On April 8, 2023, UCLA softball had its annual Pride Game against the Oregon State Beavers. I attended the game to see how Pride was celebrated and also sat down with Head Coach Kirk Walker, the first out D1 coach in the country. He also co-founded the Equality Coaching Alliance and the LGBT Sports Coalition to promote inclusion in sports. Walker received a kinesiology degree from UCLA in 1988, then began his softball coaching career immediately after. He is also a skilled athlete in men’s fastpitch softball and has won two national titles playing as a pitcher. With Walker, the Bruins have made it to seven NCAA Championships and 17 Women’s College World Series.
The Troubling Origins of Queer Labeling: Reflecting on Kadji Amin’s Guest Lecture at UCLA
In Fall 2022, guest lecturer, Kadji Amin (he/him) of Emory University, presented his article “Taxonomically Queer?: Sexology and New Queer, Trans, and Asexual Identities.” I was nervous entering a room packed with mostly graduate students and professors, but when Professor Amin walked on the stage, my nerves melted away. I was gripped by his every word. Not only was his lecture the best one I’ve heard so far, but he was the first Asian trans professor I’d ever seen. As an Asian trans man myself, it was life-changing to see someone like me dedicating his life to studying people like us.
Why is it So Hard to Access All-Gender Bathrooms in UCLA Dorm Housing?
To get access to the all-gender bathroom in on-campus housing with communal bathrooms (residence halls with classic or deluxe room types), a resident must contact their RA for a link to a request form. After filling out the request, the resident must then wait one to three business days for an email from the Residential Life (ResLife) Assistant Director that confirms that a key for the all-gender bathroom is ready for pick up. Finally, the resident must go to the front desk and pick up the key card.
Love At The End Of The World: A Review of “The Transient Bliss of Death by Fallout”
“Why am I so f****** AWKWARD?” “Alan, it’s not that bad,” you want to say to the dorky guy kicking a blow-up clown. “Pretty much everybody has a ‘Magic Tree House’ phase.”
Of course, you can’t say this because in this version of the world, you would have almost certainly perished in whatever cataclysm left Alan Alderman the last man alive. He now lives in his mother’s basement, explaining his circumstances to a tape recorder for posterity.
24 Hours of Queers, Coding, and Technology: QWER Hacks 2023
The tech industry doesn’t have to be gatekept by straight white men who want to work in big corporations — anyone can join a hackathon. Whether it’s to meet a circle of people united through a common cause, learn how to use design tools, or score some free food and goodies, consider checking out QWER Hacks. The event is taking place on Jan. 28 and 29 at UCLA.
The Hidden Homophobe: An Analysis of Sleeping With The Homophobe (Fall 2000)
Graphic by Christopher Ikonomou (Xe/He) *This article is a modern analysis of the themes and content of “Sleeping With The Homophobe“ (Fall 2000), the tenth installment of our From The Archive series.* So, really, how gay is California? Jordan, the author…
“Framing Agnes”: A Story of Dis- and Reconnection
Photos by Lex Ryan/UCLA FTV Archive As part of a larger showing presented by the UCLA Film & Television Archive on April 18th, some of the OutWrite staff had the chance to watch the film, “Framing Agnes,” a tale about…
Valentines from OutWrite
Graphic by Christopher Ikonomou (Xe/He) We asked our staff members for their experiences with and opinions on Valentine’s Day. Here’s what they had to share! “I’m actually experiencing my first Valentine’s this year with my girlfriend, and even though the…
UCLA Campus During COVID-19
Photo by Ajana Orozco – “Kerckhoff Hall and Bruin Walk” How has COVID-19 affected being a student at UCLA? Waiting for the light to change to green at Charles E. Young Drive with your schoolmates so you can all start…
UCLA Centennial: Spotlighting Evelyn Hooker
Graphic by Christopher Ikonomou In Winter Quarter of 2020, UCLA’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Studies (LGBTQS) Program hosted its first Fiat Lux seminar, entitled “UCLA Centennial Initiative: Dr. Evelyn Hooker, Mattachine Society, and Homosexuality Depathologized.” Professor Mitchell Morris,…