“So Stonewall is a great, great foundation,” transgender activist and Stonewall veteran icon Sylvia Rivera wrote in her 2001 essay Bitch on Wheels. “It began the modern day liberation movement, like we spoke before about the Daughters of Bilitis and the Mattachine Society. Yes, there were lots of other little groups but you had to…
Today, the executive director of San Diego Pride, Stephen Whitburn, issued an open letter addressed to all San Diego Pride attendees warning of potential activism that “may temporarily disrupt the parade’s flow.” According to the letter Pride was recently contacted by members of the transgender community who notified them of their plan to conduct multiple…
Most people think of New York’s 1969 Stonewall riots as the flashpoint that launched the modern LGBT rights movement. But demonstrations — and even riots — protesting police abuse of lesbian gay, bisexual, and transgender people occurred on the West Coast years before a collection of Stonewall patrons line-kicked their way into history. Still, Stonewall’s…
You didn’t want to look. When you bought the ticket, you knew the movie was going to be scary, but you had to see it for yourself. Kind of. Peeking between your fingers. You couldn’t look … but you couldn’t look away, either. In the early 1980s, when AIDS was barely understood, Sean Strub decided…
In 2007 I became a blogger at Pam’s House Blend, and went on to become what Melissa Harris Perry called “the first national transgender blogger.” In 2008 I became one of the first two transgender reporters who were credentialed to cover the Democratic National Convention. In 2009 I became the first transgender reporter to cover…
SAN FRANCISCO – A new multimedia exhibit opening May 29 at the GLBT History Museum tells the story of San Francisco Bay Area’s bisexual activism that since the 1970s has been grounded in the politics of visibility, accountability, and vitality. A playful spirit has mixed with a seriousness of purpose at key moments across four…
NEW YORK — Growing up in the small Houston suburb of Spring, Texas, Matt Bomer discovered the work of Larry Kramer before he even knew he was gay himself. At 14, Bomer pulled Kramer’s play The Normal Heart from the shelf of a small library in the closet of his high school theater. As a…
The string of victories for marriage equality since the Supreme Court (SCOTUS) decisions on the Defense of Marriage Act and Prop. 8 have the LGBT community understandably excited, and some pundits surprisingly unhinged. David Cohen and Dahlia Lithwick of Slate have declared “It’s over” of the court debate. Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post’s blog…
“Every gay person must come out. As difficult as it is, you must tell your immediate family,” said Supervisor Harvey Milk on one of the multiple instances he exhorted gay people to come out. “You must tell your relatives. You must tell your friends if indeed they are your friends. You must tell the people…
I work mostly on trans civil rights issues. I work on issues involving trans youth and trans military service. In past years I’ve worked on trans antiviolence issues, especially issues involving hate crimes and trans media coverage. I haven’t worked on other issues that I care about, such as a woman’s right to choose and…
