Creator of transgender flag shares her story during Sault visit

A nationwide tour heralding the importance of visibility among the transgender community kicked off last week in northern Ontario.

The creator of the Transgender Pride Flag Monica Helms was the star of the event and headlining the tour.

Transgender Pride Flag creator Monica Helms received a warm welcome at Sault College on March 13, 2024 as part of the kick off for the Visibility Anniversaries Tour. (Cory Nordstrom/CTV News Northern Ontario)Helms was met with a warm welcome in Sault Ste. Marie.

"As a trans woman born and raised in Sault Ste. Marie it was a struggle coming out,” said local Lucia Luciani.

“Having a flag to hold onto, just myself, wrapping it around myself, have a flag that represents me, my community, It’s a reminder to all including myself that we do belong."

Transgender Sault woman Lucia Luciani shares with CTV News how important the Transgender Pride Flag was when they came out. (Cory Nordstrom/CTV News Northern Ontario)The ‘Visibility Anniversaries Tour’ marks the 25th anniversary of the creation of the trans flag.

Organizers told CTV News that they believe that protests in the Sault make it a great place to start the tour and recent government legislation targeting gender-affirming care points to the relevance of having these open discussions.

"Suicide among trans-youth who are fully supported by their parents decreases by 96 per cent,” said northern Ontario transgender activist Vincent Bolt.

“Access to gender-affirming care, when you're a teenager, is life-saving and it is necessary."

Activist Vincent Bolt talked with CTV News about the importance of gender-affirming care for teenagers on March 13, 2024. (Cory Nordstrom/CTV News Northern Ontario)During the event at Sault College Helms shared her journey.

"At age 5 I prayed to God to turn me into a girl,” she said.

“That was 1956, I was 5 years old, I couldn't write, I couldn't read. ‘Where was I going to get information about transgenderism?’”

“Don't tell me that it's something that you're not born with," Helms added.

Transgender Pride Flag creator Monica Helms shared her story at a kick-off event for the Visibility Anniversaries Tour at Sault College on March 13, 2024. (Cory Nordstrom/CTV News Northern Ontario)The tour will bring Helms to 11 other cities across the country over the next month and a half.

The creator of the trans flag gets many personal questions and both she and the other presenters on the tour said they believe a major focus of the event should be on trans history and education.

On the tour’s website, Helms described the Transgender Pride Flag’s design as intuitive and ingenious.

Helms said the idea for the design came to her in a flash of insight – or as a “divine intervention.” A clever colour variation of the Pride Flag that reads like a palindrome. The light blue at the top and the bottom is the iconic “baby boy” colour. The pink above and below the blue is the “baby girl” colour and the line in the middle is white – neither boy nor girl, non-binary or in transition.

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Sault Pride chair Amanda Zuke talks with CTV News on March 13, 2024 about the importance of allies to the transgender community. (Cory Nordstrom/CTV News Northern Ontario)"Understanding breeds acceptance, and from there you can become an ally and a champion of the person next to you's rights and freedoms," said Amanda Zuke, chairperson for Sault Pride.