Fighting For Visibility As A Trans Person

Episode 43

InterPride

Published in

InterPod

3 min readNov 15, 2023

Introducing InterPod: The Global Voices of Pride Podcast | Episode 43 — Fighting For Visibility As A Trans Person.

Discover the power of community support with InterPod, the InterPride podcast series that unites the LGBTQIA+ community worldwide.

The LGBTQIA+ community has made remarkable strides in the ongoing battle for acceptance and visibility. At InterPod, we believe in amplifying these voices and ensuring they resonate far and wide. Join us as we shed light on the tireless efforts of LGBTQIA+ individuals who have dedicated decades to fighting for their right to be seen and heard.

About Episode 43

Zooey Zephyr (she/her) is the first trans woman to be elected to the Montana State Legislature, representing HD100. She shares her experience and the fight for visibility.

About Zooey

Zooey Zephyr is a progressive, bisexual trans woman, and the current state representative for Montana’s 100th House district

Zephyr has spent much of her adult life working as a public employee for the University of Montana, as well as working as a community advocate. She has worked to help university programs integrate diversity, equity, and inclusion practices into their faculty requirements, and has worked with the city of Missoula, Montana to draft human rights legislation tailored towards making justice more accessible to people who have been discriminated against.

As a representative, she fights for human rights — from voting rights to trans rights to working towards dismantling the cruelties of the prison-industrial complex. She also works to address what she sees as four of the big, interconnected areas where Montana is failing to adequately help its residents: housing inequality, health care, infrastructure, and climate change.

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Michelle Meow, Producer & Host

Michelle Meow is the host and producer of “The Michelle Meow Show.” The program’s tagline is: “Your A-Z, covering the LGBT, LMNOP, and everyone in between.” Michelle’s mission is to construct opportunities for people to listen to deep conversations to develop understanding and empathy. She shares, “We simply don’t have enough opportunities to talk and not enough moments to listen.” Michelle’s show can be heard in San Francisco and nationally on the Progressive Voices Network, and her local TV show can be seen on KBCW TV and Channel 44.

Michelle also produces programs at the iconic Commonwealth Club, where she has also served on their Board of Governors. There, she is dedicated to conversations around social justice with an intersectional lens. She has interviewed notable thought leaders such as Olympic medalist Adam Rippon, NFL’s first out LGBTQ coach Katie Sowers, the first American woman in space, and Sally Ride’s widow, Tam O’Shaughnessy. Since 2006, Michelle has been a co-host of the San Francisco Pride Parade broadcast and was President of their Board of Directors from 2014 to 2018. She is a self-described LGBTQI+ history geek, information sponge, and lover, not a fighter.

Michelle shares, “Exchanging thoughtful dialogue can create change. We are all different, but we find similarities and hope in our differences. Exchanging thoughtful dialogue can create the change we all seek in humanity.”

You can learn more about Michelle and her programming here.