Queering Precedent
A new podcast from The Outwords Archive
New episodes starting May 22, 2025
Queering Precedent looks at the legal and political landscape through the eyes of LGBTQ+ elders and asks: how did we get here, and where do we go now? Get a jolt of hope, history, and how-to with the judges, lawyers, advocates, and activists who shaped law and politics for trans, gender expansive, two spirit, and intersex communities in California and the wider US. Fusing storytelling with in-depth conversations, we’ll get up close and personal with both the legal system and with the legendary changemakers fighting for us. Funded by a generous grant from the California State Library.
Episode 1
“You Can’t Legislate Reality” – Trans Law with Judge Victoria Kolakowski
The first transgender judge in California, Victoria Kolakowski, had to file a brief to even be allowed to take the bar exam. She breaks down the intersections between disability, intersex, and trans rights; what an executive order even is; the importance of trans representation in the courts; and so much more.
Episode 2
“Where Is the Harm?” – Gender-Affirming Healthcare with Dr. Marci Bowers
Dr. Marci Bowers has been called “The Beyoncé of Bottom Surgery,” among other honorifics. She gets into the biological fallacy of binary sex, and the history of medical transition.
Episode 3
“Pressure from Inside and Outside” – Two-Spirit Liberation with Elder “Tío” Marcus Arana
“Tío” Marcus Arana has been a force of nature in transgender, Two-Spirit, and intersex activism for decades. He shares how different tribes are re-integrating the sacred role of Two-Spirit community members, the intrinsic link between trans liberation and Two-Spirit liberation, and his plans for using the bathroom in federal buildings – and also, why to plant flowers.
Episode 4
“Silence Didn’t Keep Me Safe” – Intersex History with Anne and Suegee Tamar-Mattis
Intersex activism power couple Anne and Suegee Tamar-Mattis met in the San Francisco Street Patrol, intervening in homophobic hate crimes. Together, they unpack the legal hurdles to ending intersex surgeries, the role of the trans community in the early intersex movement, and how “backlash is baked into any progress.”
Episode 5
“Mean What You Say and Say What You Mean” – Trans Immigration Rights with Bamby Salcedo
Bamby Salcedo is the founder of the TransLatin@ Coalition, as well as the first trans Latina to testify in front of Congress. She lays out the “American nightmare” for many trans women who immigrate to the United States, the relationship between immigration detention and the carceral system, and how TransLatin@ Coalition is fighting back.
Episode 6
“Mother of the Movement” – After Stonewall with Christy Henderson-Jenkins
Stonewall veteran Christy Henderson-Jenkins’ epic life story includes a run-in with MLK, surviving the serial killer known as the Grim Sleeper, and an institutionalization at Bellevue Hospital that galvanized her dear friends Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera. We’re closing out this series by centering the knowledge of the legal system that comes from lived experience.
Stay in touch with us @theoutwordsarchive for more news, events, and conversations with queer elders!
