In the 1960s, police raids on gay bars were routine. But on that night, the patrons fought back. Rivera and Johnson, both self-identified trans women, became founding mothers of the Gay Liberation Front. However, their inclusion was short-lived. As the movement pivoted to respectability politics in the 1970s and 80s, trans people were often pushed aside. Mainstream gay activists, seeking to appear "normal" to cisgender heterosexual society, viewed flamboyant drag queens and openly trans people as liabilities.
A cisgender lesbian does not know what it feels like to bind a chest, or to be denied hormones, or to be accused of "deception" in a bathroom. A transgender man does not know what it feels like to be fired solely for holding hands with a same-gender partner (unless he is also gay). shemaleexe
Historically, gay bars were sanctuaries for homosexuals. But for a trans woman, entering a gay male space could be hostile. Similarly, a trans man might feel invisible in lesbian-centric spaces. The rise of explicitly trans-inclusive and trans-centric spaces (community centers, support groups, online forums) is a relatively recent phenomenon. Mainstream LGBTQ culture has sometimes struggled to de-center the gay male and cisgender lesbian experience to accommodate non-binary and binary transgender needs. In the 1960s, police raids on gay bars were routine
The transgender community is not a subset of "gay culture." It is a parallel river that has converged with the LGB stream to form a powerful delta. To respect the "T" in LGBTQ is to understand its unique currents, its specific sorrows, and its particular, irrepressible joy. Only by honoring both the alliance and the distinction can the larger culture truly live up to its promise of radical, unapologetic inclusion for all. However, their inclusion was short-lived