Laws that target trans people—like bans on gender-affirming care or bathroom bills—are rooted in the same patriarchal desire to police gender norms that once criminalized homosexuality. When a trans girl is told she cannot play soccer, it is the same logic that once told a lesbian she could not coach it.
Johnson, a Black trans woman and self-identified drag queen, and Rivera, a Latina trans woman and gay liberation activist, fought back against police brutality when many middle-class, white gay men were still hiding in the shadows. For decades, mainstream gay rights organizations tried to sanitize the movement, often excluding trans people to appear more "palatable" to straight society. Rivera famously crashed a 1973 gay pride rally in New York City, shouting, "You all tell me, 'Go home, Silvia, you're too radical.' I've been beaten. I have had my nose broken. I have been thrown in jail. I have lost my job. I have lost my apartment for gay liberation, and you all treat me this way?" shemale trans angels jessica fox bailey b top
To be a member of the LGBTQ community today is to stand with trans people in school boards, in legislatures, in hospital rooms, and on the dance floor. The rainbow flag was never meant to be a logo of assimilation; it was meant to be a banner of liberation for all sexual orientations and gender identities. For decades, mainstream gay rights organizations tried to