Proud Voices: Be You! | This Way Out Radio Episode #1996
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- 9 min read
This week on This Way Out: Emma Schulman takes to the LAPRIDE streets to hear what folks have to say about PRIDE, plus, a Rainbow Rewind featuring playwright, activist, Larry Kramer and in the news, the Supreme Courts of Nepal and Eswatini are ordering marriage equality and queer civil rights; don’t bet on trans protections in the U.K.’s game of Prime Minister roulette, and don’t bet on the New York Times for covering trans news; say goodbye to U.S.-funded AIDS care via PEPFAR in South Africa, but say hello to animal world DEI in the documentary Second Nature.
Credits: Associate Producer/Host Lucia Chappelle, Producer Brian DeShazor, News writer Jeb Backe, feature producer Emma Schulman, NewsWrap reporters Marcos Najera and Ret, music: Purrfect the way you are by Tatsu & Lyov, Two, Three, Fall by Mice Parade from Freemusicarchive License by CC BY-NC-ND, and Kim Wilson
This Way Out
NewsWrap
Program 1996 Distributed 06/29/26
And in NewsWrap: Nepal’s government is directed by their Supreme Court to solidify marriage equality. Keir Starmer’s replacement could mean more capitulation to anti-trans culture wars. The New York Timesis in hot water once again, this time for a study exposing an increase in trans-skepticism.The twenty-year old President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief in South Africa is coming to an end as a result of President Trump’s political opposition. A victory is in sight for queer people of Eswatini as their government is ordered to officially recognize the advocacy group, Eswatini Sexual and Gender Minorities. A new documentary titled Second Nature brings a richer view of the animal kingdom, exploring over 1500 species that change sex, engage in same-sex relationships, form matriarchies, and more.— and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by RET and Marcos Najera (News Writer Jeb Backe, News Producers Lucia Chappelle and Brian DeShazor).
The Supreme Court of Nepal has issued a binding directive to the government to establish marriage equality. Discriminatory language that excludes queer couples must be removed from the country’s civil code.
In 2023 the Supreme Court ordered the government to allow marriage for same-sex couples under a “temporary registration system.” However, the lack of national legislation gave leeway for clerks to still deny marriage registration. The venerable Nepalese LGBTQ advocacy group Blue Diamond Society wrote in a press release, “even among couples who have registered their marriages, there is concern that their marriages may not be respected when it comes to adoption, inheritance, and other important protections they need to care for their families.”
The landmark June 18th ruling is the result of a twenty year legal battle led by LGBTQIA+ activists. Blue Diamond petitioned the Court with a network of advocates, including Representative Bhumika Shrestha, Nepal’s first transgender lawmaker.
It is now up to the Nepal Government to implement the ruling. Blue Diamond remains hopeful. In their words they “welcome this important milestone from the Supreme Court of Nepal towards ensuring marriage equality provisions in Nepal and are excited to witness the next steps from the Government in translating this ruling into practice.”
LGBTQ+ rights in the U.K. will soon be in the hands of a new Prime Minister— the seventh in a decade. Nearly two years after his election, Keir Starmer announced on June 22nd that he will be resigning as Labour Party Leader due to opposition from within. Starmer’s attacks upon trans rights, embrace of austerity measures amid a cost-of-living crisis in Britain, as well as his punishment of pro-Palestine protesters have drawn heavy criticism.
Starmer had a positive track record on LGBTQ+ issues until the onset of the anti-trans culture wars a few years ago. Shortly after assuming the role of prime minister in 2024, Starmer backed restricting healthcare for transgender youth. He aligned with the UK Supreme Court’s 2025 ruling that trans women are not women, thus stripping them of legal recognition. Starmer also went along with the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s barring trans women from using appropriate single-sex facilities just a few weeks ago .
Greater Manchester’s former Mayor Andy Burnham is expected to run for Labour Party leadership and could potentially be uncontested. Burnham has similarly turned away from LGBTQ+ support and sided with the trans bathroom ban. His former LGBTQ+ advisor, Carl Austin Behan, recently gave some advice for Andy Burnham on Gaydio:
[AUDIO CARL AUSTIN BEHAN - GAYDIO]
“Don't backtrack on any of the LGBTQ plus commitments that are made. Make sure we're championing LGBTQ plus people, especially our trans and non-binary siblings. Make sure there is a complete ban on conversion therapy. [...] You've got to listen to the community and not just say, ‘oh, well, this is my interpretation of something. This is my interpretation of that.’ And make sure that trans rights are human rights and they're put at the forefront of where we need to be.”
A new data investigation finds The New York Times has fueled political controversy toward trans rights. The analysis of over 3,000 articles covering transgender issues was created by Alejandra Caraballo, a Clinical Instructor at Harvard Law School’s Cyberlaw Clinic. A trans woman herself, Caraballo noticed a shift in the paper’s editorial framing and focus when it came to issues of transgender people, particularly around gender affirming care for youth.
Caraballo analyzed 12 years of Times articles. She utilized three AI models to measure how each article framed trans stories and who those stories were centered around.
The study found six major changes. The Time’s coverage flipped from being affirmative and protective of trans rights to being dubious and supporting restrictions. Trans voices featured in articles declined while the number of opponents to trans rights increased. Transgender identity was reframed from being a normal aspect of society to being a deviation. Times’ coverage migrated from personal and cultural trans stories to discussions of contested policy, healthcare, and legal news about restricting trans rights. Since 2014, rights-affirming articles decreased while articles emphasizing medical-skepticism and trans culture war issues rose. Most recently, the articles’ focus shifted to mistrust about transgender youth healthcare.
The New York Times, rejects the criticism.
Caraballo warns that the shift in framing has affected people's lives and influenced laws. Indeed The Times’ coverage has shown up in legal and political fights over trans rights. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas cited The Times in his concurring opinion for upholding a ban on gender-affirming care for minors last year. The paper’s reporting has additionally appeared in filings from anti-trans groups like the Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine and the Family Research Council.
A GLAAD spokesperson told The Advocate on Tuesday, “The Times fueled a phony conflict by failing to inform readers about sources’ anti-LGBTQ history and lack of expertise, and ginned up a fake debate that continues to spread harm.”
The U.S. is phasing out vital funding for HIV and AIDS programs in South Africa. This will be the end for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief or PEPFAR, originally passed in 2003 during the George W. Bush administration. “PEPFAR has been the largest commitment by any nation to address a single disease in the world, credited with not only saving millions of lives but also helping to change the trajectory of the global HIV epidemic” – that’s according to the KFF, a U.S. health policy research non-profit.
PEPFAR provides about a fifth of South Africa’s total spending on HIV programs and has paid for about 15,000 health workers' salaries. The country of South Africa has the highest overall number of individuals living with HIV in the world, affecting more than eight million people.
The U.S. withdrawal of support has come after relations continue to sour since the inauguration of President Donald Trump. An executive order in February of 2025 directed that assistance to South Africa be halted. It promoted aid for Afrikaners, based on the discredited claim that a “white genocide” was taking place. White South Africans are nearly the only refugees currently being let into the U.S.
The U.S. State Department announced that the “phased drawdown” of PEPFAR is a result of "South Africa's failure to make demonstrable progress on policy requests by the administration." That charge is likely referring to Trump's assertion that South Africa's land expropriation laws are harming white Afrikaners. He’s also displeased with South Africa's Black Economic Empowerment policies, and its condemnation of Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
Jirair Ratevosian is the former acting head of staff at PEPFAR. He warned that, “the people who would suffer most are those who already struggle to get healthcare, especially groups with a higher chance of getting HIV, like transgender people.”
The news of the funding pull has yet to be formally communicated to South Africa. Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi says he’s seeking urgent clarification from U.S. authorities. Still, the health ministry responded to the news stating that it had "long been working on a self-reliance plan.”
Programs are expected to be fully phased out by the end of September, with critical personnel support continuing through March 2027, according to the U.S. State Department.
The LGBT advocacy group Eswatini Sexual and Gender Minorities must now be officially recognized and registered by the Eswatini government by order of the Supreme Court — but will that order move the government any more than the last top court mandate did?
It’s been a seven-year battle for Eswatini Sexual and Gender Minorities, or ESGM. Their original application was rejected in 2019. The Registrar of Companies denied their request based on the fact that gay male sex is against the law in the southern African country. A split ruling by the High Court in 2022 upheld the Registrar’s denial of their official recognition while maintaining that the organization had a constitutional right to exist. However that ruling was overturned the following year by the Supreme Court and the Registrar was given 60 days to log ESGM as a legal nonprofit.
Sixty days came and went. This time the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade stepped in to block ESGM’s legal recognition. The Ministry claimed, "The principles and rules of the Roman Dutch Law are still enforceable." The Roman Dutch Law dates back to the 15th century and was imposed upon Eswatini with European colonization. The country currently operates under a dual legal system comprised of ancient Roman-Dutch law and Eswatini law.
Now, this week’s Supreme Court ruling affirms the constitutional right to freedom of association for all citizens, their sexual orientation notwithstanding. The implications for the whole of Eswatini society are striking. As Amnesty International Regional Civic Space Researcher Khanyo Farisè wrote for The Daily Maverick, “The refusal to recognize ESGM as a legitimate civil society organization is part of a wider crackdown on civic space in Eswatini, where the government is increasingly restricting the establishment and operation of NGOs. … ESGM’s struggle is therefore not only an LGBTI issue — it is about governments consolidating power and weakening accountability by attacking civic space and targeting marginalized groups.”
Just as it was in 2023, the government has been given 60 days to comply with the Supreme Court’s order. Meanwhile, ultimate ruler King Mswati III proclaimed at his Easter prayer gathering in April that LGBTQ people are not welcome in Eswatini as long as he is in power.
Finally, an expansive look at over 1500 species that change sex, engage in same-sex relationships, form matriarchies, and more is hitting theaters with a debut in New York City. The documentary Second Nature follows the work of Evolutionary Biologist Dr. Joan Roughgarden and other scientists. The narration by transgender actor Elliot Page gives way to a richer view of the animal kingdom, debunking myths that females are “inferior” or that being queer is “unnatural.”
Second Nature is directed by Queer Filmmaker Drew Denny who spoke to Democracy Now!:
[AUDIO- DREW DENNY]
“I decided to make this movie because I grew up in Texas being told that females are naturally inferior to males and that queerness is simply unnatural. [...] So, it wasn't until I grew up and read Dr. Joan Roughgarden's book and learned about gay penguin dads and birthing seahorse dads, for example, and genderqueer chimps and our other closest relatives, bonobos, who are matriarchal, that I finally felt in my body for the first time that I belong here on Earth just like anybody else. And it may sound silly that it's the queer animals that did that for me, but that's what it took.”
Denny was inspired by Dr. Roughgarden’s 2004 book, Evolution’s Rainbow: Diversity, Gender, and Sexuality in Nature and People. The book has been lauded for the past twenty years as a “celebration of diversity and affirmation of individuality in animals and humans.”
The film expands Roughgarden’s exploration of diversity in gender and sexuality even more.
[AUDIO- DREW DENNY]
“All the scientists in our movie are women, queer, trans, BIPOC and immigrants. They identify in at least one of those ways. And the first thing I looked for were experts. They are the most credible experts in these fields. They happen to identify in those ways. And I think the reason that they ended up being the people in our movie is because they come from a different perspective.”
Second Nature uses a mix of humor and hard-hitting research to broaden public understanding of natural law. Denny is sure to add that this exploration of the evolutionary value of queerness is not needed to validate queerness. To her, “all of this science shows that queerness is absolutely not new.”
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