In its attacks on transgender Americans, the Trump administration is attempting to erase the T in LGBTQ — removing the initial from websites, publications and even the signage outside the Stonewall National Monument, where trans activists led the 1969 rebellion that launched the modern gay rights movement in the United States.

To counter the hate and transphobia promoted by the administration, far-right politicians and media outlets, one New York college student is exploring the history and joy of trans masculine community building.

In his thesis for a degree in peace and justice studies, Pace University undergraduate Eli Butler seeks to change the way trans people are studied and viewed in scholarly disciplines. His work is influenced by his journey as a transgender man and his longing to find — or build — a community of his own.

Journalist David Hunt talked with Butler about his life, his research and the possibilities of the future. Produced for This Way Out: The International LGBTQ Radio Magazine.

Send us a text

David Hunt is an Emmy-winning journalist and documentary producer who has reported on America's culture wars since the 1970s. Explore his blog, Tell Me, David.

Trans journalist Erin Reed covers a beat that hits close to home: Republican attacks on trans people across the United States. She’s a respected independent voice with a large following on social media, where her work has been viewed more than 250 million times in recent years. Reed met Jan. 30, 2025, with a group of trans people and their supporters to review the growing list of anti-trans executive orders coming out of the Trump White House.

In this feature, which originally aired on This Way Out: The International LGBTQ Radio Magazine, journalist David Hunt provides a front-row seat to the conversation and adds some important background and context to the information.

Send us a text

David Hunt is an Emmy-winning journalist and documentary producer who has reported on America's culture wars since the 1970s. Explore his blog, Tell Me, David.

Colleges and universities in the United States are quickly abandoning their commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. In this episode, David Hunt discusses this U-turn on DEI with Renee Wells, assistant vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion at Queens University of Charlotte.

Wells formerly worked at North Carolina State University, where she worked to blunt the impact of the state’s anti-transgender “bathroom bill” that required public facilities to restrict the access of trans individuals. She developed a Queer Youth Leadership Summit for local LGBTQ high school students, created educational programs on social justice for faculty and staff, trained students to advocate for social change and launched a gender pronouns awareness campaign.

Wells believes the community-building work of DEI is foundational to higher education and will continue, regardless of the language used to describe it. It's likely that many institutions will come to regret their moves to defund and de-emphasize programs that strive to create a welcoming campus environment for everyone.

Time will tell.

Send us a text

David Hunt is an Emmy-winning journalist and documentary producer who has reported on America's culture wars since the 1970s. Explore his blog, Tell Me, David.