Episode 55: In Orlando for the National March to Protect Trans Youth & Speakout for Trans Lives

The Activist Files Podcast

In the latest episode of the Activist Files, Bertha Justice Fellow Zee Scout speaks to five plaintiffs in our case Women in Struggle, et al. v. Bain, et al., recorded on the ground just before the National March in Florida to Protect Trans Youth and a Speakout for Trans Lives that took place in Orlando on October 7. Hundreds turned out to protest the state’s violent and unconstitutional laws and spoke out against the wave of anti-trans bills, which attendees linked to a longstanding history of capitalist and imperialist domination in this country. Ahead of the march, participants in this historic grassroots movement worried about their ability to safely express their opposition to the anti-trans and anti-queer legislation passed by the Florida Legislature and signed by Governor Ron DeSantis due to Florida “Bathroom Ban”, which prevents transgender, gender nonconforming, and certain kinds of intersex people from accessing a restroom in line with their gender because it defines sex as one’s anatomy and naturally occurring hormones at birth. Plaintiffs discuss the movement in support of LGBTQIA+ people, its historical and contemporary contexts, bringing to the discussion their personal motivations for joining the movement, and uplift ways that they continue to center trans joy in this moment. Speakers: Melinda Butterfield, a 52-year-old transgender woman from New York City Anaïs Kochan, is a 52-year-old transgender woman from Boston Tsukuru Fors, a 52-year-old nonbinary person from West Hollywood, California Lindsey Spero, a 26-year-old non-binary person from Pinellas County, Florida Christynne Wood, a 67-year-old transgender woman from Lakeside, California Moderator: Zee Scout, Bertha Justice Fellow