The gay rights movement sold out trans women – now we’re all reckoning with the consequences
For International Women’s Day, Amelia Abraham speaks to writers Jules Gill-Peterson and Morgan M Page about what the queer movement lost when they sidelined trans activists – and why all corners of the community urgently need to come together to tackle transmisogyny.
WORDS BY AMELIA ABRAHAM HEADER BY YOSEF PHELAN Once upon a time – around 50 years ago – the word “gay” included a lot more than men who are attracted to men, or women who are attracted to women.
It was a word used by trans women and femmes to self-describe, a word that brought cis gays and trans people together under one umbrella.
Take Silvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson, two of the key figures of the early gay liberation movement to come out of New York City in the late 1960s and early 70s, who used “gay” synonymously “drag queen” and “street queen” when talking about their own identities.
