Activists Hang Huge Trans Pride Flag In Yosemite National Park
Image: pattiegonia/Instagram
A group of trans advocates and allies have displayed the largest trans Pride flag ever to be flown in a national park, as an act of solidarity and resistance in California’s Yosemite National Park.
The 55 x 35 foot (16 x 10 metre) flag was unfurled across the “Heart Ledges” of the El Capitan rock formation in or Yosemite on Wednesday morning.
The group behind the demonstration, Trans Is Natural, are a collection of trans, queer, and allied climbers, and chose to display the flag on the “Heart Ledges” as a way to reclaim space in the heart of Yosemite.
“We flew the Trans Pride flag in Yosemite to make a statement: Trans people are natural and Trans people are loved,” said drag activist and environmentalist Pattie Gonia in a press release.
“Let this flag fly higher than hate. We are done being polite about Trans people’s existence. Call it a protest, call it a celebration — either way, it’s giving elevation to liberation.
View this post on Instagram
“The current presidential administration and transphobes would love to have you believe that being trans is unnatural, but species that can transition sexes can be found on every continent and in every ocean on planet Earth.”
Organiser: “trans existence is not up for debate”
The protest comes less than six months into the second Trump administration, during which time the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has tracked 575 anti-LGBTQIA+ bills across the country.
It also follows the UK Supreme Court’s recent decision that trans women should not legally be considered women.
SJ Joslin, a conservationist and a lead organiser of the demonstration said, “Trans existence is not up for debate. We are social workers, public servants, parents, and neighbors. Being trans is a natural, beautiful part of human and biological diversity. We can only make progress when we embrace diversity, not erase it.”
View this post on Instagram
A spokesperson for Yosemite National Park told NBC news on Wednesday that park officials were “aware of the unauthorized display” and that “the flag was removed a soon as possible.”
“The National Park Service is conducting an inquiry into the facts and circumstances around this event. We take the protection of our national parks seriously and will not tolerate behavior that undermines their integrity,” the spokesperson said.
