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Gender Troubles: The Butches

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Me performing Designated Nights: Bear Den about my experiences @ Big Chicks (Uptown’s favorite gay bar).

All The Writers I Know Quimby’s Bookstore Chicago, IL

November 17, 2012

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The Shot Glass Heard Around The World

In 1969, the Stonewall riots — precipitated when the NYPD burst into the famed gay bar and started being their usually abusive selves — defined the modern gay movement.

Among the first to physically resist the police was Marsha P. Johnson, the now infamous transgender rights activist who co-founded S.T.A.R. (Street Transgender Action Revolutionaries) with Sylvia Rivera in the ’70s.

At 1:20 in the morning on Saturday, June 28, 1969, four plainclothes police officers entered Stonewall Inn and announced “Police! We’re taking the place!" 

Officers forced the customers to form into two lines divided by perceived gender and show them their genitals to confirm if it matched the gender on their identification card.

At some point during the raid, Marsha Johnson proclaimed, ‘I got my civil rights!' and then threw a shot glass into a mirror, adding on to the tension and creating an atmosphere of resistance. Some witnesses and historians believe her action is what instigated the riot.

Patrons began to refuse to produce their I.D. and police decided to arrest everyone still at the bar. Those who were not arrested gathered outside the bar and quickly drew a crowd of over 1,000 queers. As rumors spread through the crowd that those inside were being beaten by cops, they began throwing pennies, beer bottles and other items at police.

A drag queen who was shoved by an officer in front of the crowd responded by hitting him on the head with her purse as the crowd began to boo.

Soon after, an unidentified lesbian was hit on the head with a billy club after complaining that her handcuffs were too tight. She faced the bystanders and shouted, “Why don’t you guys do something?”

Police threw her into the back of a patrol wagons, at that point the crowd became a mob and collectively resisted the police.

——-

Along with Sylvia Rivera, the two transgender revolutionaries created S.T.A.R. and STAR House in which they housed, fed and clothed homeless drag queens and trans* youth by hustling in the streets of NYC so that their children didn’t have to.

Marsha P. Johnson is often credited for inciting the Stonewall Riots, yet she receives close to no recognition by mainstream Gay Organizations and the queer community. I have no doubt that the erasure of Marsha’s participation in the riots and the Gay Liberation Movement is due to her being a black, transgender radical. Had she’d been a white gay cis-male, her name would be permanently embedded in every queer’s mind.

I know Marsha as a courageous queer revolutionary, a queen of Queens, a Stonewall Veteran, a dedicated activist, a mother of S.T.A.R. and a personal idol. She deserves more than anyone I know, to be recognized by the queer community.

In July 6, 1992, Johnson’s body was found floating in the Hudson River off the West Village Piers shortly after the 1992 Pride March. Friends of Johnson claims she was harassed near the spot where her body was found. The police disregarded this and ruled her death a suicide without any evidence. However, in November 2012, the NYPD re-opened the case.

Click here to watch “Pay It No Mind”, a documentary on Marsha P. Johnson.

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cool girls doing cool things, the coalition zine issue 1

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La Negra Tiene Tumbao / La Vida Es Un Carnaval / Auguanile / Vivir Mi Vida / Tu Amor Me Hace Bien / Yo Tambien / Odio / Promise / Eres Mia / Por Un Segundo / Mi Corazoncito / Solo Por Un Beso / Ella Y Yo / Hasta Que Salga El Sol / Salio El Sol / Dile / Baila Morena / Danza Kudoro / Ven Bailalo / Si No Le Contesto / Pam Pam / Rakata / Mala Conducta / Gasolina / Lovumba / Lo Que Paso, Paso / Ven Conmigo / Incondicional / Darte Un Beso / Rechazame / Corazon Sin Cara / Ven Conmigo (Solamente Tu) / Genio Atrapado / Whenever, Wherever / La La La (Brasil World Cup) / Te Extraño / No Morira / Volveré / La Quiero A Morir / Juliana / Bidi Bidi Bom Bom / Como La Flor / La Carcacha / Baila Esta Cumbia / Que Bello / Mi Cucu / Mesa Que Mas Aplauda / Tu Sonrisa / Suavemente / Luna Llena / Abusadora / Te Encenido / No Me Digas Que No / La Duena Del Swing / Rompe Cintura 

this literally took forever but i hope y’all like it i’ll probably make another one with the other requests i missed, it was getting too long!! haha 

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also I learned about this project called “queering the map.” the idea is that in the past gay neighborhoods and gay spaces were very clearly defined bc it just wasn’t safe to be yourself anywhere else. as lgbt+ people become more visible and accepted many feel that we are losing our connection to those spaces

so every dot on this map is basically someone’s queer experience: coming out, meeting their future wife, seeing another gay man in public for the first time, anything you can think of that truly left a mark on them

it started in Montreal and is primarily English-language with most pins dropped in the US, Canada, and Europe, but there are people all over the world who’ve shared their experiences. it’s great to look at places near you but it’s also great to see that even people in places you thought were the middle of nowhere are happy with themselves and finding community and living their lives

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more information about the upcoming movie Adam (2019) from trans actors who worked as extras in the film 

for those who don’t know Adam (2019) is a film based off a book written by Ariel Schrag and the reason why it’s so gross and offensive is that the plot basically revolves around a cishet boy pretending to be a trans man so he can sleep with lesbians

for more information on the book/movie read this in-depth review by @genderpunksap  (TW: transphobia, homophobia, lesbophobia, corrective rape, voyeurism)

anyway please do not bully or harass the trans actors in this film!!!

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donate to miss major’s retirement fund! https://fundly.com/missmajor

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Corazón  (2018)

Corazón is a love story. It is about the constant hunger for love. It is about feeding that hunger with another person and finding that sometimes it isn’t enough. Salgado creates a world in which the heart can live anywhere; her fat brown body, her parents home country, a lover, a toothbrush, a mango, or a song. It is a celebration of heartache, of how it can ruin us, but most importantly how we always survive it and return to ourselves whole.

by Yesika Salgado (Author)

Get it here

Yesika Salgado is a Los Angeles based Salvadoran poet who writes about her family, her culture, her city and her brown body. She has shared her work in venues and campuses throughout the country. She is a member of the 2014, 2016 and 2017 Da Poetry Lounge Slam Team. Her work has been featured in Latina Magazine, Univision, Vibe Magazine, Huffington Post, BuzzFeed, TEDx and many other digital platforms. Yesika is the Co-founder of the Latina feminist collective Chingona Fire and an internationally recognized body positivity activist.

[Follow SuperheroesInColor faceb / instag / twitter / tumblr / pinterest]

[queerinthecity]

Corazón  (2018)

Corazón is a love story. It is about the constant hunger for love. It is about feeding that hunger with another person and finding that sometimes it isn’t enough. Salgado creates a world in which the heart can live anywhere; her fat brown body, her parents home country, a lover, a toothbrush, a mango, or a song. It is a celebration of heartache, of how it can ruin us, but most importantly how we always survive it and return to ourselves whole.

by Yesika Salgado (Author)

Get it here

Yesika Salgado is a Los Angeles based Salvadoran poet who writes about her family, her culture, her city and her brown body. She has shared her work in venues and campuses throughout the country. She is a member of the 2014, 2016 and 2017 Da Poetry Lounge Slam Team. Her work has been featured in Latina Magazine, Univision, Vibe Magazine, Huffington Post, BuzzFeed, TEDx and many other digital platforms. Yesika is the Co-founder of the Latina feminist collective Chingona Fire and an internationally recognized body positivity activist.

[Follow SuperheroesInColor faceb / instag / twitter / tumblr / pinterest]

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Pass this around! This could be someone’s big opportunity!

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Mj Rodriguez, Indya Moore, Janet Mock, and Dominique Jackson.

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Happy Pride Month! 🌈

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I really can’t believe I’m saying this, but I am sharing new work at the LEATHER ARCHIVES & MUSEUM @leatherarchives December 1st with Aay Preston-Myint @dirtrainbow & Ivan Lozano @giggomachine. We are all part of the Chicago Archives + Artists Project @chicagoarchivesartists. I’ve been studying the Chicago Protest Collection @newberrylibrary for the past year. This is one of the new pieces I’ll be installing OUTSIDE the museum! Thank you @fromthecenter & @tempestthazel for your vision. Photo by Ally Almore. [Description: H. Melt holds up a trans flag that reads there are trans people here in their colorful bedroom surrounded by flags and posters]. #therearetranspeoplehere #chicagoartists #chicagoarchives #transart #transthreads https://www.instagram.com/p/BqPq-OCn9evtl4ZEU4mCvdSpunDE-GjtopSLOA0/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1xtb3e2sezhhs