#trans-unit2_thoughts

I think the biggest takeaway I had from this unit was watching Sylvia Rivera’s “Y’all Better Quiet Down” speech from 1973 at a gay liberation parade because, even though she was fighting for the entire community, she was still pushed out and dehumanized for being a BIPOC queer person. However, she impressively persevered and found a way to keep moving forward and fighting for a more inclusive society for her community. Her determination will always be a source of inspiration for me and I love looking back in history and seeing people who truly made a difference after being knocked down and counted out. Sylvia Rivera was one of those people. :)

We learned so much in this unit! I have actual knowledge of what it means to be intersex for the first time in my life. It really brought home how messed up our gender binary system is. I wish that more of history would be taught beyond the heterosexual, cisgender, predominantly male perspective. Then I would have already known about amazing people like Sylvia Rivera and Lucy Hicks Anderson. Lucy simply lived her life as who she saw herself to be, which to most may not seem anything in need of celebration. Lucy should be celebrated though. She believed in herself and fought for her rights. It’s a fight she should not have had to fight. Sylvia Rivera fought for trans rights even within the LGBTQ+ community. Sylvia’s organization, STAR House is what I admire most about her. She did what she could for those who needed help. STAR created a family for those who had been shut out by their own families. We need more STAR Houses today.