A senator's victim-blaming comments sparked a tutu-powered protest in Wyoming.
People across Wyoming are living up to its 'Equality State' nickname.
"I know a guy who wears a tutu and goes to bars on Friday night and is always surprised that he gets in fights. Well, he kind of asks for it," said Senator Mike Enzi.
"That's the way that he winds up with that kind of problem," the four-term Wyoming senator continued, responding to a question from a local student about his views on LGBTQ rights on April 20.
As one might expect, Sen. Enzi's statements secured him some major blowback from LGBTQ individuals, allies, and just about anyone who thinks that what outfit you wear determines whether or not you "ask for" assault.
Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images.
Across Wyoming, people responded in the best way possible.
They donned tutus of their own and headed out to their local bars in a powerful statement of solidarity.
Yes, there is a man from Wyoming who wears tutus and dresses in his daily life. His name is Sissy Goodwin (pictured in the tweet above), a former rodeo cowboy and aircraft mechanic and probably the man Sen. Enzi was referring to. And, yes, Goodwin has been physically assaulted because he likes to wear dresses and tutus.
Wearing dresses and tutus is just part of who Goodwin is. He's not harming anybody, and he's certainly not "asking for" assault.
In droves, people turned out at Wyoming bars wearing tutus.
You gotta admit — it's pretty cool to see people come to his defense (and that of anyone else who eschews gender norms) in person and on social media in response to Enzi's remarks.
Wyoming may be known for things like cowboys and rugged masculinity — but it's also known as the Equality State, and this protest shows why.
"When LGBTQ Wyomingites are faced with discrimination, harassment and violence, we’re 'not asking for it,'" Wyoming Equality wrote on its website. "All Wyomingites deserve respect and dignity and to feel safe in our state — no matter what they’re wearing at a bar."
Because being bi isn't a phase. ❤ #LiveAndLetTutu #NormalizeTutus
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Lander's operation tutu! Love this town!!! #operationtutu #liveandlettutu #normalizetutu
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Enzi has apologized for his statement, but when it comes to protecting LGBTQ rights, his voting record tells a pretty clear story.
As they say, actions speak louder than words.
As senator, Enzi has voted time and again against pro-LGBTQ measures (including votes against the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act — Shepard, who was tortured and murdered for being gay in 1998, was from Wyoming — and against the Violence Against Women Act reauthorization). Additionally, he's introduced legislation that would make it legal to discriminate against gay and lesbian couples seeking to adopt children.
For the past two sessions of Congress, Enzi has received a score of 0 from the Human Rights Campaign, and in 2014, he was named to the group's "Hall of Shame."
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The fact that people in reportedly the most conservative state in the country are ready to take a stand in the name of equality and LGBTQ rights is a major reason to smile.
Red states, blue states, and everywhere in between — there are good people doing good things across the nation and across the political spectrum.
If there's a silver lining to Enzi's clumsy and unfortunate remarks, it's that it gave the rest of the country a chance to see just how great the people of Wyoming can be.






A woman is getting angry at her coworker.via
A man with tape over his mouth.via
A husband is angry with his wife. via 
a man sitting at a desk with his head on his arms Photo by
Can a warm cup of tea help you sleep better? If you believe it, then yes. Photo by 
Three women sit on a blanket in the park. 
Two women engaging in a pleasant conversation inside a coffee shop
Two men engaging in a peaceful disagreement.
Resurfaced video of French skier's groin incident has people giving the announcer a gold medal
"The boys took a beating on that one."
Downhill skiing is a sport rife with injuries, but not usually this kind.
A good commentator can make all the difference when watching sports, even when an event goes smoothly. But it's when something goes wrong that great announcers rise to the top. There's no better example of a great announcer in a surprise moment than when French skier Yannick Bertrand took a gate to the groin in a 2007 super-G race.
Competitive skiers fly down runs at incredible speeds, often exceeding 60 mph. Hitting something hard at that speed would definitely hurt, but hitting something hard with a particularly sensitive part of your body would be excruciating. So when Bertrand slammed right into a gate family-jewels-first, his high-pitched scream was unsurprising. What was surprising was the perfect commentary that immediately followed.
This is a clip you really just have to see and hear to fully appreciate:
- YouTube youtu.be
It's unclear who the announcer is, even after multiple Google inquiries, which is unfortunate because that gentleman deserves a medal. The commentary gets better with each repeated viewing, with highlights like:
"The gate the groin for Yannick Bertrand, and you could hear it. And if you're a man, you could feel it."
"Oh, the Frenchman. Oh-ho, monsieurrrrrr."
"The boys took a beating on that one."
"That guy needs a hug."
"Those are the moments that change your life if you're a man, I tell you what."
"When you crash through a gate, when you do it at high rate of speed, it's gonna hurt and it's going to leave a mark in most cases. And in this particular case, not the area where you want to leave a mark."
Imagine watching a man take a hit to the privates at 60 mph and having to make impromptu commentary straddling the line between professionalism and acknowledging the universal reality of what just happened. There are certain things you can't say on network television that you might feel compelled to say. There's a visceral element to this scenario that could easily be taken too far in the commentary, and the inherent humor element could be seen as insensitive and offensive if not handled just right.
The announcer nailed it. 10/10. No notes.
The clip frequently resurfaces during the Winter Olympic Games, though the incident didn't happen during an Olympic event. Yannick Bertrand was competing at the FIS World Cup super-G race in Kvitfjell, Norway in 2007, when the unfortunate accident occurred. Bertrand had competed at the Turin Olympics the year before, however, coming in 24th in the downhill and super-G events.
As painful as the gate to the groin clearly as, Bertrand did not appear to suffer any damage that kept him from the sport. In fact, he continued competing in international downhill and super-G races until 2014.
According to a 2018 study, Alpine skiing is a notoriously dangerous sport with a reported injury rate of 36.7 per 100 World Cup athletes per season. Of course, it's the knees and not the coin purse that are the most common casualty of ski racing, which we saw clearly in U.S. skier Lindsey Vonn's harrowing experiences at the 2026 Olympics. Vonn was competing with a torn ACL and ended up being helicoptered off of the mountain after an ugly crash that did additional damage to her legs, requiring multiple surgeries (though what caused the crash was reportedly unrelated to her ACL tear). Still, she says she has no regrets.
As Bertrand's return to the slopes shows, the risk of injury doesn't stop those who live for the thrill of victory, even when the agony of defeat hits them right in the rocks.