Trans Visibility Takes Center Stage On One Of Yosemite National Park’s Most Iconic Summits
Climbers unfurled a massive trans pride flag on El Capitan to make their message unmissable: See us? We belong.
On May 20, a group of LGBTQ+ activists climbed and hung a 55-by-35-foot Trans Pride flag on El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. They climbed 1,500 feet up the granite wall and planted the flag there. They say it was the most enormous banner ever displayed on El Capitan. And it was a deliberate message to the country: we’re still here and belong both in nature and this country.
This was a direct response to the growing number of laws and rollbacks targeting trans people under the current administration. It was about visibility and survival.
The climbers said the flag represented resistance against policies that try to erase trans identities from government systems and public life. It also stood for the park employees, many of whom are LGBTQ+ and feel the pressure of working in a system that’s increasingly hostile to their existence.
Pattie Gonia, a drag performer and outdoor advocate, shared that the flag was about more than protest. It was about joy, love, and visibility in a place treated as a sanctuary only for a select few. She summed up the intention behind the event in a release on Instagram: “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.”
For too long, outdoor spaces, especially ones in national parks, have been considered neutral. But in reality, they’re not. Who gets to feel safe, seen, and welcomed in those spaces is political, and this form of quiet protest made that visible.
The Trans Pride flag was removed after a day, but the message remained loud and clear. Trans people don’t just deserve legal protections—they deserve beauty, safety, adventure, and space to breathe. Nature is for all of us. And this act—bold, brave, and beautifully human—makes that harder to ignore.
Related: Reclaim Pride Coalition Announces 2025 Queer Liberation March Theme
