The Distance

The Distance

How the T Got Stuck to the LGB

No, homosexuals don’t owe our rights to black trans women sex workers

Eva Kurilova's avatar
Eva Kurilova
Apr 27, 2023
∙ Paid
“Gay Liberation Front marches on Times Square, New York City, 1969" The New York Public Library Digital Collections.

Historical revisionism is an ugly thing, and it’s happening in full force and in real time in today’s “queer” movement. It is not uncommon to come across claims that the gay community owes our rights to trans people. Hell, far too many believe the complete lie that black trans women sex workers started the Stonewall riots.

Of course, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Regarding the 1969 Stonewall riots, my friend and stand-up human being Fred Sargeant was actually there and was heavily involved in the early gay rights movement. In fact, he was a co-founder of the very first Gay Pride march, then called Christopher Street Liberation Day to commemorate the riots.

Sargeant has been working tirelessly to set the record straight. In a post for Graham Linehan’s Substack in 2022, he points out that the majority of the Stonewall Inn’s patrons were gay male youth. Naturally, t…

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