Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen
@transrigo.bsky.social
Transgender advocate. First openly trans child of a Member of Congress (Ileana Ros-Lehtinen)
I'm Cuban American, so yep, from Miami. Now a DC transplant. He/él. Native Spanglish speaker. Views = my own
https://linktr.ee/TransRigo
I'm Cuban American, so yep, from Miami. Now a DC transplant. He/él. Native Spanglish speaker. Views = my own
https://linktr.ee/TransRigo
Pinned
Hello new followers! 👋🏼
Wondering what my deal is?
I’m a transgender advocate 🏳️⚧️
First openly trans kid of a sitting Member of Congress (Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Republican from Miami) 🏛️
My mission is to change hearts and minds for acceptance.
Because every trans person is a part of someone’s family 💛
Wondering what my deal is?
I’m a transgender advocate 🏳️⚧️
First openly trans kid of a sitting Member of Congress (Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Republican from Miami) 🏛️
My mission is to change hearts and minds for acceptance.
Because every trans person is a part of someone’s family 💛
My dad is a Vietnam vet. When I told him I was trans, he didn’t get it. Most parents don’t.
Later he told me: when you’re in a foxhole, you don’t care who the guy next to you is, only if he has your back.
Change can happen.
Thank you @newsweek.com for publishing this for #TransAwarenessWeek
Later he told me: when you’re in a foxhole, you don’t care who the guy next to you is, only if he has your back.
Change can happen.
Thank you @newsweek.com for publishing this for #TransAwarenessWeek
November 14, 2025 at 7:19 PM
My dad is a Vietnam vet. When I told him I was trans, he didn’t get it. Most parents don’t.
Later he told me: when you’re in a foxhole, you don’t care who the guy next to you is, only if he has your back.
Change can happen.
Thank you @newsweek.com for publishing this for #TransAwarenessWeek
Later he told me: when you’re in a foxhole, you don’t care who the guy next to you is, only if he has your back.
Change can happen.
Thank you @newsweek.com for publishing this for #TransAwarenessWeek
Shout out to National Hispanic Media Coalition for an inspiring night!
Celebrating all of the deserving honorees building bridges in the world of policy & tech 💻 🫱🏼🫲🏾 🧡
#NHMCImpact
@nhmc.bsky.social
@trevorproject.bsky.social
Celebrating all of the deserving honorees building bridges in the world of policy & tech 💻 🫱🏼🫲🏾 🧡
#NHMCImpact
@nhmc.bsky.social
@trevorproject.bsky.social
October 29, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Shout out to National Hispanic Media Coalition for an inspiring night!
Celebrating all of the deserving honorees building bridges in the world of policy & tech 💻 🫱🏼🫲🏾 🧡
#NHMCImpact
@nhmc.bsky.social
@trevorproject.bsky.social
Celebrating all of the deserving honorees building bridges in the world of policy & tech 💻 🫱🏼🫲🏾 🧡
#NHMCImpact
@nhmc.bsky.social
@trevorproject.bsky.social
I’m starting a new job!
My mission has long been to stop LGBTQ, and especially trans, people from being seen as political footballs and start getting us seen as real people - your friends, families, neighbors.
Now I get to focus on that at @trevorproject.bsky.social 🏳️🌈
So proud to join this team 🚀
My mission has long been to stop LGBTQ, and especially trans, people from being seen as political footballs and start getting us seen as real people - your friends, families, neighbors.
Now I get to focus on that at @trevorproject.bsky.social 🏳️🌈
So proud to join this team 🚀
October 14, 2025 at 5:33 PM
I’m starting a new job!
My mission has long been to stop LGBTQ, and especially trans, people from being seen as political footballs and start getting us seen as real people - your friends, families, neighbors.
Now I get to focus on that at @trevorproject.bsky.social 🏳️🌈
So proud to join this team 🚀
My mission has long been to stop LGBTQ, and especially trans, people from being seen as political footballs and start getting us seen as real people - your friends, families, neighbors.
Now I get to focus on that at @trevorproject.bsky.social 🏳️🌈
So proud to join this team 🚀
Reposted by Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen
It's Banned Books Week! Join us this year as we celebrate the freedom to read whatever we choose – free from government interference. Being able to learn about and engage with new ideas, especially those we may disagree with, is foundational to any healthy democracy.
October 6, 2025 at 5:51 PM
It's Banned Books Week! Join us this year as we celebrate the freedom to read whatever we choose – free from government interference. Being able to learn about and engage with new ideas, especially those we may disagree with, is foundational to any healthy democracy.
Hello new followers! 👋🏼
Wondering what my deal is?
I’m a transgender advocate 🏳️⚧️
First openly trans kid of a sitting Member of Congress (Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Republican from Miami) 🏛️
My mission is to change hearts and minds for acceptance.
Because every trans person is a part of someone’s family 💛
Wondering what my deal is?
I’m a transgender advocate 🏳️⚧️
First openly trans kid of a sitting Member of Congress (Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Republican from Miami) 🏛️
My mission is to change hearts and minds for acceptance.
Because every trans person is a part of someone’s family 💛
September 26, 2025 at 5:33 PM
Hello new followers! 👋🏼
Wondering what my deal is?
I’m a transgender advocate 🏳️⚧️
First openly trans kid of a sitting Member of Congress (Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Republican from Miami) 🏛️
My mission is to change hearts and minds for acceptance.
Because every trans person is a part of someone’s family 💛
Wondering what my deal is?
I’m a transgender advocate 🏳️⚧️
First openly trans kid of a sitting Member of Congress (Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Republican from Miami) 🏛️
My mission is to change hearts and minds for acceptance.
Because every trans person is a part of someone’s family 💛
We bought Tootie many comfy cat beds. She prefers trash.
#catsofbluesky
#catsofbluesky
September 23, 2025 at 5:05 PM
We bought Tootie many comfy cat beds. She prefers trash.
#catsofbluesky
#catsofbluesky
September 15, 2025 at 10:40 PM
📗 It gives reassurance and answers in an approachable, easy to read way.
📖 Donating a copy to a school, library, or community center will get this book in the hands of those who need it most.
#TransFamilies #TransYouth #TransBooks
📖 Donating a copy to a school, library, or community center will get this book in the hands of those who need it most.
#TransFamilies #TransYouth #TransBooks
📚 Looking for a concrete thing to do on trans rights? Put this book in a library!
🏳️⚧️ Trans people are under attack in unprecedented ways, yet trans youth are still coming out. Many families don’t know what to do. They’re shocked and overwhelmed. This book can help ease that.
🏳️⚧️ Trans people are under attack in unprecedented ways, yet trans youth are still coming out. Many families don’t know what to do. They’re shocked and overwhelmed. This book can help ease that.
September 15, 2025 at 10:16 PM
📗 It gives reassurance and answers in an approachable, easy to read way.
📖 Donating a copy to a school, library, or community center will get this book in the hands of those who need it most.
#TransFamilies #TransYouth #TransBooks
📖 Donating a copy to a school, library, or community center will get this book in the hands of those who need it most.
#TransFamilies #TransYouth #TransBooks
📚 Looking for a concrete thing to do on trans rights? Put this book in a library!
🏳️⚧️ Trans people are under attack in unprecedented ways, yet trans youth are still coming out. Many families don’t know what to do. They’re shocked and overwhelmed. This book can help ease that.
🏳️⚧️ Trans people are under attack in unprecedented ways, yet trans youth are still coming out. Many families don’t know what to do. They’re shocked and overwhelmed. This book can help ease that.
September 15, 2025 at 10:15 PM
📚 Looking for a concrete thing to do on trans rights? Put this book in a library!
🏳️⚧️ Trans people are under attack in unprecedented ways, yet trans youth are still coming out. Many families don’t know what to do. They’re shocked and overwhelmed. This book can help ease that.
🏳️⚧️ Trans people are under attack in unprecedented ways, yet trans youth are still coming out. Many families don’t know what to do. They’re shocked and overwhelmed. This book can help ease that.
Thank you for this cute quote graphic! 🤗
“My authentic gender and sexuality can’t change. The only things that can are whether or not I’m out and whether or not I’m happy.” — Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen @transrigo.bsky.social
#queer #gay #lesbian #bi #trans #lgbtq #lgbt #lgbqt #lgbtqia🏳️🌈 #lgbtqia🌈 #pride #visibility #quotes
#queer #gay #lesbian #bi #trans #lgbtq #lgbt #lgbqt #lgbtqia🏳️🌈 #lgbtqia🌈 #pride #visibility #quotes
September 12, 2025 at 12:20 AM
Thank you for this cute quote graphic! 🤗
Reposted by Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen
Oh, you can do that?!
BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Brazil's Bolsonaro sentenced to more than 27 years in prison after Supreme Court panel convicts him of attempting coup.
September 11, 2025 at 10:41 PM
Oh, you can do that?!
Reposted by Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen
I know the pace of harmful legislation is swift and relentless.
But we have a tremendous record of stopping/removing harmful anti-LGBTQ+ provisions this year
We can stop this, too.
We just need to keep speaking up.
But we have a tremendous record of stopping/removing harmful anti-LGBTQ+ provisions this year
We can stop this, too.
We just need to keep speaking up.
September 9, 2025 at 1:02 AM
I know the pace of harmful legislation is swift and relentless.
But we have a tremendous record of stopping/removing harmful anti-LGBTQ+ provisions this year
We can stop this, too.
We just need to keep speaking up.
But we have a tremendous record of stopping/removing harmful anti-LGBTQ+ provisions this year
We can stop this, too.
We just need to keep speaking up.
Beautiful day on the Potomac River with my husband ☀️
September 7, 2025 at 10:44 PM
Beautiful day on the Potomac River with my husband ☀️
Congrats to AIDS United on a beautiful event! My mom and I had a lovely time. As a Republican member of Congress, she continuously fought for PEPFAR, and is still doing so today with partners like @globalequality.bsky.social
September 4, 2025 at 3:44 PM
Congrats to AIDS United on a beautiful event! My mom and I had a lovely time. As a Republican member of Congress, she continuously fought for PEPFAR, and is still doing so today with partners like @globalequality.bsky.social
September 1, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Kamora Woods, a Black transgender woman, was murdered. There is so much violence against trans women, especially Black trans women, when society treats some people as more disposable than others.
Black Trans Woman Kamora Woods, 27, Was Shot to Death in Indianapolis - Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents bit.ly/3Uz7jAA
Black Trans Woman Kamora Woods, 27, Was Shot to Death in Indianapolis - Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents
The worst kind of horrifying moment for Danielle Dehoniesto was when she found her 27-year-old Black trans daughter, Kamora Woods, dead on the floor from a gunshot wound. Her mother found Kamora…
bit.ly
August 20, 2025 at 5:25 PM
Kamora Woods, a Black transgender woman, was murdered. There is so much violence against trans women, especially Black trans women, when society treats some people as more disposable than others.
Reposted by Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen
The biggest differences are that the work should have begun earlier, opponents of inclusion have far deeper pockets and more sympathetic media environments, and we are talking about a smaller population with less familiarity.
We are starting from behind with fewer resources.
But we can do this! 🌈
We are starting from behind with fewer resources.
But we can do this! 🌈
August 15, 2025 at 8:07 PM
The biggest differences are that the work should have begun earlier, opponents of inclusion have far deeper pockets and more sympathetic media environments, and we are talking about a smaller population with less familiarity.
We are starting from behind with fewer resources.
But we can do this! 🌈
We are starting from behind with fewer resources.
But we can do this! 🌈
Reposted by Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen
While there are unique qualities that led to same-sex marriage shifts; the biggest was people having literally thousands of conversations with friends, family, and neighbors.
It will take time and investment, but we can do the same on trans rights - and some of us already are.
It will take time and investment, but we can do the same on trans rights - and some of us already are.
Being a teenager in the 2000s, seeing the shift in public opinion from 2004 to 2012 on same-sex marriage in real time was something else. Part of me wonders if anything will happen like that for transgender people or if this was a once-in-a-lifetime movement.
Over the past 40 years, negative attitudes toward #homosexuality have taken a nosedive in places like the US, Spain, the UK, Sweden, and the Netherlands. What used to be 75% of Americans thinking it was “never or rarely justified” has dropped to about 28%, showing major progress in acceptance! 🌈💬
August 15, 2025 at 8:07 PM
While there are unique qualities that led to same-sex marriage shifts; the biggest was people having literally thousands of conversations with friends, family, and neighbors.
It will take time and investment, but we can do the same on trans rights - and some of us already are.
It will take time and investment, but we can do the same on trans rights - and some of us already are.
🏳️🌈 Sometimes folks are surprised to learn that trans men can be gay too. Just as non-trans men and women can be any sexual orientation, so can trans people. Thank you to @lgbtqnation.com for inviting me to write about my process of self-realization as a gay trans man ✨
I found myself as a trans man when I embraced the flamboyance of camp and glitter - buff.ly/qWOyFVD
August 13, 2025 at 5:43 PM
🏳️🌈 Sometimes folks are surprised to learn that trans men can be gay too. Just as non-trans men and women can be any sexual orientation, so can trans people. Thank you to @lgbtqnation.com for inviting me to write about my process of self-realization as a gay trans man ✨
This is employment discrimination, pure and simple. People should be judged based on what they do, not who they are. These are veterans who volunteered to serve, worked hard, and met all the standards of performance. Kicking them out and now denying them promised retirement benefits is cruel.
The U.S. Air Force is denying early retirement to all transgender service members with between 15 and 18 years of military service, opting instead to force them out with no retirement benefits, according to a memo seen by Reuters.
Exclusive: US Air Force denies early retirement for group of transgender service members
The U.S. Air Force is denying early retirement to all transgender service members with between 15 and 18 years of military service, opting instead to force them out with no retirement benefits, according to a memo seen by Reuters.
reut.rs
August 9, 2025 at 2:41 PM
This is employment discrimination, pure and simple. People should be judged based on what they do, not who they are. These are veterans who volunteered to serve, worked hard, and met all the standards of performance. Kicking them out and now denying them promised retirement benefits is cruel.
Reposted by Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen
Americans are relearning the lesson we learned during the Gilded Age of the late 1890s, when robber barons ran the government and the economy for their own benefit: Oligarchy is incompatible with the common good.
I'm hopeful we'll respond with a new progressive movement.
I'm hopeful we'll respond with a new progressive movement.
August 6, 2025 at 11:01 PM
Americans are relearning the lesson we learned during the Gilded Age of the late 1890s, when robber barons ran the government and the economy for their own benefit: Oligarchy is incompatible with the common good.
I'm hopeful we'll respond with a new progressive movement.
I'm hopeful we'll respond with a new progressive movement.
Reposted by Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen
every news cycle about Sarah McBride:
August 1, 2025 at 1:08 AM
every news cycle about Sarah McBride:
This! Doctors who provide healthcare to young trans patients do so under long-researched standards of care that are broken down by different ages. Parents are at the table. It’s dangerous for the government to pressure doctors to ignore medical guidelines just because they have a political agenda.
NCLR's Legal Director @shannonminter5.bsky.social was just on @cnn.com talking about escalating Trump administration attacks on confidential doctor-patient relationships.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=22mu...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=22mu...
NCLR Legal Director Shannon Minter on CNN
YouTube video by NCLRights - National Center for LGBTQ Rights
www.youtube.com
July 14, 2025 at 5:25 PM
This! Doctors who provide healthcare to young trans patients do so under long-researched standards of care that are broken down by different ages. Parents are at the table. It’s dangerous for the government to pressure doctors to ignore medical guidelines just because they have a political agenda.
Reposted by Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen
A story about a girl named Becky who just wants to be allowed to play with other kids.
Trump-MAGA (and certain SCOTUS justices) must punch all the way down to Becky and other trans kids in middle school to make themselves and some in their coalition feel powerful.
Such people shouldn’t have power.
Trump-MAGA (and certain SCOTUS justices) must punch all the way down to Becky and other trans kids in middle school to make themselves and some in their coalition feel powerful.
Such people shouldn’t have power.
You can read more about my friend Becky, a West Virginia teen at the center of this upcoming Supreme Court case
July 3, 2025 at 5:01 PM
A story about a girl named Becky who just wants to be allowed to play with other kids.
Trump-MAGA (and certain SCOTUS justices) must punch all the way down to Becky and other trans kids in middle school to make themselves and some in their coalition feel powerful.
Such people shouldn’t have power.
Trump-MAGA (and certain SCOTUS justices) must punch all the way down to Becky and other trans kids in middle school to make themselves and some in their coalition feel powerful.
Such people shouldn’t have power.
Reposted by Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen
