rebloggin for theย true as fuckย commentary (bolding mine)
n like, on one hand this moment is decontextualized as fuck, but on the other hand a lot of ppl try to hyper-contextualize it to make it โhistoryโ and a very specific historical moment, so we (cis women) can be like โoh so sad thatโs how it was in the 1970s,ย radfemsย were so awful, but it was only the whole second-wave scene that was the problem, glad thatโs over.โ
Like have we forgotten the fact that Sylvia only died in 2002? And she died young, if she were still alive she wouldnโt even be 65 yet. I know hella older ppl in NYC who knew her personally, andย hella โleadersโย ofย theย NYC queerย scene pulled horrific shit on her constantly in the 80s, 90s, and 2000s, like literally until the day she died (ppl from Empire State Pride agenda literally went to St. Vincents to beef with her on her death bed)ย Where are the video tapes/memorializing of that shit?
Nย now the Manhattan LGBT center on 13th st has a room dedicated to her memory, despite the fact that very center permanentlyย banned her in 1995 for daring to suggest they should let homeless QTPOC sleep there in sub-zero weather.
N now thereโs a whole homeless trans youth shelter on 36th st named after her, Sylviaโs Place, that kicked my TWOC friend out on the streets for testing positive for marijuana; failing to recognizeย how fucked up that isย in a shelterย named after a woman who struggled withย addiction all her life, and was very vocal about the relationship between drug use and the stress of living under constant threats of violence.
N from the late 90s onward rich gays and lesbians openly fought against Sylvia to try to shut down 24/7 access to the piers that she n hella other QTPOC cruised and lived on bc they were bringing down the property values of their multi-million west village apartments.
N like 90% of the individual people who perpetuated fucked up violence against Sylvia are still alive and high-profile leaders in the NYC LGBT โcommunityโ today.
So like yes, good, remember the oppressive weight of our history of transmisogynyโฆbut also remember that this shit specifically ainโt even history, itโs the current reality of the NYC queer/trans hierarchy todayโlike not even figuratively, literally the same people who pulled shit like this on Sylvia are still alive n well n all over NYC cutting the ribbons to the newest Sylvia Rivera memorial n eulogizing her like they never tried to fucking kill her themselves.
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