Take a trip back with me to June 28th, 1969. This day is important for many reasons. It is the beginning of the Gay liberation movement at the Stonewall Inn. Now I’m sure we are all well aware of the significance of such an event and the domino effect that rippled across the nation. For those of you who don’t though, the events that took place at Stonewall was a riot of freedom and life (do your research). For me, it holds more significance, not because of the actions that took place then and there, but what took place regarding the event today.
The logistics of the event are debated, but many people concur that the riot was sparked by one transgender woman of color, Marsha "Pay It No Mind" Johnson. A woman overlooked far too often in the hurricane of gay rights that have flourished since Stonewall and still is. Like many …show more content…
When you look at the film Stonewall (2015) for some reason that person who incites the riot is…. white? Yes, they are white. In the film, the person depicted inciting the riot is a young, white man. Curious.
The film got the backlashed it deserved in regards to the gross misrepresentation of actual events, but I ignorantly let it rest for what it was. Although, in these past few years, as I am exposed more and more into the LGBTQ community there has been an itch of sorts that I just couldn’t shake. Something that has weighed me down as a queer man of color. It wasn’t until this summer that it finally struck me. The oppressive actions and ignored white privilege that gay white men hold (consciously or unconsciously) over Gay People of Color.
This all came to me one day while I was sitting with some friends sharing some works of art we’d created. During one of the sharing, a story, one of my friends openly said, nigger. Without hesitation. Now whenever I am unprepared for that word it shakes me, but this one particularly had me shook more than
The logistics of the event are debated, but many people concur that the riot was sparked by one transgender woman of color, Marsha "Pay It No Mind" Johnson. A woman overlooked far too often in the hurricane of gay rights that have flourished since Stonewall and still is. Like many …show more content…
When you look at the film Stonewall (2015) for some reason that person who incites the riot is…. white? Yes, they are white. In the film, the person depicted inciting the riot is a young, white man. Curious.
The film got the backlashed it deserved in regards to the gross misrepresentation of actual events, but I ignorantly let it rest for what it was. Although, in these past few years, as I am exposed more and more into the LGBTQ community there has been an itch of sorts that I just couldn’t shake. Something that has weighed me down as a queer man of color. It wasn’t until this summer that it finally struck me. The oppressive actions and ignored white privilege that gay white men hold (consciously or unconsciously) over Gay People of Color.
This all came to me one day while I was sitting with some friends sharing some works of art we’d created. During one of the sharing, a story, one of my friends openly said, nigger. Without hesitation. Now whenever I am unprepared for that word it shakes me, but this one particularly had me shook more than