Non-Binary Biologist Fired For Hanging Huge Trans Flag In Yosemite
Image: shannonekj/Instagram; Pattie Gonia/Instagram
A non-binary biologist has been fired from their National Parks Service job after hanging a huge transgender flag in Yosemite National Park.
SJ Joslin was one of seven people who, alongside drag artist and activist Pattie Gonia, unfurled a 55 x 35 foot (16 x 10 metre) trans flag across the “Heart Ledges” of the El Capitan rock formation back in May. It was the largest trans Pride flag ever flown in a national park, done so in a demonstration of celebration and solidarity with trans people.
Joslin, who had worked as a wildlife biologist for the NPS since 2021, announced they had lost their job on Instagram in a post on Monday.
In a letter from Yosemite’s acting deputy superintendent Danika Globokar, Joslin’s employment was terminated for “failing to demonstrate acceptable conduct” in their capacity as a Wildlife Biologist.
“No one, in any of my roles has EVER had negative comments about my conduct,” they said. “I treat people with the time, patience and respect I hope they will give to me… I want my rights and I want my career back.”
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As noted by Bloomberg, the day following the May action, Yosemite acting supervisor Ray McPadden banned the hanging of “any banner, flag, or sign larger than fifteen square feet” from “any natural or cultural feature” in the park without a permit. Although the electronic signature was made on May 21, the update was backdated to May 20, the day Joslin and the other climbers hung the flag.
It’s also the same day Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum issued an order to the NPS to ensure none of its facilities “inappropriately disparage Americans past or living”, as part of Trump’s “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History” executive order.
This follows the removal of the words “transgender” and “queer” from the NPS website back in February.
Speaking to Them, Joslin said they are considering a possible wrongful termination lawsuit, and have been in contact with with Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), a nonprofit organisation that advocates for whistleblowers and other workers in environmental fields.
“I’m going to fight this as hard as I can, because to me, this isn’t a matter of politics. This is a matter of fundamental rights and the rights that we’re given through the Constitution,” Joslin told Them. “This is a case that every single American should be concerned about, because it doesn’t matter what flag I flew […] at the end of every day, what matters is that we are given particular rights in this country, and those rights have been taken away from me because they don’t support the current administration’s ideology.”
