[Editorial]
But Stonewall wasn't the first time we stood up for our rights. There were many other times dating back years earlier:
- Cooper Do-nuts Riot — 1959
- Dewey's Restaurant sit-ins — 1965
- Compton's Cafeteria riot — 1966
- Black Cat Tavern protest — 1967
There is a great debate about whether or not these events should be called “riots” or “uprisings.” I will explain my distinction between the two. A “riot” is a violent outbreak, like after the Knicks win. An “uprising” can be a peaceful or violent act meant to shake off the yoke of oppression.
Why did the police raid these bars? (Besides the fact that they didn’t get their payoff that month—or due to political pressure from city leadership.)
Because of trans people. Gay men and lesbians were harder to prove in court when they were simply present. But for trans people, there were laws. In many places, we were required to wear a certain number of items of “male clothing”—in some cases, absurd rules like socks counting as one item.
We were the bedrock of the Stonewall movement.
But something happened on the way to the first NYC Pride parade: we were told not to come. However, we were not alone in being excluded. They also didn’t want “wimpy” gay men or “butch” lesbians. They wanted only white, “respectable” gays and lesbians—those who could assimilate into society. And thus, “Gay Inc.” was born, where the “Holy Grail” became marriage.
Back before the turn of the century, the professional organization began to shift away from the more rigid Harry Benjamin Standards toward what would become the WPATH standards of care. Under the old standards, I would likely not have been allowed to transition for two reasons.
As I like to say: “If you can’t tell I’m trans, you need glasses and a hearing aid!”
The second reason is that I am attracted to women. Under earlier standards, I would have been told I couldn’t be a “true transsexual” because of that attraction.
Now we are visible—and that visibility has also made us targets of conservatives.
So on this anniversary of the Stonewall uprising, let us remember our roots.
[/Editorial]
The early liberation years briefly opened a window when visibility felt possible, even exhilarating, before the backlash of December 9, 1970 when mostly white middle class gay men walked out of the Gay Liberation Front and formed the Gay Activist Alliance. This group was to focus on one issue organizing. They also according to people did not want members of the gay liberation front in the organization. These members included many a drag queen, artists, the likes of “beatniks” and hippies, and others who didn’t fit into their view of what a gay rights organization could and should be. Jerimarie and I did a video and interviews of some of the early gay rights fighters talked about these days.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Yvonne Ritter who was at Stonewall and is trans she and others were not welcomed to march together in 1970, so they were forced to mingle within the crowd of marchers.
Yes a wrong road was taken that day in 1970 and in Connecticut much of the organizing comes from that lineage. ( I talked about this in my essay, What’s It All About Mary?) Folks would be surprised who and what was swept under the rug, those who opposed both the Bi and trans community. “We would never have gotten our rights if we included those people.” Yes, we heard that said more than once.
Finally, and hopefully continuing will be support given to all of our people and a real deal commitment to all of the others who are under the thumb of the man will continue through these dangerous times. That we will learn from OurStories and their his-story that together in unity we are strong and we will never throw anyone out or under the bus again for our own desires and wants. (unless of course they align themselves with the right wing fascists or the needs and wants of the Capitalist system or the bourgeois. But that is a whole other essay.)
To add to my comment The early part of the video Gay Assimilation or Queer Liberation takes up the fight that caused the breakup of the GLF. "Listen to They Wanted White Power, the dirty little secert of the gay movement. In so many words or less until the comfortable class rescues themself from being white there will be no real movement. This video is on you tube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Wo3WFTbIxU
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