There have been so many influential people over the years who have helped shape the progression of the LGBTQIA2S+ movement. Without these people, Pride Month would not exist. Just to name a few:
CHRISTINE JORGENSEN
Christine Jorgensen was an American transgender woman who was the first person to become widely known in the United States for having sex reassignment surgery. After undergoing the surgery in Denmark, the Bronx native returned to the United States in 1953 and became an overnight celebrity. She used her platform to advocate for the trans community while making public appearances discussing her life story.
LILE ELBE
Lile Elbe was a pioneering transgender woman. She experienced what is now known as gender dysphoria and was one of the first individuals known to receive sex reassignment surgery. She was also a successful painter. Her life was the subject of the novel and film The Danish Girl. Much of what is known about Lili Elbe comes from her autobiography Man Into Woman published by Ernst Ludwig Harthern-Jacobson under the pseudonym Niels Hoyer after her death. It is based on her diaries and letters.
BARBARA GITTINGS
Barbara Gittings was a prominent American activist for LGBTQ+ rights a decade before the Stonewall rebellion. In addition to launching the New York chapter of the lesbian organization, Daughters of Bilitis (which she ran from 1958 to 1963), she edited their national magazine and was known for standing front and center protesting anti-gay discrimination.
EDITH WINDSOR
Edith Windsor became an LGBTQ+ rights activist after reading about the Stonewall Riots with her partner, Thea Spyer, in 1969. When Spyer died in 2009, Windsor took on the government after being forced to pay taxes for inheriting her wife’s estate as part of the Defense of Marriage Act. Her victory was instrumental in the fight for marriage equality in the U.S. It set the Court on an unstoppable path toward its landmark ruling two years later, declaring a nationwide right to same-sex marriage equality.
RENÉE RICHARDS
Renée Richards is an American ophthalmologist and former tennis player who competed on the professional circuit in the 1970s and became widely known following male-to-female sex reassignment surgery when she fought to compete as a woman in the 1976 US Open. On August 27, 1976, the United States Tennis Association bared Renée from competing in the U.S. Open as a woman, stating she must pass a chromosomal test. Richards fails the test, sues the USTA, and wins the right a year later to compete via a New York Supreme Court ruling.
GILBERT BAKER
Gilbert Baker was an artist, designer, and activist. He helped define the LGBTQ movement as the designer of the rainbow flag. The flag was first unveiled at the San Fransisco Pride Parade in 1978 and has become a universal symbol for the community.
MARSHA P. JOHNSON
Marsha P. Johnson was an activist, self-identified drag queen, performer, and survivor. She was a prominent figure in the Stonewall uprising of 1969. Marsha went by “BLACK Marsha” before settling on Marsha P. Johnson. The “P” stood for “Pay It No Mind,” which is what Marsha would say in response to questions about her gender. It is the consideration of who “BLACK Marsha” was that inspired The Marsha P. Johnson Institute.
JANET MOCK
Janet Mock is a writer, television host, director, and transgender rights activist. Mock came out publicly as trans in 2011 and has been writing about the trans experience and a variety of other topics for many outlets. Her book Redefining Realness was a New York Times bestseller.
AUDRE LORDE
Audre Lorde was a writer, feminist, librarian, and civil rights activist. She described herself as a “black feminist lesbian poet warrior mother.” She had a way with words and used that talent to speak out against racism, sexism, and homophobia. Lorde died of liver cancer in 1991, but in 2001 Publishing Triangle instituted the Audre Lorde Award to honor lesbian poetry.
JAMES BALDWIN
James Baldwin was a writer and activist. He was writing gay and bisexual characters years before the LGBTQ movement fully took form and up until his death in 1987. When asked about his sexuality, he was a firm believer in fluidity over rigid categorization. He was also active in the Civil Rights Movement.