Nova, Gay Liberation Front meeting, c. 1970. Photo by Diana Davies, @nyplpicturecollection. Diana Davies, the pioneering photographer and archivist, misidentified the subject of this photo as Marsha P. Johnson, and it has therefore been cited for decades as an image of the legendary Ms. Johnson. During interviews with gay liberation veterans for the groundbreaking "The Gay Liberation Youth Movement in New York: An Army of Lovers Cannot Fail," however, Stephan Cohen correctly identified the subject as Nova, who was a founding member of Gay Youth, the pioneering group that gave a voice to LGBT individuals between the ages of sixteen and twenty. Perry Brass, co-editor of "Come Out" magazine, later recalled "one Gay Liberation Front dance when [Nova] jumped in like a torpedo, and once on the dance floor unhooked [her] bra and threw it into the middle of the crowd. 'Now that's women's liberation!' one of my friends said." Transmen and transwomen, particularly transmen and transwomen of color, were vitally important to the early gay liberation movement. March 31 is Transgender Day of Visibility, providing an opportunity to celebrate the contributions of all trans people, including Nova. #transgenderdayofvisibility #transisbeautiful #transrightsaregayrights #remembertheT #givenovaherdue #allpraisemarshapjohnson #transcestors #wevebeenaround (at New York, New York)
