Trans model goes topless after meeting President Joe Biden in the White House

Why you’re reading this: A trans actress and model stirred headlines for standing bare-chested on the lawns of the White House after meeting US President Joe Biden. The model named Rose Montoya was among the lengthy list of guests who celebrated the commencement of Pride Month at the White House. Montoya met the US President and the First Lady during the event. She also recorded the whole ordeal that invited backlash from many “conservatives”. 

3 things you need to know

• The trans model pulled down her dress and cupped her exposed breast in front of the Truman balcony.
• She shared her trip to the White House where she met both Biden and Jill Biden on her Instagram account.
• The whole ordeal garnered backlash from conservatives. 

What went down? 

The Trans-activist made headlines after she pulled her dress down in front of the Truman balcony with the pride flag hanging in the background. “Are we topless at the White House?” the person recording said in the video that was posted on her Instagram. According to the New York Post, before the model went topless outside the historic mansion she met both the US President and the First Lady Jill Biden. “It is an honour. Trans rights are human rights,” Montoya told Biden as they shook hands in one of the clips. In the video that went viral on Instagram, Montoya shared spliced-together videos from the event. This included a selfie video with Biden which was actually intended to be a photograph. 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Rose Montoya 👑🌹 (@therosemontoya)

Montaya also shared snippets from Jill Biden’s speech.“You are loved, you are beautiful, you are heard, you belong,” the first lady said in her speech. The first lady also briefly met the trans model. “I had the honour of attending White House Pride, the largest one in history where the pride flag flew for the first time. This is trans joy. We’re here at the white house unapologetically trans, queer, and brown 💕” Montaya finally wrote in her Instagram post. 

How Montaya defended her move?

After Montana shared the video on Instagram, she received backlash from American “conservatives”. Some of the users condemned the move and accused the transgender community of “grooming people”.  Montaya then went on to defend her move online. “Going topless in DC is legal, and I fully support the movement to free the nipples,” she said. “Why is my chest now deemed inappropriate or illegal when I show it off? However, before coming out as trans, it was not. All you’re doing is affirming I’m a woman,” she clapped back at her critiques. 

What does the law say? 

According to the law on obscenity in the District of Columbia, a female is considered to be involved in public nudity if she exposes the female breast below the top of the nipple without “full opaque coverage”. “The term “nudity” includes the showing of the human male or female genitals, pubic area or buttocks with less than a fully opaque covering, or the showing of the female breast with less than a fully opaque covering of any portion thereof below the top of the nipple, or the depiction of covered male genitals in a discernibly turgid state,” the law reads. Meanwhile, the US President was criticised for putting the pride flag on the Trueman balcony instead of the American flag that usually graces the place. “No flag should be flown at an equal level to the American flag,” said Army veteran and Florida Rep. Cory Mills as per the report by The New York Post. According to the US flag code, the flag of the US should be at the centre and at the highest within the US territory. “The flag of the United States of America should be at the centre and at the highest point of the group when a number of flags of States or localities or pennants of societies are grouped and displayed from staffs,” the US flag code read.

American flags and a pride flag hang from the White House before a Pride Month celebration on the South Lawn, Saturday, June 10, 2023,