Many in the transgender community were disappointed — and even furious when Rep. Sarah McBride, the first openly transgender member of Congress, said in November that she would adhere to House Republican policies that banned the use of public women’s toilets in her home.
Some were hoping that McBride would fight further as the sole trans member of Congress, especially given the effort given to the state Republicans and the Trump administration to roll back trans rights.
In “State of Firsts,” McBride, a documentary about McBride’s election, which will premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City on Saturday, says he feels criticism from some in his community will succumb to Republicans in ways that reduce their effectiveness at work.
“I think people misunderstand the difference between activists and elected officials and the role that each work plays in social change and social movements,” she says. “If you don’t agree with it, and I say I won’t follow, then there will be blessings in my head.”
The documentary explores the unique pressure that McBride entered Congress. It offers some of the first imps about how bathroom resolution and criticism from her own community have influenced her, addressing questions about the limitations and challenges of expression, and being the historic “first” of the federal government.
“It’s easy to tell a simple story about a first person or someone’s experience, but I’ve never learned a lot from a simple story,” McBride told NBC News ahead of the documentary’s premiere. “My motivation to agree with this was to help me document what it really was, so the others who come after me can pull from some of the lessons and experiences.
For McBride, being first is not necessarily new. According to her 2018 memoir, she became the first trans woman to work in the White House when she interns in the Obama administration. Then in 2016, she became the first trans person to speak at a major political conference when she gave a speech at the Democratic National Convention. In 2020, she became the country’s first openly trans state senator.
McBride had an idea of what it was like to be “first,” but entered Congress at an unprecedented time for trans people as dozens of states have enacted bathrooms that trans people can use in schools and government buildings, as well as access to transition-related care and school sports.
The documentary also shows how Democrats were destroyed both by trans rights and by conservative campaigns limiting the ongoing war in Gaza.
The documentary shows McBride knocking on the doors of constituents ahead of the democratic primary in Delaware in September. McBride asks constituents whether she can expect her support, and constituents “The only thing that discourages her from voting for you is that we can count on you to seek a ceasefire.” McBride responds that she is seeking a ceasefire, and constituents asks “How much can you expect to speak up about it?” Before you get emotional and say it’s difficult to see images of children who “look like our kids.” (The film also shows that the reporter in this article asks McBride about the interview interaction.)
Documentary director Chase Johnt said it is important to show the moment, as he not only revealed an issue that was important for one of the McBride members, but also spoke to the film’s larger themes.
“One of the central tensions between the film and this political moment is the friction between the election strategies of activists and social change, and the pressures that are especially on politicians, making statements, making claims and always negotiating that all of those moves are at risk,” Johnt said.
The documentary delves into the complex response of the LGBTQ community to McBride’s “first.” This includes audio from Slate’s “outward” podcast. In this podcast, author Jules Gilpeterson said:
Slate editor Christina Cauterucci said, “I think she had to be like that. In any case, I think the more radical trans person just didn’t achieve what she achieved.”
Johnt said he hopes the documentary encourages people to think about the possibilities and limitations of expression in political positions.
“We can expand that conversation and think about the politics of expression that demands trans people be good.
Johnt said that one of the “dangers” of politicians, especially those who are “firsts,” was that “we put a lot of pressure on individuals to represent all the different issues and needs.”
McBride said in the film that she wanted people to see more than just headlines or short video clips. She hopes to get a glimpse into the trade-offs, challenges, and joy and humor that comes with being the first in Congress.
“It’s so easy to forget the fill of who people are, the complexities that each person is navigating, and often the impossible choices people have to make,” she said.
She added that since the bathroom resolution, she has “been more confident up to now than the approach I have been taking since I arrived in Congress.”
“Some of my colleagues realized I just wasn’t having fun,” she said with a laugh. “I’m not going to give them the reaction they want because I’ve always known this wasn’t about their actual, real aversion to trans people.
