Lesbian activist
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Thank God I finally know where I belong, and it's in a woman's arms." This celebration of non-normativity echoes throughout the history of lesbian activism, and many queer activists today proudly carry on this tradition of challenging norms of gender and sexuality.
Over the past few decades, lesbian life in America has grown and transformed into a rich subculture complete with its own literature, language, and celebrities.
A recent Netflix documentary, The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson, celebrates Johnson’s life and investigates the mysterious circumstances of her death.
2. This exhibit, drawing from BCRW's extensive collection of LGBT-related materials, showcases just a few documents from this long history of struggle and social change.
Since the decision, Obergefell has continued his activism and even briefly pursued a political career. Her 1983 journey aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger proved that women could do anything.
Sally kept her relationship with her partner, Tam O'Shaughnessy, private during her lifetime, but she is now remembered as a trailblazing astronaut and advocate for women in science.
The following articles, photographs, zines, and pamphlets shed light on the many transformations and incarnations of lesbian activism over the past 40 years.
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Motive "Lesbian/Feminist Issue"
Vol.
32, No. 1 (1972)
Published by MOTIVE, Inc.
Originally started by the United Methodist Church in 1941, monthly magazine Motive began its transformation with the publication of a special women's issue in 1969. More than 380 LGBTQ-identifying people were murdered in Brazil in 2017 and 58 died by suicide, the Guardian reported.
And she’s a pastor.
Shortly after meeting his partner Walter Neagle, Rustin embraced the gay liberation movement in the 1980s and became an early advocate for HIV/AIDS awareness and education. Though many of The Lesbian Outlook's contributions seem to be harking back to an earlier time that shared perhaps overly idealistic views regarding lesbian separatism, they do demonstrate the increasing importance of the environmental justice and animal rights movements to lesbian activists of the early 1990s.
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The Lesbian Avengers Dyke Manifesto
"Calling All Lesbians!
She died at age 74 in 2007.
Marsha P. Johnson
1942–1992
Drag queen and transgender activist Marsha P. Johnson was a central figure in the 1969 Stonewall Uprising and cofounded the group Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR) to help homeless LGBTQ youth. Published on the cusp of a new decade, this magazine reveals intricate ideological struggles at the core of lesbian feminist movements.
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Our Lives: Lesbian Mothers Talk to Lesbian Mothers
(c.
One story, "Struggling With Myself in a Repressive Society," expresses a journey to "strength and openness" and explains that being out is a challenge not only to oneself, but also to one's repressive society. The periodical shared the voices of significant LGBT activists and writers, gaining a national and international readership and reputation for being one of the most influential LGBT newspapers.
The July 14, 1984 issue of Gay Community News focuses on "Lesbian Battering." With a personal essay and a news feature, this issue reveals the dynamics of lesbian battering and challenges the misperception that battering only occurs within heterosexual relationships.
She is best known for her participation in the 1969 Stonewall Uprising, but her legacy extends beyond that event.
She was black, queer, and trans — and fearlessly advocated for her rights and the rights of the LGBTQ community at a time when doing so put her safety in jeopardy.
“As long as gay people don’t have their rights all across America, there’s no reason for celebration,” she once said.
Johnson was a key figure of the 1960s gay rights movement in the US and, as legend has it, threw the brick that ignited the infamous Stonewall riots, which were the catalyst for the movement and have inspired many Pride marches ever since.
In 1992, Johnson’s body was found in the Hudson River.
But in 2005, the queer activist was forced to flee his country, where homosexual activity remains illegal.
Today, Parsi lives in exile in Canada, where he has founded the Iranian Railroad for Queer Refugees, which supports and provides guidance to LGBTQ asylum seekers from the Middle East.
10. After decades of advocacy, she died in 2017 at the age of 88.Jim Obergefell
1966–present
Activist Jim Obergefell, 58, will go down in history for his role in the fight for marriage equality.
Cox has been outspoken about access to health care for LGBTQ communities and has particularly championed the rights of trans people and people of color.
“We must lift up the stories of those most at risk, statistically trans people of color who are poor and working class,” Cox wrote in a Tumblr post in 2015. But that’s still not the case for LGBTQ communities in every country, and even in countries where it is safe to march, there is still a long way to go before true equality is achieved.
Without these incredible activists, the LGBTQ rights movement would not be where it is today.
In honor of Pride Month, Global Citizen is celebrating the brave activists fighting for LGBTQ rights in places where it can be dangerous to do so, and the inspiring champions for change, without whom there might never have been a Pride Month.
While certainly not an exhaustive list by any means, these are 15 LGBTQ activists you should know.
1.
.
Jim Obergefell
1966–present
Activist Jim Obergefell, 58, will go down in history for his role in the fight for marriage equality.
Cox has been outspoken about access to health care for LGBTQ communities and has particularly championed the rights of trans people and people of color.
“We must lift up the stories of those most at risk, statistically trans people of color who are poor and working class,” Cox wrote in a Tumblr post in 2015. But that’s still not the case for LGBTQ communities in every country, and even in countries where it is safe to march, there is still a long way to go before true equality is achieved.
Without these incredible activists, the LGBTQ rights movement would not be where it is today.
In honor of Pride Month, Global Citizen is celebrating the brave activists fighting for LGBTQ rights in places where it can be dangerous to do so, and the inspiring champions for change, without whom there might never have been a Pride Month.
While certainly not an exhaustive list by any means, these are 15 LGBTQ activists you should know.
1.
.