Kansas City is now a safe haven, the Texas drag ban is ruled unconstitutional, Big Freedia drops an eyewear line & the new film Mutt is a must-see – October 2, 2023
This week on the Queer News podcast Anna DeShawn launched the Queer News Tip Line on TikTok last week & got our first story out of Kansas City, MO. Thank you Jaeforthestay for letting us know that Kansas City is now a Safe Haven for trans folks. Also, in Missouri a trans teen was crowned homecoming queen and of course people had something to say. A judge in Texas has declared their drag ban unconstitutional. Big Freedia launches an eyewear line called SHADE & the new film Mutt is making waves. Let’s go!
Family, it’s your favorite queer radio personality Anna DeShawn and this is Queer News. Your fav weekly news pod where race & sexuality meet politics, culture, and entertainment.
This is a big week for me and I am full of so much gratitude. On Tuesday I get inducted into the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame. On Wednesday, our next Qube Original podcast drops. It’s called Second Sunday. Second Sunday is about Black queer folks finding, keeping and sometimes losing faith. On Thursday, I’ll be in New York for the live event celebrating not only Second Sunday but our PRX Big Questions cohort. Then Saturday, its our 10th annual Purple Tie Affair Concert & Silent Auction. What a week! It’s going to be amazing. Follow my journey on IG @annadeshawn.
And if you’re in Chicago, come join us at the Purple Tie. Not in Chicago, you can participate in our silent auction. This year we are giving back to One Roof Chicago. One Roof Chicago is an initiative to build a welcoming and inclusive intergenerational community for older adults and young people most in need of affirming housing, meaningful connection, and career development.
Now if you enjoy what you hear consider joining the QCrew. I want to welcome Douglas, our newest member of the QCrew. The QCrew is our Queer News community. Your recurring monthly will help supplement t he costs of pod; podcast hosting, editing, marketing, PR, travel, etc. If you believe in the work we do. If you believe LGBTQ stories need to be amplified. If you love and respect how I report on the news and tell our stories, join the QCrew. A link is in the show notes.
Now for the news. I launched our Queer News Tip Line on TikTok last week & we got our first story out of Kansas City, MO. Thank you Jaeforthestay for letting me know that Kansas City is now a Safe Haven for trans folks. Also, in Missouri a trans teen was crowned homecoming queen. A judge in Texas has declared their drag ban unconstitutional. Big Freedia launches an eyewear line & the new film Mutt is making waves. I’ll be back after the break with the news. Let’s go!
So I’ve started a Queer News tip line because I know there is so much news happening in our communities that never makes it to a blog or news outlet. I’m hosting the tip line on tiktok so chime in if you’ve got a story you’d like me to report on. This week our first listener generated story is from Jaeforthestay and its about Kansas City, Missouri. It turns out back in May Kansas City city council approved a resolution making the city a safe haven for trans residents. Mayor Quinton Lucas was proud to sign it and he said, “For decades, Kansas City has been at the forefront of our region, ensuring we have equality for all, and we will continue to do everything in our power to fight for equal rights for all in our city, no matter what happens at our state capitol.” We love to see it and this is a big move because Missouri is a red state led by a Republican governor and a GOP controlled legislature. The state has introduced and passed a number of anti-trans bills and they’ve banned gender-affirming care. But thanks to Democratic leadership in Kansas City they are now a sanctuary city. And let me just say that the resolution passed 12-1. This was not a close vote. You can go there and those seeking gender-affirming care are protected and those providing gender-affirming care are protected.
Which leads me to another story about Kansas City because just recently the young people of Oak Park High School voted Tristan Young to be their homecoming queen. Tristan is a transgender girl who is clearly beloved in her community. Of course you know there were parents who had a problem and the right-wing trolls went about doing what they do but I love the response of the school district. They said, “Our students voted for this year’s King and Queen. The role of the school and/or district is to honor students’ voice and decision,” Period and that’s what they did.
This type of thing doesn’t happen without a political and cultural environment of support. Way to go Kansas City.
In more political news, a Texas judge has ruled that the legislation banning drag shows is unconstitutional. According to The Independent, Judge Hittner said that the law “impermissibly infringes on the First Amendment and chills free speech” and will “irreparably harm” drag performers and LGBT+ groups and venues that host them. He went on to say, “Not all people will like or condone certain performances. This is no different than a person’s opinion on certain comedy genres or music, but that alone does not strip First Amendment protection.” Here’s to the first amendment. I’m so glad to see these drag bans being overturned state after state. There was just no reason to target drag shows other than to fuel the right-wing hate and fear mongering campaign. And let’s be clear we talk about Gov. DeSantis but Gov. Abbot & Attorney General Ken Paxton out of Texas are just as bad. This is one drag ban down and so many more to go.
This is a good time for us to take a quick break. When we get back I’ve got some culture & entertainment news for you. Stay close.
Welcome back family. Let’s jump into some culture & entertainment news. We love us some Big Freedia around here and she’s just dropped a new eyewear line called SHADE. It’s in collaboration with EyeCandy Creations and she’s got three signature shades; Vera, Josephine, & Love. Big Freedia says, “My new line of eyewear is inspired by my childhood on Josephine Street, New Orleans, Louisiana, the home where I learned all of life’s lessons and developed the lens through which I see the world.” Yes indeed and these shades are cute and bold and full of color. They def embody Big Freedia’s confidence and style. Go check them out family. I mean might have scoop this love pair.
For our last story today, I want to tell y’all about a new film called Mutt. Mutt is a coming of age story about a trans man moving throughout New York City and navigating these complicated relationships in a never-ending day. Through the film, the lead character Fena, encounters his ex-boyfriend, younger sister and estranged father. Chile’ thats enough for a lifetime let alone one day in New York City. The film rocked Sundance and now you can rent or purchase it on Amazon. I’ll be renting this week.
Now it is Hispanic Heritage Month and I’d be remiss if we didn’t honor some of our communities Latinx icons. So we will celebrate one person every week of the month. Today we celebrate Julio Salgado. Julio is the co-founder of DreamersAdrift and the Migrant Storytelling Manager for The Center for Cultural Power. His status as an undocumented, queer artivist has fueled the contents of his visual art, which depict key individuals and moments of the DREAM Act and the migrant rights movement. Undocumented students, organizers and allies across the country have used Salgado’s artwork to call attention to the migrant rights movement.
Salgado is the co-creator of The Disruptors Fellowship, a program at The Center for Cultural Power for emerging television writers of color who identify as trans/and or non-binary, disabled, undocumented/formerly undocumented immigrants. His work has been displayed at the Oakland Museum, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Smithsonian.
Now, let us close out with some Monday Motivation. This quote comes from Michael Ely and he says, “Hey, I know it’s Monday. But it’s also a new day and a new week. And in that lies a new opportunity for something special to happen.” Make some magic happen this week family.Till next week, family. Peace.
