Friendly Reminder: The First Pride Was a Riot

They say Queer People are "perverts" and "sexual deviants," but our accusers seem to be the ones obsessed with sex and private parts.

June is Pride Month, and things are bad for trans and other LGBTQIA2S+/Queer People right now. 

For years, since gay marriage became legal, it had seemed like we were headed for progress, but recently this country (and the world) seem to be moving backward as history moves closer and closer to repeating itself (and not in a good way). 

More than ever, I am painfully aware of how many people want me to go back into hiding (pretending to be one of them and miserable for it) or worse, would like to see me dead. 

Though my demographic is People 30+ and I don't make content for children, I still have to block people who call me a groomer, pedofile, or pervert almost daily (for simply being a trans person on the internet who speaks to other Autistic and NeuroDivergent adults and allies openly about my trans experience).

"What's in your pants?" they ask... or "KEEP IT IN YOUR BEDROOM!" They demand. 

"IT'S NOBODY'S BUSINESS WHO YOU ARE FÜCKING!" (says the man with his wife in his profile photo, unable to sense the irony in his statement). 

Why is a profile photo of two men or two women kissing "obscene" and "sexual" but a husband and wife kissing "god's will" and "beautiful"? 

They say Queer People are "perverts" and "sexual deviants," but our accusers seem to be the ones obsessed with sex and private parts. 

"Leave the kids alone!" they say, ignoring that Queer kids exist (even if nobody tells us being Queer is an option).

For me, and many like me, the lack of Queer representation is confusing. Seeing a nonbinary person like me would have meant the world to me growing up. 

The news and media have targeted us for years. Still, the blatant hatred and fear-mongering against Queer People has recently escalated alarmingly. Violence against us rising, as those who take joy in causing harm have been emboldened by all the bills and anti-Trans rhetoric being spread by the news, media, and public figures. 

All these years later and it's starting to feel like the 1950s and 60s all over again again. I can say that ONLY because I've taken the time to study Queer history.

Because Queer history isn't taught in schools, many people today see Pride as a parade or celebratory gathering where Queer People (once forced to hide outside public view) party, dance, and parade in the streets. 

Pride may have become more of a party in my lifetime, but fifty-four years ago, on June 28, 1969, Pride was very different. 

The first Pride was a riot, but over the years, Pride has moved from its roots as an uprising against violent police enforcement of "cross-dressing" laws (that stated a "man" or a "woman" must be wearing a certain number of clothing items aligned with the gender on their state-issued ID).

There was no PRIDE flag in those days. In those days, Queer People were not accepted but were scorned and had no legal protections against discrimination. 

In the 1960s, it was normal to be in the closet, and most people didn't out themselves as Queer (because being Queer was considered a severe deviant mental illness). 

Back then, Queer People were frequently punished and criminalized (or sentenced to inhumane medical procedures such as lobotomies, castration, and conversion "therapy" as "treatment" for their Queerness). 

We were prohibited from getting married or working for the government, and our lives were viewed as sexual, perverse, and obscene (as many religious extremists in America are trying to paint us today). 

Looking back today at how things were in the weeks leading up to the events that sparked the 1969 Stonewall event and watching similar laws being proposed more than fifty-four years later is chilling. It is like watching a train wreck in slow motion as I beg people to do something, powerless to stop the impending tragedy. 

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