de Waal's Hidden Lives, Silenced Histories | This Way Out Radio Episode #2015
Australian LGBTQ+ pioneer Peter de Waal uncovers generations of courage, resistance, and untold queer history in his groundbreaking new book, Hidden Lives, Silenced Histories. Barry McKay brings these powerful stories to life in a special preview.
In the news, US voters rebuke Republican policies in landslide mid-term elections and sweep more LGBTQ candidates into office than ever before. However, relevant state-level ballot initiatives have mixed results — but not as mixed as the results of Israel’s elections, where the “pinkwashing” ploy may be all that’s protecting LGBTQ rights. Meanwhile, Fijian theocrats threaten marriage equality and Beijing’s Queer Film Festival is abruptly canceled.
Credits: Producer / host Brian DeShazor, Associate Producer Lucia Chappelle, News writer Jeb Backe, the feature was produced by Barry McKay. NewsWrap reporters Sarah Montague and Joe Boehnlein. music: the Velvet Underground and our theme music was written and performed by Kim Wilson.
All this on the November 09, 2026 Edition of This Way Out!
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This Way Out
NewsWrap
Program 2015 Distributed 11/09/26
A historic number of LGBTQ+ candidates won in the United States midterm elections. Marking the halfway point in the Trump administration, voters strongly rejected its policies and made a massive shift toward the Democratic Party. It now claims a majority in both the House and Senate. With the past two years defined by a Republican President and compliant Congress, the progressive wave signals a new political era for the country.
The November 3rd elections expanded LGBTQ+ political power across the nation. Six state legislatures will seat their first transgender and/or nonbinary members . They are Georgia’s Bentley Hudgins, Alabama’s Allison Montgomery, Michigan’s Joanna Whaley, Wisconsin’s Dina Nina Martinez-Rutherford, Washington’s Jaelynn Scott, and Florida’s Quinnie Perez .
Chris Pappas is the first-ever out gay man elected to the U.S. Senate. Democrat Chris Pappas of New Hampshire ran on a platform of affordability and anti-corruption, but it remains to be seen what kind of advocate he’ll be for LGBTQ+ rights as senator. In 2024 he supported a defense authorization bill that restricted coverage of gender-affirming care for transgender youth and invested in defense systems.
At least 17 out LGBTQ+ lawmakers will be sworn into the House and Senate– that’s the largest number to ever serve in the U.S. Congress.
LGBTQ+ rights ballot initiatives got mixed support despite the overarching progressive shift of the United States Midterm Elections on November 3rd. 79% of Vermont voters favored Proposal 4 to expand the state’s constitution to include “equal protection under the law to individuals no matter their race, ethnicity, sex, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or national origin.”
In Virginia, 56% of voters answered “yes” to removing the state’s ban on same-sex marriage. The ban was rendered unenforceable by the U.S. Supreme Court’s nationwide marriage equality ruling in 2015. However the new measure ensures an added layer of protection in the event that those rights are threatened in the future.
Missouri’s Amendment 3 attempted to ban abortion and trans health care for minors.. More than 55% voted against it. The victory for transgender youth and abortion rights advocates came in spite of a colossal $26 million campaign to limit those liberties.
The anti-transgender crusade was able to gain some ground in a few states. Nebraska voters said “yes” to Measure 442, which added sex-based eligibility rules for school sports to the state constitution. Similarly Arizona’s Proposition 318 passed, requiring all schools and athletic associations to designate teams as male, female, or co-ed based on sex assigned at birth.
The people of Washington state also approved a measure prohibiting students assigned male at birth from playing with or against cis-gender female student athletes in female-designated sports.
Then in Colorado, Proposition 134 passed. All school-based athletic teams there are now required to “be designated as male-only or female-only based on biological sex” with all participants “assigned to gender-designated teams that align with their biological sex.” Colorado voters also passed Proposition 135 to prohibit the almost unheard-of gender-affirming surgeries for people under age 18.
However, the virulent Republican anti-trans ad campaign fizzled out in some states. Candidates playing that card lost in Texas, Georgia, Ohio, Iowa, Kansas, and South Carolina.
Israel’s October 2026 election is leaving right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about eight seats short of attaining the majority needed to govern the Knesset, the country’s national legislature. As Palestinians look upon the formation of the next government, few options seem to provide much of a change to the ongoing genocide. The next Knesset is expected to bring in three openly LGBTQ lawmakers, the same number as the previous formation. All three come from parties that oppose the creation of a Palestinian state, support Israel’s illegal settlement enterprise, and wish to perpetuate the country’s apartheid system. Netanyahu is accused of war crimes in the International Criminal Court.
Civil rights advocates remain concerned for what the next government will bring. Professor Aeyal Gross is an expert on constitutional law at Tel Aviv University's Faculty of Law. He spoke to Haaretz about the recent regression of LGBTQ rights in Israel and predicts further civil injustice in the future. Based on many parties’ lack of commitment to the LGBTQ community, Gross told Haaretz, "There is a possibility that we will see more serious harm to LGBTQ rights. But it's also possible that the role LGBTQ rights play as a fig leaf for Israeli democracy will actually protect them." In what is popularly known as “pinkwashing,” activist organizations such as the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Movement have criticized Israel’s messaging. They say it’s superficially sympathetic to the LGBTQ community as a means of projecting a progressive image, while concealing the oppression of Palestinians.
A theocratic Christian Group in Fiji is calling for a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. The country is currently holding debates regarding “Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2026” with many groups seeking to infuse it with their own political agendas. Apostles Fellowship International president Penioni Ravunawa proposed their change to the amendment during public consultations on November 4th. The amendment more broadly is being pushed by Fiji’s Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka but has yet to receive the required two-thirds Parliament majority vote to pass. The Social Democratic Liberal Party and the National Federation Party oppose it.
While the bill is still under discussion, the Apostles Fellowship International submitted one of eight recommendations presented to the consultation. The AFI argues that the current constitutional provisions do not adequately define marriage. It calls for an explicit prohibition of same-sex marriage. AFI president Ravunawa is at the same time Fiji’s Assistant Minister for Health. Ravunawa cited the Bible in championing the discriminatory proposal. He added his belief that churches and clergy should remain free to teach and solemnise marriages according to their beliefs.
If the amendment passes, it would be the first ever for the country’s 2013 Constitution. The third reading of the Constitution Amendment Bill is now rescheduled to take place from November 30 to December 4, 2026
Finally…
The curtain closed on the Beijing Queer film festival just a day before its opening. Chinese authorities have shown a growing intolerance of feminist and LGBTQ+ discussions. Harassing phone calls from the police increased the pressure on the organizers leading up to the event.
The festival was founded in 2001 by Peking University students. It has remained one of the few open public forums exploring LGBTQ+ topics in mainland China.
This isn’t the first prominent film festival that’s been brought down. The Beijing Independent film festival had its electricity supply shut off and the founders were detained in 2014. This year, June pride month screenings of films with LGBTQ+ themes in Beijing were cancelled because of police harassment.
Maya Wang is the deputy Asia director for Human Rights Watch. She told The Guardian, “The authorities have put more pressure on what little is left of China’s civil society, as well as the LGBT communities and independent film-makers. A queer film festival basically faces all of these overlapping pressures.”
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