Isn't It Queer

Jonny is on their own again this week. They offer a recognition of the 104th anniversary of the radification of the 19th Amendment and uses it to link together several stories about political change. In the back half of the show, he shares a persuasive argument from Anna Marie that transphobia and racism, binary gender and Whiteness are firmly linked. The implication of this argument is that queer and trans advocacy is the central fight of the culture right now, and Jonny shares examples of where that struggle is being engaged.

Jonny is on his own this week and digs into why this current election season is so rough for LGBTQ+ and particualrly trans people. He shows how the Harris-Walz ticket is being challenged with mischaracterizations of their LGBTQ+ advocacy, but also why such advocacy is a distinguishing element of their candidacy. In the back half of the show, he digs into Project 2025 and Agenda 47, which are particulalry focused on restricting queer and trans rights and visibility. He closes with two stories that show the limits and pushback of such anti queer and gender-expasive politicking. If you are interested in applying for the Tim Rice Scholarship through the Rainbow Cafe, you can find the application here: https://www.rainbowcafe.org/scholarship.html

Heather returns to the show to share some her experiences with CoVid as the Country experiences another surge in cases. Jonny and Heather then turn their attention to the Olympics and the social media kerfuffle about women's boxing, particularly continued misogynist gender critical attacks against the elligibility of Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-Ting. In the back half of the show, they discuss recent developments in politics, including the LGBTQ+ advocacy record of new Democratic VP candidate, Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota. They are joined at the end of the show by Ky Chamelion, whose songe "Vibrate Higher" is doing quite well on America's Next Top Hit Maker. If you would like to hear Ky's song and/or vote for them in the competition, you can do so here: https://tophitmaker.org/2024/ky-chameleon

Jonny is joined again this week by Craig as Heather still struggles to get a negative test with CoVid. They discuss the Olympics and particularly the opening ceremony and the (misplaced) Christian outrage at its content. They also discuss the status of LGBTQ Olympians as the contest continues. In the back half of the show they turn to the Democratic Party's successful use of "weird" to mark he policies and practices of Trump and the MAGA Republicans. How do queers feel about allies calling people "weird"? It's complicated....and not!

Jonny is joined by his husband, Craig, to discuss the slew of recent political dramas at the national level. They use their perspective as scholars of Performance Studies (and queer theory and popular culture and...) to review the Republican National Convention, the selection of J.D. Vance as the GOP Vice President candidate, and the elevation of Kamala Harris to potential Democratic Presidential nominee after the stepping down of Joe Biden from the ticket.

Jonny interviews Dr. Joe Hassert who was a resident of Carbondale from 2000 to 2012 and was remarkably active in making community art projects happen here. Joe now lives in Las Vegas where he is a professor of Communication Studies at the College of Southern Nevada. He is the current president of the queer faculty and staff advocacy group there and works with students in the student LGBTQ organization to bring about positive, material change in their institution. Jonny and Joe talk about life in the desert, the queer scene in Las Vegas, what Joe learned from his time in Southern Illinois, LGBTQ advocacy, mass shootings, politics, and pragmatic activism.

Jonny yields the microphone (mostly) to SIU's The Intersectuionality Project and the Black and Queer Roundtable for a discussion of the importance of education and the educational disparities that face Black, Brown, and queer youth. Daniel, Janine, and Mendez pull from their own experience and recent research to drive a lively and informative discussion.

Jonny and Heather process their desire for a month of hibernation following a very active Pride Month. They then turn their attention to recent developments in presidential politics and connections between agism and homophobia/transphobia. Also, maybe why presidential immunity isn't such a good thing. In the back half of the show, they review a SCOTUS decision on states' rights when dealing with unhoused people on public lands and connect that to trans-advocacy, including trans- and empathy-advocacy on Dr. Who.

Jonny interviews Jo Clifford, playwright and performer of "The Gospel According to Jesus, Queen of Heaven," being presented at The Church of the Good Shepherd in Carbondale in the coming week (June 29 and July 2). They discuss the topic of the play, which considers,"What would happen if Jesus did come back to earth in the present day as a trans woman?" In the back third of the show, Heather and Jonny review two legal developments for the LGBTQ community, one that seems like pretty good news for veterans expelled from the military under "Don't Ask Don's Tell," the other somewhat trepidatious news as the SCOTUS takes up a case on Tennessee's ban of gender affirming care for trans youth.

Jonny and Heather interview Shay Miller, the director of Mae West's "The Drag," a Stage Company performance coming up for the last two weekends of Pride Month. A 1931 play by queer icon Mae West adapted by Darrin J. Pufall Purdy and Minerva Jayne, "The Drag" has many resonances with current attempts to ban drag performance. While focusing on the play, Jonny, Heather, and Shay also touch on other events going on in Southern Illinois to celebrate Pride.