Zooey Zephyr calls on trans people to 'plant the flag of joy' against Donald Trump (exclusive)
"When House Speaker Mike Johnson announced a
ban against transgender people using the bathrooms that correspond with their gender identities inside U.S. Capitol buildings, Montana state Rep.
Zooey Zephyr was “literally in the bathroom at the Capitol."
The out
transgender lawmaker tells
The Advocate that she felt a sense of déjà vu when she saw the news on her phone as she was – literally – minding her own business. While ironic, it was a moment not unlike the day she was censured by the Montana House of Representatives for defending trans youth.
When House Speaker Mike Johnson announced a
ban against transgender people using the bathrooms that correspond with their gender identities inside U.S. Capitol buildings, Montana state Rep.
Zooey Zephyr was “literally in the bathroom at the Capitol."
The out
transgender lawmaker tells
The Advocate that she felt a sense of déjà vu when she saw the news on her phone as she was – literally – minding her own business. While ironic, it was a moment not unlike the day she was censured by the Montana House of Representatives for defending trans youth.
The Republican supermajority voted to bar Zephyr from speaking on the floor of the state legislature in 2023 after she said that conservatives' ban on
gender-affirming care for youth would result in “blood on [their] hands.” Almost two years later, the Republican supermajority has been voted out, and Zephyr has
won her reelection campaign.
She says that “getting to return to the [state] Capitol and represent Missoula is an honor” – and it’s especially exciting now that she’ll have her full legislative privileges reinstated.
“One of the things that you don't have control over is the extent of the cruelty, the lengths to which someone will go – particularly those in positions of power – to try to hurt and exclude,” Zephyr says. “For me, the work was to reveal that cruelty for what it was, and not allow it to take away the things that I did have control over: love for myself, love for my partner, and care for the well-being of my community.”
As Zephyr conducted her work from a bench outside the legislative chamber, her resilience inspired people around the world and in her community – one of whom was director Kimberly Reed. The filmmaker began documenting Zephyr’s life; both her professional struggles as she dealt with discrimination from colleagues and constituents, and her personal triumphs as she planned her proposal to her partner.
“As a trans woman from Montana, it was very important to tell the story of a trans woman from Montana,” Reed says. “It may take a while, but the more stories like Zooey's that we put out there, the more trans folks that a large audience can meet, the more we can get through this.”
