Transcript – Meraxes Medina, we speak your name, Wisconsin governor vetoes anti-trans legislation again and South Carolina wins the NCAA Women’s Basketball National Championship – April 8, 2024Transcript –

[00:00:00] There’s no place like the Qube

family. It’s your favorite queer radio personality. Anna DeShawn, [00:00:30] and this is Queer News. Your favorite weekly news pod where race and sexuality meet politics, culture, and entertainment. Now, do you know about our Queer News tip line? Our Queer News tip line is open and a link is in the show notes. I want to report on stories that don’t make the news or a blog.

So many things are happening locally and I’d love to amplify them right here on Queer News. Q! Crew, what’s going on family? Did you get a [00:01:00] chance to check out Dr. Yvonne? Well, bonds interview, you had it exclusively for a whole week. If not, no worries is open to the public. So family go to our YouTube channel, click the subscribe button and the notifications bell.

So you don’t miss another thing. Now I was so excited to talk with Dr. Yvonne. Well, Bob, because she is the holder of the largest archive of black women filmmakers. It’s amazing. She’s also the founder of Sisters in Cinema and [00:01:30] they just opened up a media art center on the South side of Chicago because they envision a world where all black girls, women and gender nonconforming media makers have equal opportunities to create and thrive.

We got to talk about all of that, her 30 years of work that have culminated to this moment. So go to our YouTube and check it out and get this. We got something else for you too. We busy. Okay. We dropped our first episode of the Queer Open [00:02:00] Mic hosted by Derek. That’s right. It’s up and available on our YouTube channel.

And just another reason to hit that subscribe button. Queer Open Mic will drop once a month where we highlight a queer artist making good music out here in the world. It’s an opportunity for you to learn and support some queer artists that you may not have heard about before. I’m going to be dropping these interviews on the feed too, just in case you missed the YouTube situation.

Oh, and if you don’t know about the Q Crew, it helps to supplement our cost of the pod. [00:02:30] Podcast hosting, editing, marketing, PR, travel. So 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 Q Crew.

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Now for the news, I’ll share with you the findings of Cecilia Gentile’s death. We’ll also speak the names of Maraxis Medina, a 24 year old [00:03:00] Latina trans woman who was murdered in LA. In politics, we’ve got some wins to celebrate in Sacramento and Wisconsin. In culture and entertainment, you know, you know, we got to talk about the NCAA Women’s National Championship game between South Carolina and Iowa.

How epic was that? Also on TikTok, y’all been tapped in to Mercury Stardust and Jory coming back to raise millions of dollars for gender affirming care. [00:03:30] And can we talk about how the Macarena is helping a trans sibling fight against the trolls? Can we talk about it? Let’s get into it. Let’s go. Family, we’ve got two top stories today.

First, an update on Cecilia Gentile. You’ve heard me talk about Cecilia a few times since reporting on her passing back in February. Her advocacy centered at the intersections of sex work, Immigration rights, incarceration issues, and trans liberation. Well, [00:04:00] this past week, we received news on how Cecilia passed away.

And I was really debating on whether or not to share this news as I saw one of her family members were pretty upset at another media outlet that did share the news around how she passed. And I gave it some thought and I found that Felt like it was important to share this news. It was already public information, but also that Cecilia would want other people to not fall victim [00:04:30] in the same way that she was.

Two men have been charged. With lacing her heroin with fentanyl and we know the epidemic that is fentanyl today out here in the streets. And so family, I’m sharing this so that you can tell somebody else who you know that there are testing kits available that don’t trust everybody you’re getting your drugs from.

Okay, don’t do it. [00:05:00] It’s dangerous out here. And if you are going to do it. Then do it the safest way possible and get you some of those testing strips and make sure it doesn’t have the deadly and lethal drug that is fentanyl. Cecilia Gentile, we speak your name today. This leads us into our next top story for the week, where we speak her name, Maraxis Medina.

Maraxis was a [00:05:30] 24 year old Latina trans woman who was known for doing makeup. She was a makeup artist. She even been booked with Universal Studios Hollywood. Yeah. So she was good. On March 19th, her life was cut short when she was murdered in LA. Well, just this past week, the police arrested. 29 year old Brian Blackman as a suspect in Medina’s murder.

Now the thing is Medina wasn’t the [00:06:00] only woman killed that night. That person is still not being named. They found Medina and this other person in what they call the Figueroa corridor. It’s known to be a spot where sex workers and their clients go to frequent. Could this be another case of trans panic defense?

Could that be it? Possibly. And honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised. Men’s [00:06:30] masculinity goes right out the window when they find out they’re attracted to a trans woman. Well, Maraxi’s family and friends have started a GoFundMe. By the time that I’m recording this, they’ve raised 2, 400. If you’ve got some change, I’ve left the GoFundMe link in the show notes.

Maraxi’s Medina, we speak your name today.

In politics, can I give y’all some good news now? Can I give you some good [00:07:00] political news to get you through the week? I sure can. Let’s start with Sacramento. That’s right. Their city council came together with a unanimous vote to make Sacramento a sanctuary city for our trans siblings. Being a sanctuary city essentially means that they are a space that is meant to be affirming.

It means trans folks, you can come here and be your whole self, your most authentic self here in [00:07:30] this city. It also means they won’t use city resources. sources to criminalize trans folks seeking gender affirming care. That’s not going to happen in Sacramento. You know why? Because it is a sanctuary city.

And these are so important as conservatives, continue to push all their anti trans rhetoric and politic across the country, solidifying your city as a sanctuary place and passing resolutions like this make huge statements that they are [00:08:00] not going to win. It’s important. Sacramento is not the first one to do it.

According to map there are 14 other States that have passed similar resolutions. And let me just read this quote from a city council member. She said by affirming our commitment to supporting our LGBTQ plus community and ensuring that no city resources or staff time will be used to help enforce these harmful laws in other jurisdictions.

The city has taken a [00:08:30] step beyond state law. And sent a powerful signal to everyone in our community that we are a safe place for everyone. I love this. Come on, Sacramento. Come on. And our next political story is more good news. I’m telling you it’s happening. Okay. In Wisconsin, their governor just blocked an anti trans sports bill.

Yes, he did. And it’s not the first time he has vetoed anti [00:09:00] trans legislation that has landed on his desk. Back in December, Of 2023, if you’ve been listening to the pod, I reported how governor Evers vetoed anti trans legislation that would have outlawed gender affirming care for minors and everyone expected him to veto it because he said anything coming across his desk that was anti LGBTQ anti trans would be vetoed.

And I’m here to say in [00:09:30] April of 2024, Governor Tony Evers is continuing to keep his promise, and this time it was a sports bill. He said, States across this country may give way to radical policies targeting LGBTQ plus individuals and families and threatening LGBTQ plus folks everyday lives and their ability to be safe, valued, supported, and welcome being who they are.

As long as I am the governor of [00:10:00] this great state. Wisconsin will not be among them. Come on, governor. Come on, governor Evers. I’m grateful for governors like this. And I celebrate them because it is not easy. It’s not easy standing up against a whole legislature that just passed some legislation that you don’t agree with.

You become very much so singled out. But let me tell you. This means that Wisconsin will not become the 26th state to bar trans athletes. That’s what this means. [00:10:30] Fantastic. And now is a great time for us to take a quick break. And when we get back, we’ll have culture and entertainment.

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So don’t miss it. Okay. Go to the YouTube, subscribe and hit that notifications bill. Thanks family. If you’re hearing this, it means we didn’t sell this ad space. If you’re hearing this, it means running ads on our podcast actually can work. You see what I did there? You see this real life [00:11:30] example. You got an event.

Do you have an organization? Do you got something you need to get the word out about? We got rates starting as low as 100. Check the link in our show notes for more information. Family, welcome back to the pod. Now it’s time for culture and entertainment. Now you know I got to start the pod talking about the women’s NCAA National Championship game, South Carolina versus Iowa.[00:12:00]

The stage is set. The stars are ready to go. Cordoso, Kaitlyn Clark, Pow Pow, Dawn Staley, Yo, the energy I could feel through my computer screen was high. Okay. It was lit in there. Iowa started out strong. No doubts about that. Hey, Lynn Clark came to play. [00:12:30] She scored 18 points in the first quarter. She was shooting threes from 30 feet away.

It was like. Oh, that’s how far the ball was. She was balling out of control, but every great player gets cold at some point in a game. And it was in those moments that the deep bench of South Carolina took advantage. Caitlin scored another 12 points for the [00:13:00] rest of the game. And she really could not find her groove.

The defense of South Carolina really locked in, even with the refs calling it really tight, really tight. They kept things under control. They never get it 100 percent right. Just like the coaches don’t, the players don’t, refs don’t either, but they called it tight the whole game. All right. From what I could see and South Carolina adjusted, Caitlyn couldn’t get back in her groove.

And before [00:13:30] you knew it. South Carolina was up by 10. They played each other so well. But you just can’t compete with such a deep and disciplined team as South Carolina. And also such a well coached team. Iowa is also very well coached. And also dependent on one player to really help with 80 percent of their offense.

Some nights it’s 90%. Based upon [00:14:00] her points and points she’s assisted on. And that’s a lot for one person. When they get locked down in something as big as a national championship game. It was the rematch we wanted. It was the rematch we got. I don’t know how many people were in attendance yet. And I can’t find how many people were tuning in.

Yet, they haven’t dropped those numbers as I’m recording, but I have no doubt they have broken another record. Women’s basketball is on fire right [00:14:30] now, and this is taking us into the WNBA season, and I cannot wait. South Carolina took the win, okay? Clinching its third NCAA Women’s Championship, 87 75, and their second one in the last three years.

I don’t know how Coach Staley did it with a whole new starting five. I have no idea how her and her coaching staff did it. Ooh, protect this woman at all costs, [00:15:00] please. And I want to leave y’all with a quote from Dawn Staley because she was in the press conference prior to the national championship game.

They had just won the final four and a reporter asked her what her thoughts were on trans folks playing in sports. And I want y’all to hear her response because she didn’t have to answer this question. She didn’t have to be present in the moment to want to answer this question, but she did anyway. [00:15:30] And these are the reasons I love Don Staley.

Dan Zachrzewski, OutKick coach, you just talked about, you know, what a massive weekend this is obviously for women’s basketball, women’s sports in general. One of the major issues facing women’s sports right now is the debate discussion topic about the inclusion of transgender athletes, biological males in women’s sports.

I was wondering if you would tell me your position on that issue. Damn, you got deep on me. I’m on the, I mean, [00:16:00] I’m on the opinion of If you’re a woman, you should play. If you consider yourself a woman or and you want to play sports or vice versa, you should be able to play. That’s that’s my opinion. You want me to go deeper?

Do you, do you think, uh, transgender women should be able to participate in college basketball? That’s the question you want me to ask. I mean, you want to ask, so I’ll give you that yes. Yes. So now, [00:16:30] the barnstorm of people, I’m going to flood my timeline and be a distraction to me on one of the biggest, uh, days of, of, of our game.

And I’m okay with that. I really am. Now to close out culture and entertainment, I’ve got two TikTok stories for you now. I know. And I heard from y’all in the survey, everybody is not on TikTok. I understand. You don’t got to go check these two things out, but I’m going to report on them because they two really [00:17:00] major things.

Okay. Now, first up Mercury Stardust and Jory, they have teamed up again for their fundraiser. They do a fundraiser around Trans Day of Visibility. All right. And they host this live stream. That goes for hours and hours and hours. I mean, I was literally on Tik TOK earlier today and Mercury Stardust had been on live for 25 hours straight [00:17:30] raising money.

Now they did this last year and they raised 2 million for an organization called point of pride. All right, Point of Pride provides financial aid and direct support for trans folks in need of health and wellness care. Typically gender affirming care of some kind. They raised two million dollars last year.

So they came back with the goal of raising four million dollars this year, but child of trolls was busy. They were so [00:18:00] busy. They got Mercury and Jory’s lives shut down over 12 times. Because the tech, if something keeps getting reported, then it’s saying, Oh, this must be really bad. And so it shuts you down.

It shut them down 12 times and they still remain committed. Okay. This has taken far longer than last year because of these wicked [00:18:30] trolls and these people who have nothing else to do but to hate on trans folks looking to take care of other trans folks. But last I looked, they were at 1. 9 million dollars and when they got to 2 million dollars, Mercury Stardust was going to go off the tick tock and take a break and go to sleep.

So, if you have some dollars to spare, And you don’t want to get on TikTok. That’s okay. I’m going to put some links in the show notes. You can go directly to Point of Pride and make a donation. If you’re on TikTok, [00:19:00] you can go to either of their links, Mercury Start Us or Jory’s page and their links and make a donation.

I think it’s beautiful when we can counteract hate with something as joyful and beautiful as this. Yeah. Yeah. And then our next story that’s on TikTok, there is a trans creator. His name is Ernie and when they post things, they, they post really funny, quirky skits and he [00:19:30] posts his daily video of him making oatmeal chow with honey and blueberries.

It looks delicious and almonds, but essentially what happens is that they also get a lot of hate. And so they decided to counteract the hate, especially when their account got really big. But every time they get a hate message, they actually do the Macarena. They say, Can you all help me make some money off of this hate troll?

And they stand there and do the Macarena with this [00:20:00] comment showing. And it gets tens of thousands of views. And he gets a lot of hate, so he just keeps doing the Macarena and he has this shirt on that says Macarena against transphobes. And I think it’s the most beautiful way to respond to these people.

I mean, I get the trolls too child and they are exhausting and they also boost the content and help me reach my audience. So I just look at it as glass half [00:20:30] full and I’m glad Ernie is taking it with a grain of salt. And using it for their benefit and their greater good. Okay, because these trolls ain’t got nothing else to do

So family, it’s that time of the show where anna’s got a word because anna’s always got a word and today I want to leave you with the idea of taking things into your own hands taking control of your own destiny and if money Is one of the [00:21:00] challenges you face, figure out how you can raise it. I think this fundraiser that Mercury and Jory do is so powerful.

And I do a talk about crowdfunding and raising money with your friends and family and how you go about it successfully. And let me just tell y’all something. Money is a tool that you can use to help your dreams come true. And allow other people’s dreams to come true and people want to help you do you just have to learn how to ask [00:21:30] so much comes in just making a simple request and fear will keep us from making those requests.

And I’m telling you this as someone who has raised a lot of money. And I had to ask for every single dollar. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid. I had someone tell me when I asked them for money, Thank you for giving me the opportunity to support you. [00:22:00] That shifted my thinking from that point forward. Give somebody the opportunity.

You feel me? Give them the opportunity to support you. And to help you grow. Because often times people don’t get the chance to live out their dreams. And so watching you live out yours gives them fulfillment enough. So family, take control of your destiny. You got this, okay? Till next week. [00:22:30] Peace. If

you’ve enjoyed what you heard, rate and review us inside your favorite podcasting app. This podcast is written and produced by me, [00:23:00] Anna DeShawn. Podcast editing by Ryan Woodhull and brought to you by E3 radio and distributed on the Qube. We are Queer News Done Right. Thanks for listening to Queer News Done Right.