Speaking Queerly

On this episode of Speaking Queerly, Mallory (she/her) interviews Phynix (he/they), a long-time KYC youth who recently aged out of Kaleidoscope Youth Center’s programming. The two discuss the importance of having space to honor all facets of one’s identity, Phynix’s experience leading KYC’s float during the Columbus Pride March this year, the ways that he has grown throughout their time at KYC – a...

On this episode of Speaking Queerly, Mallory (she/her) interviews Nico Lang (they/them), a longtime, award-winning LGBTQ+ reporter who has contributed to outlets such as Rolling Stone, HuffPost, BuzzFeed News, Them, and The Daily Beast. They’re also the founder of Queer News Daily. Most recently, Nico has been working on a new book, American Teenager: How Trans Kids Are Surviving Hate and Finding...

On this episode of Speaking Queerly, Mallory (she/her) sits down with Penny Rupert (she/her), a grad student and community organizer in Columbus. The two discuss academia and the seemingly unrelated (but nevertheless intersecting) disciplines of Penny’s areas of study, and the marches, rallies and drag performances Penny has organized over the past few years. Plus, learn more about the National Ma...

On this episode of Speaking Queerly, Mallory (she/her) sits down with high school senior Rachel Maletz (she/her), who has devoted her senior project to getting young voters engaged in the upcoming election. In addition to committing to register 1000 people between the ages of 18-25 to vote, Rachel has partnered with Columbus Stand Up, Pint Size Protesters, KYC and other community partners to organ...

On this episode of Speaking Queerly, Mallory sits down with Leobeliz Perdomo Blanco (they/them), KYC’s center based program manager, and recent graduate of The Ohio State University, Gabriella Quirch (she/her), two recipients of OSU’s premiere diversity scholarship: the Morrill Scholarship. The group discusses the impact the scholarship and scholars program had on their college experiences, the le...

On this episode of Speaking Queerly, Mallory and Dee connect with producers of the I’m Feeling Queer Today podcast: Eric (they/them), Trudy (they/them) and Julie (she/her). The group talks about coming out, finding in-person queer community, their experiences creating queer media, Trudy’s upcoming musical and more. The Future Perfect Project is a youth-produced creation of the Future Perfect Proje...

On this episode of Speaking Queerly, Mallory and Dee sit down with Svetlana Harlan, PhD (she/her), the community engagement coordinator and Gay Ohio History Initiative (GOHI) project coordinator for the Ohio History Connection. Learn about the GOHI collection, GOHI’s initiative to designate more state historic sites honoring Ohio’s LGBTQIA+ history, how we can each contribute to the queer and tran...

On this episode of Speaking Queerly, Mallory sits down with Sean McCann (he/him) of the ACLU of Ohio and Cam Ogden (she/her) of Equality Ohio and Trans Allies of Ohio to talk about the status of gender-affirming care access now that House Bill 68 will become law. Learn more about the ACLU of Ohio’s upcoming lawsuit to challenge the enforcement of this discriminatory legislation, what you can do to...

It’s almost time to go home for the holidays, and you know what that means: observing the time-honored tradition of repeatedly answering the questions, “Do you have a boyfriend/girlfriend yet?” and, “What are you going to do with the rest of your life?” On this episode of Speaking Queerly, Mallory and Daria sit down with Gill Platek (they/them), the storytelling media organizer with the GSA Networ...

On this episode of Speaking Queerly, Mallory talks to Dallas Aldridge (he/him), the executive director for the 2021 Gay Softball World Series, which took place in Columbus. During that year’s event, participants raised money for KYC – and, in doing so, helped support the creation of KYC’s new Sports Equity Fund. When it launches in early 2024, the Sports Equity Fund will provide scholarships to he...

You may have come across the news that syphilis cases are on the rise throughout the United States. On this episode of Speaking Queerly, Mallory and Daria sit down with Chinyere Newsum (she/her) and Charles Miller (he/him) from Columbus Public Health, who answer all your questions about prevention, testing, treatment and everything in between for syphilis and other sexually transmitted infections,...

On this episode of Speaking Queerly, Lane, Daria and Mallory sit down with Liam Gallagher (he/they). In a past life, Liam – KYC’s director of center-based programming – spent time exploring queer history and connecting with queer spirits alongside other members of a queer ghost hunting group in Ohio. In this episode, Liam explains the lore behind the “particular friends” in an Ohio convent, detail...

On this episode of Speaking Queerly, Mallory sits down with Ines (they/them) and August (they/them), two KYC youth and members of Central Ohio Youth Liberation, or COYL. Their conversation breaks down the realities of adultism, the institutionality of school, the need for “third spaces,” how people can get involved in COYL and more. COYL is a queer youth affinity group based in so-called “Columbus...

This episode of Speaking Queerly features KYC’s Education and Outreach team! Daria (she/they), Lane (they/them), and KYC’s Director of Education and Outreach, Amanda Erickson (she/her) highlight the many in-person and online trainings available to schools, businesses, organizations, parents and more to help create more affirming spaces for LGBTQIA+ youth and young adults. You’ll also learn more ab...

We’re back after our summer hiatus! On this episode of Speaking Queerly, Mallory, Daria and Lane recap what’s been going on at KYC over the summer, including Summer Institute, Bar-B-Queer, new trainings to look out for and KYC’s big move to our new Wellness Center. Have a question you want answered or a topic you’d like discussed on Speaking Queerly? Send an email to Mallory@KYCOhio.org . KYC Yout...

On this episode of Speaking Queerly, Daria and Lane talk about gender-affirming care, relationships and more with Barrie Rose (they/them) and Laurenzo De Camilla (they/them): queer, nonbinary content creators on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram with over 2 million collective followers. They founded Queer Hangouts , a patron-supported program that provides FREE visits to schools and colleges in Ohio....

On this episode of Speaking Queerly, Mallory and Daria talk about music, clothing, finding queer community and more with Violet Stanza (she/they), a New York-based performance artist and content creator. After graduating with a BFA in musical theatre and minor in communications in May 2022, Violet dove head first into the New York arts scene, and has spent the last year exploring opportunities fro...

We’re using our first episode of Pride Month to showcase one of our former KYC housing youth, Ace (he/him)! At 9-years-old, Ace discovered his entrepreneurial spirit by selling rocks to his neighbors. In middle school, he refined his business tactics by selling chips and candy to his peers (that is, until his teachers told him to stop). Now, at age 19, Ace has started his own all-natural, vegan, n...

Volunteer Appreciation Month may be over, but our love for our volunteers extends year-round. On this episode of Speaking Queerly, Mallory and Lane chat with Jess McCollum (she/her), who has been volunteering for KYC for about a year. They talk about climbing (shoutout to Queer Climbing Columbus!), how theatre helped Jess step outside the script she’d been living, and about all the ways Jess helps...

CW: N*zis, transphobia, gunsOn Saturday, April 29, 2023, Land-Grant Brewing Company sponsored an annual drag brunch benefitting Kaleidoscope Youth Center. Midway through the event, a group of N*zis clad in red and black arrived wearing masks over their faces and sunglasses over their eyes. They proudly waved a black and white flag bearing a sw*stika while chanting racial epithets, homophobic and t...

April is Volunteer Appreciation Month! We couldn’t do all the work we do to serve LGBTQIA+ youth without the help of our incredible volunteers. So, on our next couple episodes, we’ll be shouting out some of these individuals, starting first with Chris! Chris – who is best known for leading Dungeons and Dragons campaigns with our drop-in center youth and for making pancakes during our lock-ins, has...

By day, Julie Day (she/her) is the Director of Finance and Grants Management for Kaleidoscope Youth Center. But, by night, she plays on the offensive and defensive line for the Columbus Chaos, a semi-pro women’s football team. Football has been part of Julie’s life since she first stepped on the field at age 5, but it’s only recently that she’s been able to play as her authentic self. In this epis...

Happy Transgender Day of Visibility! We heard a lot of misinformation this week during the proponent testimony for Ohio’s transgender athlete ban. So, Speaking Queerly hosts Mallory Golski (she/her) and Lane Shirrell (they/them) interview Nyx (she/her), a transgender female athlete (and KYC youth!) about how it feels to attend every 6 a.m. practice for her Central Ohio high school swim team but no...

As a heads up: There is language used in this episode that, while commonly used among and against LGBTQIA+ folks in the past, might not be as familiar or accepted among some – especially younger – members of the LGBTQIA+ community today. We acknowledge that each person’s journey and relationship to these words and phrases varies, and remind listeners to never use reclaimed or self-identified words...

Speaking Queerly hosts Mallory Golski (she/her), Isiah Harris (he/they), Daria Johansen (she/they) and Lane Shirrell (they/them) explain two anti-LGBTQIA+ bills that have been introduced in Ohio and discuss how you can help push back against the transgender athlete ban (H.B. 6) and the bill to ban gender-affirming care for minors (H.B. 68). But, don’t worry – it’s not all bad news! This episode of...