They had seen enough.
Following the re-election of Donald Trump, Monica Helms — the creator of the Trans Flag — and her wife, Darlene Wagner, watched with horror as the new administration moved rapidly to dismantle transgender rights.
At first, Helms and Wagner considered the possibility of moving from their home in Georgia to a blue state with protections for transgender individuals. But even that idea became problematic once they saw signs of trouble in what they previously viewed as safer states: Some hospitals pulled back on gender-affirming care in “safe havens” like New York and Michigan, for example, and the Trump administration deployed the National Guard in deep-blue cities like Los Angeles and Washington.
Ultimately, Helms and Wagner opted to move out of the country entirely. The couple moved to Costa Rica on Aug. 31 — and they plan to remain there.
“The reason we moved here is because we are seeing a lot of things against trans people, so we wanted to get away,” Helms, a military veteran, said in an interview with Gay City News on Sept. 10. “We can’t handle all the things that are going on in the States, and we’re worried that our safety would not be good.”
Prior to leaving the US, Helms posted a GoFundMe to generate financial support for their move, which also coincided with a sudden and unfortunate change in Wagner’s career. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) slashed Wagner’s job at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in April. Wagner is aiming to find work in Costa Rica, Helms said.
“Hello,” Helms wrote on the GoFundMe page. “My name is Monica Helms, the creator of the Transgender Pride Flag. My wife, Darlene, and I are trying to move to Costa Rica to live in a country that is safer than the US is today. Sadly, we are a little short on funds to make this happen. I hate to do this but I am asking my friends to see if they can donate a few dollars to help us move. We will not abandon our activism in Costa Rica. It others want to move there, we will help any way we can. Thank you for your donation.”
So far, the GoFundMe has surpassed $10,000 — a long way towards the couple’s $12,000 goal to help them stabilize their lives in a new country.
In discussing the move to Costa Rica, Helms said she is finally sleeping through the night after she endured many anxious and sleepless nights due to the Trump administration’s ongoing attacks on transgender individuals, which has included a ban on trans service members, a campaign to restrict transgender and non-binary individuals from accurately reflecting their gender markers on their passports, and an aggressive push to restrict gender-affirming care — especially for youth, but also for adults. The president’s executive orders go as far as denying the existence of transgender individuals.
“[Trump] is trying to take gun rights away from trans people,” Helms said. “Hitler took gun rights away from Jews and gay people. He’s following down the same line. So what is he going to do next? Take gun rights away from Black people and brown people and start rounding people up?”
She added: “ICE raided the Hyundai facility in Georgia and took in about 300 people. That’s ridiculous. So we just don’t want to be anywhere near any of this.”
The couple’s decision to flee from the United States is a sign of the urgency surrounding the anti-trans crisis sweeping the country more than two decades after Helms created the Trans Flag. The flag has become a mainstay at rallies supporting trans rights and is a key symbol of identity, resilience, and community for transgender individuals and allies in the face of fierce hostility and adversity.
In a 2019 interview with Gay City News — when she was a grand marshal at WorldPride in New York City — Helms said the idea behind the flag originated during a conversation with Michael Page, who had created the Bisexual Flag in 1998.
“He and I were talking and he said, ‘You know, the trans community could use a flag,’” Helms said at the time. “I couldn’t come up with anything. He said to keep it simple because the least amount of stitches, the cheaper it is to make.”
Helms did not know where to begin, but two weeks after that conversation, she woke up one morning, jumped out of bed, “and went over and started drawing it,” she said. She started taking the flag with her to rallies and other events to spread the word.
“I’m glad there’s something people can rally around,” Helms said in the recent interview. “It’s nice to see — even at ordinary protests of various things, the flag is there. It’s protesting Trump, protesting the Supreme Court, and all these different things. And people bring the flag with them. I am amazed and very happy that it is something that people can rally around and be happy with.”
Controversies have swirled around other flags, such as the Progress Pride Flag, which was licensed by its creator Daniel Quasar, who apparently requires businesses to gain permission to use it. But Helms never sought to monetize the Trans Flag.
“I did not earn any money from the [Trans] Flag,” she said. “I don’t own the flag.”
Meanwhile, the GoFundMe now offers community members an opportunity to pay it forward to an individual who has made a noticeable mark on the trans rights movement.
“I feel that it is wonderful that people are willing to help,” Helms said. “I really did not want to do that, but a lot of other people were doing GoFundMe stuff and I figured I would try it and see how we’d do.”
The couple moved to Costa Rica, Helms said, because of what she described as the country’s “pacifist constitution,” its lack of a military, and “really nice, friendly, helpful” people.
“The only thing is the traffic,” Helms said, somewhat jokingly. “That’s a little bad, but I mean, we could put up with this if we know we are actually living in a safe location.”
