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LGBTQ radio

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Since the mid 20th century, radio has served as a way for members of the LGBTQ community to share information and music both within and outside the community. Radio programs produced by LGBTQ people and stations featuring LGBTQ management have existed across the world. Internet radio stations targeted towards the LGBTQ community have also increased since the early 2000s. LGBTQ radio programs have often made use of community or pirate radio, to circumvent regulation or censorship by governent authorities or corporations.

Australia

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On December 1, 1993, Joy Melbourne 90.7, a volunteer-run gay and lesbian station, began broadcasting in Melbourne. The station was the country's first LGBTQ radio station.[1][2]

1980s–1990s programmes

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Source[1]

Canada

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In Canada, the rise of LGBTQ radio programs occurred alongside the expansion of community radio, with the first community radio stations launching in 1974.[3] 482

On August 9, 1978, Gay News and Views made its debut on CKMS-FM, a community radio station run by the University of Waterloo. The program, the "first regularly scheduled gay radio program in Canada", was produced by the Kitchener-Waterloo Gay Media Collective. In September 1978, Vancouver saw its first gay radio program with Coming Out, broadcast on Vancouver Co-operative Radio (CFRO-FM). In June 1979, the Lesbian Show debuted on CFRO-FM, becoming the country's first lesbian radio program.[4] According to a co-founder of the Lesbian Show, Silva Tenenbein, the show grew out of tensions within the "male-dominated" Coming Out program and larger tensions within the Canadian feminist community.[3]

By the mid-1990s, CITR-FM in Vancouver was broadcasting the program Queer FM.[2]

In April 2007, Proud FM was launched in Toronto, becoming the country's "first mainstream, commercial station" for an LGBTQ audience.[5]

Denmark

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Radio Rosa launched in Copenhagen on 22 June 1983, with the backing of the Danish National Association of Gays and Lesbians. The station closed in 2010.

France

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Clandestine radio broadcasts by lesbians occurred as early as 1978, by the group Les Radioteuses, who were shut down following their first broadcast. The group reorganized as Radio Nanas, and legally in 1981 as Les Nanas Radioteuses.[6]

The early 1980s saw a number of gay and lesbian radio programs in France as state control of radio officially ended.[6] The lesbian radio collective Femmes Entre Elles (Canal Gay Radio Savane, Rennes) produced multiple lesbian programs, as did the broadcasting collective Les Jardins de Selene (Amiens); other collectives also existed in Marseille and Paris.[6]

The Parisian free radio station Fréquence Gaie was launched in 1981; in 1982, it became the "world's first 24-hour gay radio program".[7][6] Originally aimed primarily at gay men, programs produced by and for lesbians began to increase under the leadership of station president Genevieve Pastre, elected in June 1982. In early 1983, the station was rated fourth in the city in a public opinion survey. Due to financial troubles, the station floundered, and its LGBTQ audience had largely left by 1985.[6]

By 1983, stations broadcasting gay and lesbian programming, called "antennes roses" (English: "Pink stations") existed in at least 27 French towns and cities; by 1984, there were between 36 and 50.[6] In 1984, the first International Meeting of Male and Female Hosts of Homosexual Broadcasts in France was held.[6]

1980s programs

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Source[6]

  • A tout coeur (serial, Fréquence Gaie)
  • Amazones du soir, bonsoir! (Fréquence Gaie)
  • Cinema de traverse (Fréquence Gaie)
  • Coeur de femmes (Fréquence Gaie)
  • Coup de foudre (Radio Atlantic, Nantes)
  • Dix questions, dix responses (call-in show, Fréquence Gaie)
  • Mailles a l'envers (Angers)
  • Mauvaises Frequentations (Radio Leon)[7]
  • Peche a la ligne (au féminin) (Fréquence Gaie)
  • Pour ou contre (debate show, Fréquence Gaie)
  • Sapho Nights (Fréquence Gaie)
  • Voyage en grande lesbian (Fréquence Gaie)

Germany

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In August 1985, the twice-weekly LGBTQ program Eldoradio began airing on the Berlin Cable Network. Named after Eldorado, a gay bar in Berlin during the 1920s, the two-hour program had "music, jokes, and self-produced radio plays" during the Sunday time slot, with Wednesday's program focusing on news and reporting. By the end of the year, Eldoradio had joined Radio 100, a "consort of alternative media groups" from Berlin. The show ended in 1989, due to financial troubles, including lack of advertisers.[2]

India

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In July 2017, India's self-proclaimed "first LGBTQ radio show", titled Gaydio, launched. The show was a two-hour weekly program, broadcast in Mumbai and two other cities.[8]

Iran

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In October 2012, Radio Ranginkaman launched as a 30-minute program for the LGBTQ community.[9] Since then, it has grown into its own station, and broadcasts on shortwave, satellite and online radio.[9][10] It broadcasts in both Dari and Persian.

Malta

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Malta has a DAB station which broadcasts GlitterBeam, an LGBTQ station based in the United Kingdom.

Namibia

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Namibian LGBTQ organization The Rainbow Project has broadcast the radio show Talking Pink since 1999.[11][12]

New Zealand

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In the 1980s, Wellington Access Radio hosted multiple lesbian radio programs. The first of these was Leave the Dishes in the Sink, a feminist program which included some lesbians. In 1984, several lesbians developed an hour-long program, which aired once a month as part of the Womanzone feminist radio collective. In October 1984, the Lesbian Community Radio Programme (LCRP) was established. The weekly show had a variety of content, including news, poetry, educational segments, and updates on local events.[13]

South Africa

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By 2007, In the Pink was broadcast on Bush Radio in Cape Town, being the country's "only gay radio program".[14] As of 2016, GaySAradio, based in Pretoria, was the country's only LGBTQ radio station.[15]

Tunisia

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In 2018, Shams Rad was founded in the country's capital,Tunis; the station is the self-proclaimed "only gay radio station" in the Arab world. The station airs music and programs discussing LGBTQ issues, but presenters do not "identify themselves as sexually active on air" due to laws in Tunisia that criminalize homosexuality. The station is partially funded by the Dutch embassy.[16]

Station director Bouhdid Belhedi has reported receiving death threats for his part in the station.[16]

United Kingdom

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In 1982, the community radio program Gaywaves began broadcast on a pirate station Our Radio in London. The two-hour program aired weekly on Wednesday nights. Although the show tried to include some lesbian programming, the program was mostly listened to by gay men, with programming shifting to reflect that. Segments included interviews, news, and skits. Program organizers also tried to incorporate material on the lives of gay men and lesbians outside the U.K.[7]

The 1990s saw an increased number of gay and lesbian radio programs.

1990s programmes

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2000s-2020s

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United States

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In 1956, Pacifica Radio became the first known listener-sponsored non-commercial American radio network to allow openly LGBTQ individuals airtime.[20]

Lesbian radio projects primarily grew out of the feminist movement and its forays into radio.[21][22] One of the nation's earliest LGBTQ radio programs was Lesbian Nation (1972-1973), an interview show created by Martha Shelley, a member of the Daughters of Bilitis and the Gay Liberation Front.[23]

The 2000s saw a rise in LGBTQ radio programming in a corporate context. Clear Channel Radio launched a number of subcarrier stations for their Pride Radio in 2006 and 2007, including in Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, and San Francisco.[5]

1970s programs

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  • Gay Perspective, Milwaukee, produced by the Gay People’s Union[24]
  • Lesbian Nation (1972-1973)[23]
  • Sunshine Gay Dreams, WXPN, Philadelphia (launched 1972)[21]
  • Fruitpunch, KPFA, Berkeley (launched 1973)[21]
  • IMRU, KPFK, Los Angeles, produced by the Gay Radio Collective (launched 1974)[21][25]
  • SO GAY, WRSU-FM, New Brunswick, New Jersey; produced by the Rutgers University Gay/Lesbian Alliance (launched March 1975, )[26]
  • Just Before Dawn, KCHU (launched 1975)[21]
  • Wilde ‘n’ Stein, KPFT, Houston (interview program, launched 1975)[27]
  • The Gay Life, KSAN, San Mateo, California (launched 1976)[21]

1980s-1990s

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Programs

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Stations

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  • KGAY, Denver (1992)[31][34][35]
  • LesBiGay Radio, WCBR-FM, Chicago (May 1994 – 2001)[31]

2000s

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2010s

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Internet radio

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LGBTQ radio programming has been part of internet radio since the 1990s, with stations such as PNN Gay Radio[5] and GLO Radio (later rebranded GayBC), both of which were founded in 1997.[36] The number of internet radio stations targeted towards the LGBTQ community continued to increase in the early 2000s.[5][37]

Internet radio offers the advantage of sidestepping regulations, as stations are not subject to content rules made by regulating bodies such as the FCC (in the United States).[36] Another advantage is that unlike traditional radio, which is limited by distance, internet radio is limited only by an internet connection. This can allow LGBTQ listeners without local LGBTQ radio programming to still access the media.[36]

2000s radio stations

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Source[5]

2010s radio stations

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References

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  1. ^ a b Featherstone, Lisa (2014-10-02). Acts of Love and Lust: Sexuality in Australia from 1945-2010. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 71. ISBN 978-1-4438-6833-4.
  2. ^ a b c Johnson, Phylis W.; Keith, Michael C. (2014-12-18). Queer Airwaves: The Story of Gay and Lesbian Broadcasting. Routledge. pp. 179–182. ISBN 978-1-317-46151-7.
  3. ^ a b Copeland, Stacey (2024-10-22), Hilmes, Michele; Bottomley, Andrew J. (eds.), "Finding Queer Soundwork: Information Activism in Lesbian Feminist Radio and Queer Podcast Networks", The Oxford Handbook of Radio and Podcasting, Oxford University Press, p. 0, doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197551127.013.24, ISBN 978-0-19-755112-7, retrieved 2025-05-13
  4. ^ "2SLGBTQ+ History". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2025-03-25.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Keith, Michael C. (2008). Radio Cultures: The Sound Medium in American Life. Peter Lang. pp. 95–108. ISBN 978-0-8204-8648-2.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Chaplin, Tamara (2024-12-04). Becoming Lesbian: A Queer History of Modern France. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-83654-6.
  7. ^ a b c Wilson, Paul; Linfoot, Matthew (2018-10-02). "Gaywaves: Transcending National Boundaries". In Golo Föllmer Alexander Badenoch (ed.). Transnationalizing Radio Research: New Approaches to an Old Medium. transcript Verlag. ISBN 978-3-8394-3913-5.
  8. ^ Bengali, Shashank (2017-07-31). "India's first LGBTQ radio show aims to broaden the country's concept of love". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2025-03-25.
  9. ^ a b Tuslian, Narges. "رادیو رنگین کمان؛ رسانه همجنسگرایان و دیگر اقلیتهای جنسی". IranWire.
  10. ^ "شماره جدید رادیو رنگین کمان" [New issue of Rainbow Radio]. تریبون زمانه. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
  11. ^ Swartz, Ian (July 2006). "THE RAINBOW PROJECT: A LESSON IN PRIDE". Sister Namibia. 18 (3). Windhoek: 14.
  12. ^ Ashley., Currier (2012). Out in Africa : LGBT Organizing in Namibia and South Africa. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 9780816682485. OCLC 857365205.
  13. ^ Branch, New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs Historical (1993). Women Together: A History of Women's Organisations in New Zealand : Ngā Rōpū Wāhine O Te Motu. Historical Branch, Department of Internal Affairs. pp. 565–566. ISBN 978-0-908896-29-5.
  14. ^ Bosch, Tanja E. (2007-09-01). "In The Pink: Gay radio in South Africa". Feminist Media Studies. 7 (3). doi:10.1080/14680770701477859. ISSN 1468-0777.
  15. ^ "Inside Africa's only gay radio station". BBC News. Retrieved 2025-03-25.
  16. ^ a b "Inside Tunisia's Shams Rad - the Arab world's 'only gay radio station'". 2018-06-17. Retrieved 2025-03-25.
  17. ^ a b c d Mitchell, Caroline (2014-04-23). Women and Radio: Airing Differences. Routledge. pp. 78–80. ISBN 978-1-136-35473-1.
  18. ^ a b Crisell, Andrew (2006). "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away: Gay Radio, Past and Present". More Than a Music Box: Radio Cultures and Communities in a Multi-media World. Berghahn Books. pp. 127–142. ISBN 978-1-84545-046-5.
  19. ^ a b Linfoot, Matthew (2018-07-03). "Queer in Your Ear: Connecting Space, Community, and Identity in LGBT BBC Radio Programs, 1992–2000". Journal of Radio & Audio Media. 25 (2): 195–208. doi:10.1080/19376529.2018.1473402. ISSN 1937-6529.
  20. ^ DeShazor, Brian (2018-07-03). "Queer Radio History: Pacifica Radio". Journal of Radio & Audio Media. 25 (2): 253–265. doi:10.1080/19376529.2018.1481246. ISSN 1937-6529.
  21. ^ a b c d e f g Witt, Lynn; Thomas, Sherry; Marcus, Eric (2009-09-26). Out in All Directions: A Treasury of Gay and Lesbian America. Grand Central Publishing. ISBN 978-0-446-56721-3.
  22. ^ Haggerty, George; Zimmerman, Bonnie (1999). Encyclopedia of Lesbian and Gay Histories and Cultures: An Encyclopedia. Gay histories and cultures. Vol. 2. Taylor & Francis. p. 636. ISBN 978-0-8153-3354-8.
  23. ^ a b "Students Race Against Time to Digitize Archives of 1970s and '80s LGBTQ+ Radio and TV Programs". Pratt Institute. 2022-06-06. Retrieved 2024-12-07.
  24. ^ Sugden, Ryan Charles; Terry, Christopher (2018-07-03). "Diversity on Display: Framing in the Gay Perspective Radio Program". Journal of Radio & Audio Media. 25 (2): 240–252. doi:10.1080/19376529.2018.1489598. ISSN 1937-6529.
  25. ^ Blake, Art M. (2019-11-08). Radio, Race, and Audible Difference in Post-1945 America: The Citizens Band. Springer Nature. p. 64. ISBN 978-3-030-31841-3.
  26. ^ Nichols, David; Kafka-hozschlag, Morris J. (December 1989). "The Rutgers University Lesbian/Gay Alliance 1969-1989: The First Twenty Years". The Journal of the Rutgers University Libraries. 51 (2). Rutgers University: 67.
  27. ^ Ulaby, Neda (2024-06-04). "Saving Houston's LGBTQ history through thousands of hours of radio archives". NPR.
  28. ^ Weiss, Abby (2024-06-27). "One the nation's oldest LGBTQ+ radio shows is broadcast from Hartford". CT Insider.
  29. ^ Doherty, Caitlin (2024-04-16). "Gay Spirit Radio Celebrates Over 40 Years of Centering LGBTQ+ Artists and Activists in the Hartford Community". Trinity Tripod. Retrieved 2024-12-07.
  30. ^ Encyclopedia of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender History, p. 13
  31. ^ a b c d e Sterling, Christopher H.; O'Dell, Cary (2010-04-12). The Concise Encyclopedia of American Radio. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-17683-9.
  32. ^ a b Gross, Larry P.; Woods, James D. (1999). The Columbia Reader on Lesbians and Gay Men in Media, Society, and Politics. Columbia University Press. p. 441. ISBN 978-0-231-10447-0.
  33. ^ Goodridge, Mike (2002-04-30). "Queering the airwaves". The Advocate. Here Publishing. ISSN 0001-8996.
  34. ^ "kgay-radio-station.html". The New York Times. 2024-02-07.
  35. ^ Johnson, Phylis; Hoy, Chuck; Ziegler, Dhyana (1995-01-01). "A case study of KGAY: The rise and fall of the first gay and Lesbian radio network". Journal of Radio Studies. 3 (1): 162–181. doi:10.1080/19376529509361981. ISSN 1095-5046.
  36. ^ a b c d "Gay talk via virtual airwaves". The Advocate. 2000-03-14. p. 18.
  37. ^ Merskin, Debra L. (2019-11-12). The SAGE International Encyclopedia of Mass Media and Society. SAGE Publications. pp. 941–943. ISBN 978-1-4833-7552-6.

Further reading

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