A transgender mountaineer has flown the Trans Pride flag on Antarctica’s highest mountain peak, as she strives to conquer the “Seven Summits”, the highest point on every continent on the globe.
Climber Erin Parisi, from Denver, Colorado, flew the transgender flag atop Antarctica’s 4,892m-high Vinson Massif shortly before the New Year. The longtime mountaineer documents her incredible journeys on her Instagram.
Parisi wants to attempt the ultimate challenge of climbing the highest peak on every continent, completing five since 2018.
She hopes to make history as the first openly trans person on record to achieve the incredible feat, and elevate Trans Pride and representation “above the shadows”.
Of her Antarctic trip, Parisi wrote, “I’m dedicating this to the resilience of the trans community.
“The community that took me in when I had no hope, and showed me that it’s better to be visible and free, than live in self imposed exile, and that stigma withers when we visibly embrace our truth.
“We’ve been pushed down, often even beat up, and faced every kind of coldness through our lives.
“Our resilience keeps us rising to the top.
“Together we forged through a 2021 during which the world tried to deny us dignity in healthcare, the right to hold jobs, the right to play sports, perpetuated stigma through comedians and podcasters on the world’s most popular channels, and continued escalating the voices of violence against us.
“We fought back in a way that shouldn’t have to be a fight: by living our best lives.
“This is my answer to a world that lashed out at trans lives in 2021.
“You can try to push me to the bottom of the world, and I’ll still find a way to the top.”
Transgender mountaineer Erin Parisi has two more summits to reach
Erin Parisi has now completed five of the seven summits.
Since February 2018, Parisi has climbed Australia’s Mount Kosciuszko, Tanzania’ Mount Kilimanjaro, Russia’s Mount Elbrus and Argentina’s Aconcagua before her most recent trip to Antarctica.
The mountaineer is now training for two more planned treks with her Trans Pride flag.
She’s planning to attempt Denali in Alaska, the highest peak in North America later this year.
And then in 2023 she’s attempting Mount Everest in South Asia, the highest peak in the world.
Next year is the 70th anniversary of the first ascent of Everest in 1953 by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay.
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