By Caylee Brown ”If I wait for someone else to validate my existence, it will mean that I’m short-changing myself.” - Zanele Muholi June 2022 is federally recognized as the 22nd LGBTQ+ Pride Month in American history. Declared first in June 2000 by Bill Clinton, this month stands for and encourages allies and members of the LGBTQ+ community alike to focus on unity, justice, and equality in order to normalize identifying with various sexual orientations and gender identities. But regardless of how normalized and popular the term ‘Pride Month’ is, some people may not know why the LGBTQ+ needs a Pride Month, how it benefits queer youth and younger generations of those in the community, or why LGBTQ+ people taking the initiative to creating a better future for ourselves is one of the only options we have available. The truth is that we as a society still have a long way to go until we achieve true equality between all people that love and identify in completely different ways. The history of Pride Month is a little confusing, as it wasn’t always in June or federally recognized. The Defense Logistics Agency says, “The Month of October [first determined by a high-school teacher in Missouri] was first chosen as the celebratory month, as National Coming Out Day had already been established as October 11…” However, the perspective of LGBTQ+ history shifted when the Stonewall Riots happened. Starting on June 28th, 1969, and ending on July 3rd, 1969, the Stonewall Riots were revolutionary for the newly emerging gay rights movement. In the 1960s and ‘70s, being gay or transgender was largely abhorred and detested, and most people in the community refuged in gay clubs/bars, feeling most at peace when they were among themselves. However, the police would frequently raid these bars because same-sex affection was illegal, and thus after the Stonewall Inn was raided on June 28th, the Stonewall Riots was born. Protestors were becoming frustrated with the mistreatment of LGBTQ+ people at this bar. History.com mentioning that specifically, “female officers would take suspected cross-dressing patrons into the bathroom to check their sex.” This sort of mistreatment inspired the community to remain outside of the bar and begin protesting instead of spreading out and going their separate ways. The Stonewall Riots were fundamental to propeling and debatably inciting the gay rights movement because it showed the rest of the community that if they fought for themselves in the same way, change might be imminent. If they didn’t, no one else would. Marsha P. Johnson, for example, is one of the most notorious and well-known activists of the Stonewall Riots, and the most tragic example of members of the LGBTQ+ community suffering loss and pain while fighting to be accepted for identifying with what felt right. Marsha ‘Pay it No Mind’ Johnson was a transgender woman and self identified drag queen that found at a very early age that she liked predominantly feminine things like dressing up in dresses. One of Johnson’s earliest memories of having her gender identity disapproved of was when her Christian parents would reprimand her for not comforting to her assigning gender identity, and when a boy sexually assaulted her. When she grew to be older, Johnson came out as a transgender woman and took the name Marsha P. Johnson, the ‘P’ standing for, ‘Pay it No Mind’. This is what Johnson’s motto was regarding being questioned about her gender identity, and for many years Johnson had to deal with repeatedly being outcast from her family and other communities because of her gender identity. When she graduated highschool, wams.nyhistory.org says she moved to New York with $15 and a bag of clothing. Marsha P. Johnson had to take on harder and less well-paying jobs to even be given an opportunity to make ends meet and live a life similar to her cisgender counterparts. Despite her efforts to live a happy life, she was more than likely murdered at the age of 46. Her injustices succeeded her death, as her death was ruled a “suicide” and her case went cold. Members of the LGBTQ+ like Marsha P. Johnson were cultural icons and pioneers for the movements they fought for, yet still had to experience the pain and suffering that almost every member of the community experiences and is subjected to based on their identity. Celebrating and respecting Pride Month and the history of queer icons and figures in the community is so important to the younger generation of LGBTQ+ people because it teaches them to strive further to achieve equality for this community. Although most people may think that homophobia, transphobia, and other gender/sexuality based discrimination is a thing of the past, the harsh truth is that discriminaton against those in the LGBTQ+ community is still as prominent as it was for people like Marsha P. Johnson. The average life expectancy for a Black trans woman like Johnson, after all, is only 35 years of age. Just because things like gay marriage and affection have been legalized, doesn’t mean that these pieces of legislation aren’t 1) in danger because of discrimination and unwillingness to accept the LGBTQ+, and 2) that society doesn’t still have a long way to go to embrace these changes and embrace the fact that they are in place to make sure that the future is more accepted toward those with varying identities. By educating future and current generations about the history and goals of the LGBTQ+ community, younger generations can grow up to prevent future discrimination against the community and do things like pass legislation that makes us more equal, or protest in protests like Marsha P. Johnson to protect and defend our rights as members of the LGBTQ+ community. People like Marsha P. Johnson and movements like the Stonewall Riots prove to the LGBTQ+ community that our justice needs to be fought for, otherwise it won't be offered to us at all. Pioneering and participating in movements and being activists that strive for the equality and fair treatment of people not afraid to express their unique gender identities and sexual orientations is pivotal to ensuring that the youth 5, 10, or 20 years from now aren’t afraid to be considered different; in fact, they might embrace it as something they were blessed with. During these 4 weeks, don’t forget to realize what this community is really fighting for, because no one else will achieve it for us if we don’t achieve it ourselves. Happy Pride Month! “No pride for some of us without liberation for all of us.” -Marsha P. Johnson
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
May 2022
Categories |