Security are eliminating the letter “T” from “LGBT — this despite the fact that transgender people suffer the highest rate of hate crimes in the community.

Threat assessment reports obtained by independent investigative journalist Ken Klippnestein mark the trend going on since early this year. The Office of Intelligence and Analysis now only refers to “the LGB+ community” in the warnings it sends to state and local law enforcement agencies.

However, the administration is reportedly considering allowing the use of the “T word” in one context. With the outrageous claim that trans people have been involved in the majority of school shootings, the conservative Heritage Foundation is imploring the Federal Bureau of Investigation to add what it calls “Transgender Ideology-Inspired Violent Extremism” to its list of terrorist organizations. That has LGBTQ advocates up in arms. GLAAD CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said, “The real trans terrorism is the terror experienced by trans people in this country. They are targeted with violence and threats at a four times higher rate than that of non transgender people.” The Human Rights Campaign’s Kelly Robinson charged conservatives with using anti-trans bias to distract from other political issues.

Nobody has mastered the art of distraction like U.S. President Donald Trump himself. He was prolific in his use of the “T” word in his diatribe over the current federal budget standoff.

The government is set to shut down at midnight on September 30th unless the ruling Republicans and the minority Democrats can negotiate a deal to fund operations through the end of November. Republicans are guarding the upper-class tax cuts and radical spending cuts of Trump’s budget plan. Democrats are holding out to restore health and other social benefits. An Oval Office meeting with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries was abruptly canceled by the president.

Instead, Trump took to his Truth Social platform to excoriate his political opponents. In the list of so-called “Radical Left Policies” he blamed the Democrats for supporting, gender-affirming care was stressed repeatedly. He cited inflated costs that exist only in his imagination for the Democrats’ healthcare demands and linked them to immigration issues and violent crime. Above all Trump ranted that the Democrats wanted to “allow men to play in women’s sports, and essentially create Transgender operations for everybody.”

Gay men in Tasmania who were victims of the Australian state’s laws against homosexuality and cross-dressing may soon receive reparations. The bill to offer financial redress unanimously passed the Lower House on September 25th. Another measure to allow judges to hand down heavier sentences for bias-motivated crimes also got unanimous approval.

To Rodney Croome of Equality Australia, “Financial redress will help make up for the pain and loss victims’ experienced and send a message that Tasmania is taking responsibility for these historic injustices.” Croome won a 1994 complaint against Tasmania’s sex laws at the United Nations Humans Rights Council. He says that many of the men convicted lost jobs and families, some were even driven out of the state.

The Upper House is expected to take the bills up in November.

In a landmark victory, the fashion design competition Project Runway has crowned its first-ever transgender winner. After a competitive season, Filipina designer Veejay Floresca took home the Season 21 title and the $200,000 prize. Floresca previously competed on Project Runway Philippines and moved to the U.S. in 2012, where she applied for that version of the show every year since.

Floresca beat out fellow finalists Jesus Estrada and RuPaul's Drag Race alum Utica Queen for the win. Following her victory, Floresca told reporters she hopes her story inspires people who feel different and shows that it is possible to achieve your dreams. She highlighted her identity as "an immigrant, a trans woman, a trans woman of color," stating that "people need to see that we are not enemies.”

History is also being made in the pageant world, as Vietnam has announced its first-ever out transgender Miss Universe contestant.

Thirty-three-year-old reality show star and singer Nguyen Huong Giang will represent her country in the international competition this November. Giang is already a household name in Vietnam, having previously won The Amazing Race Vietnam and the all-trans Miss International Queen pageant in 2018. In an Instagram post, Giang said she believes Miss Universe has opened "the door to equality and hope" by expanding its criteria to include transgender women, married women, and mothers. She hopes her journey shows that "nothing is impossible" and that "your starting point does not define your limits.”

The Australian horror movie Together has been pulled from Chinese cinemas following a censorship controversy. Viewers at advance screenings discovered that a scene featuring a gay wedding had been digitally altered, using what appeared to be AI technology to replace one of the male grooms with a woman.

This alteration sparked backlash online, with critics calling it a "distortion and misrepresentation" that disrespected the original work. Global distributor Neon condemned the "unauthorized edit" by Chinese counterpart Hishow, and demanded it cease distribution of the altered version.

This incident is the latest in a series of LGBTQ+ censorship in Chinese media.

Finally …

[SOUND: CARLSON, KNOWLES]

CARLSON: I’ve always wanted to interview him. He's never agreed to an interview, but I'm gonna ask him like some very specific questions about gay sex and see if he can even answer. I doubt if he even knows …

KNOWLES: Where does …

CARLSON: Yeah, no … totally! I’m not a gay dude, stop!

It’s not the first time conservative commentator Tucker Carlson has questioned the sexuality of former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. Carlson was speculating with his podcast guest Michael Knowles earlier this month about whether Buttigieg was feigning being gay for some kind of political advantage. Maybe not so advantageous after all, since Vice President Kamala Harris reveals in her new book that she would’ve chosen him as her presidential campaign running mate if she had not believed that a black woman and a gay man were too much for the electorate to handle.

Buttigieg got the opportunity to respond to Carlson during an appearance on Kara Swisher’s September 22nd podcast. He again declined the invitation to be interviewed by Carlson.

[SOUND: BUTTIGIEG]

BUTTIGIEG: First of all, I do not think I want to discuss anything with Tucker Carlson …

SWISHER: Okay … same same same … [applause]

BUTTIGIEG: … but I cannot think of a topic I would like to discuss less [laughter] with Tucker Carlson than that … even though I will admit some level of morbid curiosity on what in the hell he thinks his … no, actually no … [laughter fades out]