I learned that the The Stonewall rebellion was not the first time that drag queens and gays fought back against the police, since there had been many other instances of rebellion predating this event. However, the Stonewall rebellion gets more publicity because it has been dubbed as the most commemorable. The location of Stonewall added to the hype because it occurred in New York City. Other reasons that Stonewall is considered a more memorable is because it was seen as a “shared memory of oppression,” where drag queens that were sick of the abuse and police brutality fought back against the police when they raided the bar. The political relevance, violence, and news coverage of the rebellion made it more memorable than other transgender movements of rebellion. Nowadays, the Stonewall rebellion holds significance in how it brought trans liberation movements to the public eye, and is marked by the annual gay pride parade, which raises awareness and brings visibility to the marginalized members of the transgender community.
Armstrong, E. A., & Crage, S. M. (2006). Movements and Memory: The Making of the Stonewall Myth. Retrieved January 30, 2018, from https://learn.rochester.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-1323847-dt-content-rid-4557783_1/courses/GSW210.2018SPRING.83914/Armstrong%20Movements%20and%20Memory%20The%20Making%20of%20the%20Stonewall%20Myth.pdf
Until I took this class, I had not heard of either Marsha Johnson or Sylvia Rivera. Sylvia Rivera was born as Ray Rivera, and began dressing in drag in 1961, the same year that she left home at the age of 10. Growing up, Sylvia lived with her racist Venezuelan grandmother, after her mother killed herself at age 22. Her grandmother sent her to all- white Catholic schools, wishing that Sylvia was white and female. Throughout her life she experienced violence and aggression from not only police, but other citizens as well. Sylvia was arrested in the late 1960s, where she was jailed for 90 days. Sylvia was marginalized by other gays, lesbians, and transgender people because she was a poor sex worker and a woman of color. She participated in the Stonewall riots, and spoke at the 1973 Christopher Street Liberation Day rally in Washington Square Park. To provide a safe space for drag queens to live, Sylvia opened up STAR (Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries) with Marsha Johnson, which provided hotel rooms that transvestites could live in.
Press, U. (n.d.). Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries: Survival, Revolt, and Queer Antagonist Struggle. Retrieved January 30, 2018, from https://untorellipress.noblogs.org/files/2011/12/STAR-imposed.pdf
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