On Aug. 24th, 2021, the month of August was designated as “Transgender History Month” in San Francisco. This was thanks to the efforts of trans activist Jupiter Peraza and The Transgender District. As of Sept. 6th, August has been declared “Transgender History Month” in the entire state of California, thus making it the nation’s first.
August was picked as “Transgender History Month” in connection to the Gene Compton’s Cafeteria uprising. In 1996, police at Compton’s arrested drag queens, trans women and other LGBTQIA+ individuals. Compton’s was a 24-hour hang out spot for the LGBTQIA+ community, providing comfort throughout the night. At one point, a police officer grabbed a drag queen who threw her cup of coffee in his face. From there, the riot started.
This piece of history is commonly forgotten, except by those who reside in San Francisco. Having “Transgender History Month” celebrated in August is a chance to celebrate this monumental fight against bigotry. This necessary celebration will be set to start in 2024.
Between book bannings, laws against gender affirming care and other discriminatory laws/bills, it feels like state officials are trying to erase the public existence of transgender individuals.
This is not California’s only trans affirming action. Recently, on Sept. 8th, Democratic California lawmakers approved bill AB-957 instructing courts to consider if a parent affirms a child’s gender preference in custody and visitation cases. It would be one of many things to consider, but that extra step would ensure the child could potentially be going into a more accepting environment.
Despite these actions being taken in order to create a more open community, there is still rejection of these ideas. Under California Assembly Democrats’ YouTube video “CA Assembly Declares Nation’s First Transgender History Month,” a majority of the comments are negative. It is filled with people calling this movement a joke or a circus, with someone mentioning that they are “glad [they] got [their] kids out of CA” and multiple other comments of that kind.
As for AB-957, people immediately misunderstood the point and bashed the bill. One of these people was X owner, Elon Musk, stating, “What it actually means is that if you disagree with the other parent about sterilizing your child, you lose custody.”
This is a gross misinterpretation of the bill and a terrible stance on gender affirmation. The point of the bill is to consider whether or not the parent affirms the child’s gender as one of many other things. Just because this bill is in place does not guarantee that a child will automatically go to the gender affirming parent if the household situation seems unsafe due to other attributes, and vice versa.
It is refreshing to see news like Transgender History Month and AB-957 in the midst of other, more hateful actions against the transgender community taking place in many states. Between book bannings, laws against gender affirming care and other discriminatory laws/bills, it feels like state officials are trying to erase the public existence of transgender individuals. And yet, despite the relief of these affirmative actions taking place in California, there is still no way to escape hatred.
Many hateful people need Transgender History Month in order to see that being transgender is not some “trend” or illness, but an identity that has always existed. If you go on Transgender History Month’s website, you can learn so much about the history of this underrepresented community, starting with Eleanor Rykener, a transgender sex worker who lived during the late 1300s.
As performer and activist Donna Personna says, “It ain’t a party. It’s time to act up.” Let’s look at history the right way and honor those who are repeatedly forgotten, the way we always should have. I will be anxiously awaiting next August and celebrating Transgender History Month, and I expect everyone else to do the same.
pbortner@ramapo.edu
Featured photo courtesy of Ritesh Singh, Pexels
