People of Pride #4: Marsha “Pay it No Mind” Johnson
Marsha P. Johnson was an African-American transgender woman, passionate LGBTQ rights activist, drag queen, and loud voice for low-income gender non-conforming & trans people of color. She was celebrating her 25th birthday at the Stonewall Inn during the early morning hours of June 28th, 1969. When the police began arresting and harassing gay patrons at the club that night, Marsha was among the first to resist the police. Check out the links below for more information about her story, her activism, and the Stonewall Riots:
Every day in June, I will be posting an illustration that highlights an LGBT+ activist who I believe everyone should know. This series will be in no way comprehensive, & will include a multitude of identities, races, sexualities, and genders.
Sylvia Riviera was a passionate, Venezuelan-Puerto Rican, LGBT Woman, sex worker, and trauma survivor with a loud & persistent voice for the rights of people of color and low income queer/transgender people. If you have a moment, check out these links for more information about her story:
Every day in June, I will be posting an illustration that highlights an LGBT+ activist who I believe everyone should know. This series will be in no way comprehensive, & will include a multitude of identities, races, sexualities, and genders. My goal is to bring some awareness to those who have paved the way for this to be a month of celebration.
I’m so grateful trans women exist! I see so many cool things that I love, only to find out that one or more trans women are involved in creating it. And just in general, i love how specifically trans women break up the rigid thinking of what a woman can be and do! Even if you are just hanging around, feeling like not doing anything special, i’m still happy you are here. You are making the world a richer & more colorful place just by existing. So i’m grateful. Thank you
I posted this picture on reddit for a transgender transition timeline group. I thought I might also show you the power of dedication and hormones. Even though I am not wearing make up in the second picture, I still look a 100 times better. In the 10 months between these pictures, I spent 6-7 of them on HRT (hormone replacement therapy)
Also keep in mind, that by the time of the first picture I had already improved and progressed a lot. I was not born pretty, I fought hard to get there. It is never too late to start and it is never too early to begin.
