“As the gay movement expands and becomes more assimilated, people who are not so easily assimilated will feel marginalized. Their marginalization creates another round of resistance. It’s an inefficient and somewhat embarrassing process, but it’s also extremely invigorating and democratic.” – Jeffrey Escoffier, July 1994
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Picture: Sylvia Rivera leads the alternative Stonewall 25 march, New York City, June 26, 1994. Photo © AP.
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For many in the gay, lesbian, and bisexual communities, the massive celebrations surrounding the 25th anniversary of Stonewall—culminating in the Stonewall 25 Parade on June 26, 1994, twenty-three years ago today—were a hard-earned opportunity to reflect on how far the gay community had come since 1969. For many others, however, Stonewall 25 was yet another example of the mainstream queer community’s myopic vision of “gay liberation.”
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A number of militant groups—including ACT UP, the Lesbian Avengers, Spirit of Stonewall (SOS), and Transgender Menace—voiced their frustrations with the official march, and a coalition formed.
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“Queers have been getting thrown out of things for years by straight people,“ SOS member Bill Dobbs said, “and now gay people are getting on their high horses and throwing some gay people out of the movement.”
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Most clearly excluded from the main events was the transgender community; Stonewall 25, for example, was officially a “Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Event” despite calls for inclusion of “Transgender” in the title. In response, and in recognition of her decades of tireless activism, Sylvia Rivera was asked to lead the alternative march.
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Most sources today incorrectly provide that Rivera was honored at Stonewall 25, implying that the official organization recognized her contributions to the movement. While participants in the alternative march gave Rivera the respect she earned, it is not the case that she was honored by Stonewall 25 itself. #HavePrideInHistory #Resist #Pride2017 (at Flatiron Building)
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