document updated 14 years ago, on Nov 17, 2010
There are several suggestions that trans people were pioneers in the LGBTQ rights movement, even though trans rights currently lag gay rights by 10-20 years.
I'm very skeptical of these claims generally. It's difficult to determine if these claims are accurate, for two opposing reasons:
- "the winner writes the history books" — erasure of marginalized groups is extremely common
- conspiracy theories, folklore, and the like ALWAYS surround culurally-significant events — even non-marginalized people fill in the gaps with their own imagination, but marginalized groups have bigger gaps to fill in
However, some of them seem like they can be substantiated.
- Karl Heinrich Ulrichs [1825-1895] — pioneer of LGBT rights movement; ze identified as third-sex, and wore girls' clothes when young and recalled wanting to be a girl
While it's very likely ze was confusing gender identity with sexual orientation, hir childhood experiences seem significant.
- Compton's Cafeteria riot [1966] — very clearly transgender
- Stonewall riots [1969] — claimed by both gay and trans groups as the start of the LGBT rights movement