Queer History

Marsha P. Johnson

Starting with an absolute icon, Marsha P. Johnson was a self-identified drag queen and one of the most prominent voices in the gay rights movement. (I'm using she/her pronouns here, correct me if they're wrong)

The P stands for "Pay It No Mind", her usual response to questions about her gender.

Contrary to popular belief, she was not quite such a big part of Stonewall... and that's okay. The fact that non-gay queer activists are always most appreciated for what they did for cis gays is pretty messed up. She was an incredible trans activist and did far more important things than just be a part of Stonewall.

Her activism had a huge impact on the future of the community. She was involved in the Stonewall riots (which I will bring up in a later section) although she denied being there when it started, only arriving around 2 am. She had quite a history with cops and bricks, having defaced a police vehicle and assaulted a police officer who tried to arrest her. She joined the Gay Liberation Front and was an active member of the GLF drag queen caucus. She marched in the very first Gay Pride Rally (then known as the Christopher Street Liberation Day) on the anniversary of Stonewall. Later she was an active part of Act up, a group formed to address the AIDS pandemic.

In 1970 she staged a sit-in protest at New York University after the university cancelled a dance sponsored by a gay organization.

Along with Sylvia Rivera (another figure I will discuss at a later stage), she founded STAR (Street Transvestite Action revolutionaries). In 1972 they founded STAR house together as a shelter for gay, trans, and gnc street kids. The house wasn't as focused on performance as it was on family and support, and as "Drag Mother" of the house, she worked hard to provide and care for the young queer street kids.

In 1973 both Riviera and Johnson were banned from the Gay Pride Parade by the gay and lesbian committee who refused to allow drag queens to take part. After all their activism and work for the community they were cast out, and this is a problem that remains in the community to this day. Black and Latina trans women are the most frequently target members of our community who face amazing amounts of violence, but they are also often excluded from it. Many of us are so scared of seeming ridiculous to cishets that we abandon our siblings and it needs to stop. So if you are interested in amplifying the voices of queer people of colour, please do some research into all the wonderful people in our history, look into and support current figures and check out the Marsha P. Johnson Institute (https://marshap.org/about-mpji/) which defends the rights of black trans folks and gives a voice back to them.

This was pretty rushed so I could get it done and out. I hope I did her justice. I might come back and rewrite this.

Anyway, just spread some love to trans people of colour, trans people, and queer people of colour; they all need it. And remember, no one makes our community look ridiculous; not the overly feminine gay men, not the stereotypical people, not the people who use neopronouns, and not the ones with the 'weirdly specific" labels. We all deserve support. Just be kind.