What comes to mind when you hear “Wyoming”? Yellowstone National Park. Big sky, perhaps. Cowboys. Dancing the two step. Fierce independence.
The nation’s least populous state might seem an unlikely ally for LGBT rights. But its libertarian-leaning culture grabbed the national spotlight this weekend with #liveAndLetTutu, a grassroots response to political foot-in-mouth disease.
Who wears a tutu? You do. Do what? Wear a tutu in Wyoming. #LiveandLetTutu pic.twitter.com/ojOdDt8V2l
— Siobhan Muir (@SiobhanMuir) April 28, 2017
The back story
On April 20, US Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY) held a Q&A with students at Greybull High School (grades 6-12, audio). Sophomore Bailee Foster asked Enzi “what he was doing to help Wyoming live up to its nickname as The Equality State.”
Enzi prefaced his response by stating that several situations across Wyoming cannot be taken care of by laws alone; that not every issue has a “federal, one-size-fits-all solution.”
That philosophy fits the libertarian-leaning conservatism of the state. Enzi continued:
“I know a guy who wears a tutu and goes to bars on Friday night and is always surprised that he gets in fights. Well, he kind of asks for it. That’s the way that he winds up with that kind of problem.” (emphasis added)
Patrick Harrington, who grew up in Greybull, called on Wyoming residents to show their support for the state’s LGBT community by wearing tutus to work or school as well as to local bars. His goal: make it clear to Sen. Enzi that he represents a “really diverse group of people in Wyoming.”
In a written statement, the Senator regrets “a poor choice of words.”
In an emailed statement to CNN, Enzi said he does not believe “that anyone should be bullied, intimidated or attacked because of their beliefs” and that his message “was intended specifically to be about promoting respect and tolerance toward each other.”
Reactions from Wyoming
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University of Wyoming student Ty Wolff poses in front of campus building with Mike Enzi’s name.
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Art works
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Eric Krszjzaniek photo; The Crowbar & Grill.
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The Lander Bar.
#liveandlettutu at the Lander Bar pic.twitter.com/xPvVFx9sP7
— Katherine Boehrer (@kboehrer) April 29, 2017
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“three friends walked into a bar wearing tutus and they weren’t ‘asking for it'”
Hey @SenatorEnzi three friends walked into a bar wearing tutus and they weren't "asking for it". #liveandlettutu #Wyoming #Equality pic.twitter.com/MQpj9c3zc8
— AMCuprill ?? (@AMCuprill) April 29, 2017
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Eric Krszjzaniek photo; Sweet Melissa Cafe and Front Street Tavern
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Montage from AJ+
People in Wyoming say #LiveAndLetTutu, after Sen. Mike Enzi told high-schoolers a man wearing a tutu to a bar "kind of asks for" a fight. pic.twitter.com/q5B74O5nne
— AJ+ (@ajplus) April 28, 2017
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West Potomac’s production of Billy Elliot
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Eric Krszjzaniek photo; Buckhorn Bar & Parlor
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“No one is ever asking for it”
And in closing
Eric Krszjzaniek photo; Vickie and Sissy Goodwin. Sissy is “Wyoming’s most famous crossdresser and a man who … Mike Enzi called personally to apologize about his recent comments…”
The LA Times profiled Goodwin in 2013 and reported in 2015 that he and his wife were moving to Portland.
Sissy Goodwin teaches power plant technology at Casper College in Wyoming. The 68-year-old Vietnam veteran dresses in women’s clothing, wears bows in his hair, likes his skirts exactly 17 inches short, and prefers his toolboxes in pink.
Eric’s description of Goodwin as the state’s most famous crossdresser is spot on. As is his conclusion:
There’s more beauty in Wyoming than just mountains and open spaces, and there’s more to its people than Cheneys and closed minds. ~Eric Krszjzaniek
Known for gnawing at complex questions like a terrier with a bone. Digital evangelist, writer, teacher. Transplanted Southerner; teach newbies to ride motorcycles. @kegill (Twitter and Mastodon.social); wiredpen.com