Rated LGBT Radio

Celebrating the lives of immigrant sons

Today we talk to author Anthony Ocampo about his book BROWN AND GAY IN LA: The Lives of Immigrant Sons. The book focuses on the sons of “new” immigrants who arrived in the United States after the passage of the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965, BROWN AND GAY IN LA offers intimate and sometimes heartbreaking portraits of young men—Franklin, Armando, Rolando, Alvin, James, Dario, Edwin, Julio, and others—who struggle with the tensions between making their parents proud and their own sense of pride, with being viewed as normal by their family and becoming their own person. 
We will be discussing the intersections of race, immigration and being gay, as well as an analysis of masculinity itself. 
Anthony Ocampo is Professor of Sociology at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, and his work has been featured on NPR, NBC News, BuzzFeed, GQ, and in the Los Angeles Times
With co-host Brody Levesque

Gio Bravo in the House with His New Song ESTA NOCHE

Gio Bravo, the first trans recording artise in regional Mexican music, is in the house with us today!  We will be playing his newest release, ESTA NOCHE!
At the age of 22 Gio decided to accept his true authentic self and accept the gender identity that he had always felt most natural to him, accepting his life as a Trans man. 
In early 2020, Gio collaborated with renowned Mexican singer-songwriter Erika Vidrio on the Mariachi track ME LASTIMAS a single that defined his artistic prowess and his vocal maturity within the Regional Mexican genre. It was in this same year, that summer, that Gio chose to take another transformation risk, but this time, it had to do with a new music genre he wanted to explore. By the Summer of 2020, Gio dropped the DIABLA single in collaboration with the talented and renowned Mexican recording artist Helen Ochoa, making the decisive jump into the Reggaeton music space. 
Today we talk to him about his music, his journey and all he has learned along the way!
 

The Youth Governor: When the Kids Get to Rule the World

Our special guests are documentary writers, directors and brothers Jaron and Matthew Halmy. Their latest production, the documentary The Youth Governor launches on August 26th in theaters and on Amazon.
If kids ran the government and ran for public office, what would that look like? The Youth Governor shows us.
The Youth Governor is a program by the YMCA, run nationwide, in which kids emulate government bodies with literally parallel elected bodies and roles filled by kids.
The film The Youth Governor documents the California youth government and its election of the 72nd Youth Governor. The Youth Governor is the story of the candidacy, campaign, and election of the 72nd California Youth Governor. The program itself takes place in California's Capitol, 4,000 teenagers run a fully functioning government complete with legislators, lobbyists, political party bosses, and elections. Over the course of four months, three candidates emerge from a field of 40. On the campaign trail, in their homes, and with their peers watching their every word, these young candidates put together the unique mix of ambition, confidence, shamelessness, and pure motivation it takes to win. These young candidates see themselves as the heroic leaders that are nowhere around them. They feel burdened to solve the problems that their adult leaders have trouble addressing. Their story is a window into the world of young people who revere American democracy. The film follows these candidates as they throw themselves into the gauntlet of the electoral process.
Today, the  Halmy brothers take us into their world to tell us about the kids, the program and the film, and  how it is our future.
With co-host Brody Levesque

Out Soccer Star and LGBTQ Trailblazer Thomas Beattie is Our Guest!

A world renown soccer player, Thomas Beattie sustained a career ending skull fracture and a brain hemorrhage in 2015 during a game, Thomas was forced to leave the game that had shaped his identity into the person he is today. In June 2020, Thomas came out publicly to set himself free and in hopes of being able to influence, inspire and support other athletes struggling in fear. Also in 2020 he was named in the OUT100 as one of the leading influential trailblazers in the community.
Today we talk to him about his many endeavors includint the Thomas Beattie Foundation that creates a safe space for LGBTQ athletes to open up about their identity confidentially and seek support and guidance with accepting themselves to fully embrace who they are to lead to authenticity and overall happiness.
 
With Brody Levesque

Schuyler Bailar, Trans Swimming Athlete, in the House, Launching LANECHANGER

Schuyler Bailar is the first NCAA Division 1 transgender men's athlete. By 17, he set a national age-group record. In college, he swam for Harvard University, on Harvard’s winningest team in 50 years. Schuyler’s difficult choice – to transition while potentially giving up the prospect of being an NCAA Champion – was historic. 
Schuyler has always been a tireless advocate for the Queer and Trans community, and after speaking at 400+ events now he’s looking to make real change on a larger scale. With Trans rights under attack in so many states, Schuyler is looking to create change through human connection and education. 
Today, he is with us to announce the launch of LaneChanger , a diversity, equality and inclusion, gender literacy training program designed to empower allies and create safer spaces for the Queer and Trans community amongst schools and businesses. Schuyler believes education is the antidote to ignorance and hate. As Schuyler has traveled the country speaking and educating, he has learned that most people want to be allies to the Trans community, but they don’t know how. Even those who were resistant to Trans people learned and opened up, allowing themselves to see Schuyler in their own humanity.

Stay on Board: The Leo Baker Story, Our Exclusive Interview!

Leo Baker is the renown skateboarding champion and icon. As he was heading to the 2020 Olympics where competitive skateboarding was finally getting its spotlight, he found himself grappling with a life changing decision. Could he be himself and drop out, or be his dead identity and participate being non-authentic? His personal journey and revelations are now the subject of the new Netflix documentary Stay on Board: The Leo Baker Story.
Today, in our exclusive interview, we talk to film director Nicola Marsh and executive producer Alex Schmider on the making of the film and Leo's story. Nicola is best known for her work on the Oscar-winning documentary Twenty Feet from Stardom, and boasts a vast carreer as a cinematographer/director specializing in intimate portraits. Alex produced the Hulu Original Documentary CHANGING THE GAME (2021), Netflix Original Documentary DISCLOSURE (2020) . He is an Emmy and Critics Choice Award nominated producer and the Director of Transgender Representation at GLAAD.
With co-host Brody Levesque

Is It Transphobia or Misogyny Behind the Fight Around Gender Identification?

State legislators these days seem to be losing their minds over the gender classification of their fellow citizens. Why? What is the deeper reason they seem hell bent to terrorize transgender citizens and why are legislators so afraid of self-identification?  Our guest Paisley Currah offers insight.
In the new book SEX IS AS SEX DOES: Governing Transgender Identity (NYU Press; May 2022), Paisley explains how transgender people struggle to navigate a confusing and contradictory web of legal rules, definitions, and classifications. Paisley shows how government agencies have been far less interested in adhering to a universal idea about what sex is—biological assignment at birth, self-understood gender identity, and so on—than in what sex does for that agency's mission. Officials in prisons, for example, often define sex differently than do officials in the Department of Motor Vehicles, even when those officials work in the same jurisdiction of a single city or state.
Today we discuss gender ideology and its core beginnings, issues and effects if it is not understood and managed appropriately.  
Paisley is Professor of Political Science and Women’s & Gender Studies at Brooklyn College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. An award-winning author, he is the founding co-editor of the journal Transgender Studies Quarterly and the co-editor of Transgender Right and Corpus: An Interdisciplinary Reader on Bodies and Knowledge.   
With co-host Brody Levesque

Tik Tok Star/Influencer Kendrick Leon Val Talks About Body Positivity

Signed by them at 14, Kendrick met resistance from his record label after posting a photo with his then-boyfriend on his social media. He was determined to live authentically, without guilt or shame, however. The record label finally dropped him after he refused to ignore his relationship or sexuality.
In his early 20s, he took hold of his mental health issues, and in that process, lost 150 pounds (he has gained back about 35 pounds since). He now deals with and speaks out on body positivity he has acquired during his weight loss journey.
During the pandemic, Kendrick grew his Tik Tok followers to 145,000 and used the platform to showcase humor, his incredible singing voice, and his message on accepting one's body.
 
With co-host Brody Levesque

In the House & at the Mic: Singer Bryan Ruby, First Out Pro-Baseball Player

Bryan Ruby is a barrier buster. Unlike most heroic LGBTQ activists, who strive to be visible with in a previous "straights only" environment, Bryan is breaking through in TWO previously LGBTQ-unfriendly fronts. He is both the first professional baseball player in any pro-baseball league to come out, AND he is a brilliant country music songwriter singer.
He has been featured across mainstream press for his voice in baseball, and he is featured in the documentary "Coming Home" still in production. Today, his debut country single LEFT FIELD launches-- and we will be playing it on air for you!
As a songwriter, Bryan has penned songs that have appeared on the Texas Country Top 50 chart and the iTunes Country Top 25 (#16), and songs he has written have been featured on both Huffington Post and People Magazine. As an artist, he won Season 7 of the talent-search competition Nashville Rising Song.
Bryan has shown dedication in helping others still accepting themselves. As part of that mission, he founded his first-of-its kind charity, Proud To Be In Baseball, which supports and encourages LGBTQ+ youth in the sport.

Beverly Hills First Ever Pride Event! We Have the Man Making it Happen!

Beverly Hills may have had Real Housewives for years, but it has never had a Pride event. Before Now!
On June 2, the first ever Beverly Hills Pride Night takes place! We talk to the man behind this landmark celebration, Benjamin Johnson, Manager of the Arts & Culture Division, Beverly Hills Community Services Department.
Beverly Hills Pride consists of three main events: a Pride lighting of City Hall, a live entertainment event on Pride Night June 2 at 7pm, and Pride at Gerystone Mansion and Theater June 8, which will feature a one-night only event by SORORITY Salon celebrating the rich history of Beverly Hills and 1920s art salons.
The City of Beverly Hills’ inaugural Pride celebration is part of the City’s Embrace & Celebrate Culture Initiative. Core to spirit of Beverly Hills first Pride is the recognition of the city's identtiy, as they describe it, that they are "home to many important LGBTQIA+ citizens since the City’s early days including prominent artists, celebrities, activists, authors, choreographers, composers, actors and allies."
With co-host Brody Levesque.