Daily Forty-Niner, October 12, 2020

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Vol. LXXII, Issue 8

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Monday, October 12, 2020

The OUTober Special

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Letter from the editor

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The bricks that paved the way

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By Peter Villafane Special Projects Editor

W

e march on the path paved by bricks our predecessors threw for us.

Many people, including those in the queer community, do not know queer history.

It is important to acknowledge the people who paved the way for LGBTQ activism as we know it, especially the people of color who are not often recognized as the faces of the movement. We honor their legacy by continuously sharing their stories and mourning those we have lost.

Many queer folks are part of more than one marginalized community. We recognize that Black members of the LGBTQ community experience discrimination at a higher rate than other racial groups.

Transphobia and structural racism work hand-inhand to perpetuate hate against Black transgender and gender non-conforming people, according to the National LGBTQ Task force.

Visit the Transgender Gender-Variant and Intersex Justice Project’s website to learn about direct actions people can take to support these individuals who need aid the most.

LGBTQ lives won’t matter until all Black lives matter.

We recognize that media portrayal has not always been kind to the community and has contributed to the discrimination that people face. We hope these stories in our second OUTober issue are part of the effort to move the needle in a more positive direction.

The road ahead is a long and bumpy one, but we move forward as we always have.

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By Jewel Sanchez Staff Writer

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eeks following a mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, that left 49 people dead and 53 others injured, President Donald J. Trump took the stage at the 2016 Republican National Convention. He not only condemned the tragic hate crime but publicly promised to protect LGBTQ rights if elected.

After almost four years into Trump’s presidency, his administration’s policies have left LGBTQ Americans angry and unprotected.

When Trump spoke of the Orlando shooting, he described the attack as “an assault on the ability of free people to live their lives, love who they want, and express their identity,” according to CNN. Yet, one of the defining decisions of his administration has been re-evaluating sex discrimination protections to allow discrimination against sexual orientation and gender identity.

In a complete break from the Obama administration’s definition of “sex,” the Trump administration restricted its definition to mean only biologically male or biologically female.

This move excluded LGBTQ people from federal laws that already protected Americans from discrimination on the basis of sex, a provision President Barack Obama had used to substantially expand federal protections and rights for LGBTQ people.

According to Kathryn Perkins, an expert in queer law and a trangender professor in the political science department at Long Beach State, this debate over the meaning of sex is not a new concept.

When the Trump administration reversed most of the liberties granted during the Obama administration, it was a slap in the face to many queer Americans.

“The LGBTQ rights movement has been going on since the late 1960s. It’s been a long time fighting for these rights and protections,” Perkins said. “To get them and then to have them taken away so quickly and so flippantly and so openly, I think that’s something that makes a lot of LGBTQ people angry.”

Queer people have been specifically removed from discrimination protections in areas like health care, employment and childcare. Medical providers were given authority to deny treatment to LGBTQ people due to religious reasons federal agencies and some private business owners were granted a sweeping “license to discriminate,” and most recently the Justice Department pushed to allow taxpayer-funded adoption agencies the right to reject samesex couples.

For CSULB students like Hector Deldadillo, a fourth-year marine biology major who identifies as bisexual, these moves are “direct attacks” on LGBTQ people.

“Rescinding the Obama-era rule that doctors couldn’t discriminate against transgender individuals while they’re receiving medical care, that alone aims to put transgender people directly at risk,” Deldadillo said.

Apart from health care, the Department of Education and the Trump administration have also rejected any responsibility to protect transgender students from discrimination at school.

In fact, the administration rescinded Obama’s 2016 guidance that instructed federally-funded schools to allow students to use bathrooms and facilities aligning with their gender identity.

Along the campaign trail, however, Trump once seemed compassionate toward transgender issues. He even originally voiced opposition to policies like North Carolina’s “bathroom bill,” which also barred transgender students from using bathrooms not corresponding to their “biological sex.”

Yet, transgender Americans have experienced a different reality throughout the

LGBTQ policies in Trump America In stark contrast to campaign promises, the Trump administration has enacted numerous policies that allow open discrimination against members of the LGBTQ community and erase their issues and experiences from national focus.

Illustration by VIC FITZSIMONS

Trump administration, feeling especially targeted in comparison to the rest of the LGBTQ community.

Homeless shelters have been allowed to discriminate against transgender people and house them in facilities according to their “biological sex.”

Federal prisons have not housed trans people in facilities corresponding to their affirmed gender. Instead, trans women are being forced into men’s prisons where they are more likely to be raped and to commit suicide, according to statistics compiled by the National Center for Transgender Equality.

Yet, perhaps the most widely known assault on transgender rights has been the administration’s transgender military ban. This ban forced serving transgender military personnel to choose between dischargement or presenting themselves as the gender assigned to them at birth.

New transgender recruits were expected to postpone transitioning until after service.

The impact of these policies are felt very differently throughout LGBTQ communities, but erasure is a byproduct felt by most queer individuals. Several critics worry that under this administration’s guidance, LGBTQ experiences and issues are slowly being pushed out of national focus as efforts to record data on these demographics are largely scaled back.

The Department of Health and Human Services as well as the U.S. Census Bureau were among the first federal entities to announce they would no longer collect data specifically on LGBTQ individuals.

Just one year later in 2018, the Justice Department proposed a similar move to strip data collection on sexual orientation and gender identity of teens within the National Crime Victimization Survey.

“I don’t see why it’s such a problem gathering data on crucial things that can impact our lives like our health,” Deldadillo said. “This can cause health disparities in LGBTQ communities. If the administration really is not taking data, that can really damage lives.”

According to Perkins, scaling back data collection on queer communities erodes representation and devalues queer individuals’ contributions as American citizens.

“The real consequence is that it’s really difficult to get attention in a democracy when no one knows that you’re there,” Perkins said. “When there is a systematic attempt to pretend that you’re not there.

In a democracy, if you don’t have that kind of representation, you don’t have access to the same privileges and benefits of being an American citizen as people who are being counted and treated as though they matter.”

Trump’s supporters argue, however, that the Trump administration has taken unprecedented steps to protect LGBTQ communities. In June, the Republican Party issued a brief claiming Trump kept his promise to LGBTQ citizens “from candidate to president.”

The brief mentioned Trump’s Ending the HIV Epidemic Initiative and his campaign to end the criminalization of homosexuality in foreign nations.

Perkins characterizes these particular actions as “smoke and mirrors.”

“It’s designed to target low-information voter populations,” Perkins said.

“What he’s hoping for is if he makes these very public statements about ‘I support LGBTQ people. What are you talking about?’ and then privately does all these policy things, he’s hoping that people will only see the public.”

Along his campaign trail, Trump called himself a “real friend” to the LGBTQ community, and for a while news feeds were flooded with images of him holding up a rainbow flag marked with the phrase “LGBTs for TRUMP.” Yet, the promises made to queer Americans from Trump’s time on the campaign trail were simply not kept, and this string of broken promises vastly overshadows any token image of Trump holding an upside down rainbow flag.

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Violence against trans women: How many more?

Transphobic attacks on trans women of color are growing worldwide due to misinformation and toxic masculinity. The Long Beach LGBTQ Center offers assistance to the transgender community by providing services to help alleviate some of the discrimination individuals may face.

D

By Catherine Lima Staff Writer

uring their freshman year of high school, Amber Va unknowingly embarked on a new life journey.

When they learned about Jazz Jennings and Caitlyn Jenner on the news, they realized they did not identify with the gender they were assigned at birth.

Va, a second-year women and gender sexuality studies major at Long Beach State, was assigned male at birth and now identifies as a nonbinary trans femme – someone who identifies with no gender, but expresses themselves as feminine as possible.

In 2019, with the help of mentors from the Gay Straight Alliance Network, Va was able to legally change their name and begin hormone treatment.

While the LGBTQ community is becoming more accepted, there is still a high rate of hate crimes against trans and nonbinary individuals. They are more likely to experience violence than their cisgender counterparts.

In 2020, there have been 31 transgender or gender nonconforming individuals that have been fatally shot or killed in a violent manner.

Toxic masculinity is an issue that trans and gender nonconforming individuals face that can result in harm towards them, according to a blog post by the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Recently, a video was posted on Youtube about an attack on three trans women in Hollywood.

“When I read about this, it puts

According to the Long Beach Police Department’s hate crime victim statistics, there have been reported hate crimes committed against the LGBTQ community every year from 2010 to 2019. me in panic mode,” Va said. “My heart aches that someone would do this to our community. To me, it shows that there will be some people who won’t accept change in our society.”

According to the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, more than 130 transgender and gender-expansive individuals have been killed in the United States since 2013, when these types of cases began to be recorded.

In 2019, 91% of the reported murders were Black individuals, and 81% percent were under the age of 30.

“From looking at these statistics, I live in fear on a daily basis, but I don’t let it get to me,” Va said. “Having support from the community, my family, my friends and my partner help me get through the day.”

According to Mallery Robinson, ignorance and misinformation about the trans and nonbinary community

is one of the leading causes of violent actions made against them. Oftentimes, individuals are met with mockery or made fun of due to their gender identity.

Robinson has been an engagement specialist and service navigator for the transgender health program at the Long Beach LGBTQ Center for a year and a half. She encourages individuals that identify with the trans and nonbinary community to contact her through the Trans Health Department of the Long Beach LGBTQ Center for assistance.

“So, you have all this stuff that’s going out into the world that scares people,” Robinson said. “Unfortunately, all that fear and phobia lead to people wanting to not feel afraid, then want to go and hurt that community. My community.”

A research study done by Transrespect Versus Transphobia Worldwide between 2008 and 2016 reported that there were 2,343 murders of trans and gender-diverse individuals worldwide. Of those individuals, 46% were between the ages of 20 and 29.

Black and Latina trans women who are in the sex worker industry are more vulnerable to violence because of laws and policies that criminalize sex work. According to the World Health Organization, “sex workers are often reluctant to report violent incidents to the police for fear of police retribution or of being prosecuted for engaging in sex work.”

“A lot of times bystanders will often overlook what is happening,” Robinson said. “Please, don’t just pull out your camera and start filming. Actually call the authorities. Be willing to assist if you can, even if that’s pushing that person off.”

According to Robinson, some ways that transwomen of color can protect themselves are by trusting their guts, taking defense classes and being aware of their surroundings.

“Use those spidey-senses,” Robinson said. “If it doesn’t feel right, it’s definitely not.”

Cereza Alcántara, a sex worker and self-identified Latinx trans

woman, said she takes cautions when she goes “I always carry a p with me and share my l at least two people if I’ alone,” Alcántara said. perience, I do think th more risks involved.”

Alcántara said online safer than escorting bec more control over wha lished online. She said th block button is easily ava people still find her othe make spam accounts to and see her content.

She said she learned sex workers that a safer escorting involves req ment upfront, meeting location then going wh vices will take place and location.

“I would say the vio faced is more so implici said. “Being in this line do get fetishized and slu to come up. Sometimes I the energy to educate gr how to be a decent per folks, so I block.”

Alcántara said she som red flags from clients.

“Most recently, I had me that he wants to ge so he could have his wa Alcántara said. “Needle blocked and moved on.”

Since they started the Long Beach LGBTQ years ago, Jaye Prado, le vices advocate, noticed the most requested ser

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name and gender change petition.

“It is a big part of my work,” Prado said. “I realized that this is a huge thing for transgender people, specifically transwomen, to get identity documents to match their gender identity. It’s such a huge deal when being in public spaces.”

Name and gender changes give more confidence to transgender people to live more authentically and can help in reducing some of the discrimination they face.

“We know that the more intersections of oppressed identities that someone holds, the more likely they are to experience some form of violence,” Prado said. “LGBTQ people are disproportionately impacted by violence, specifically transgender communities.”

According to the 2015 National Transgender Survey Report, 54% of transgender people experienced some form of domestic violence, and nearly one in 10 were physically attacked because of their gender identity.

In partnership with District 2, the Long Beach LGBTQ Center will have a Black Lives Matter memorial to remember their fallen members. Their goal is for their trans and nonbinary members to feel safe and secure in the environment.

“We need to remember those victims—memorialize them, remember that they existed,” Robinson said.

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Photo by PETER VILLAFANE

Why I love being transgender

By Peter Villafane Special Projects Editor

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ecently, I celebrated my sixmonth anniversary of starting hormone replacement therapy.

These past six months have been some of the best in my entire life, and they have me thinking about trans-ness and how I used to hate it, how I wanted to purge it from my body. I did everything I could to avoid it.

I postponed being who I am until I couldn’t take it anymore.

When I allowed myself to live my truth, I eventually discovered that I love being transgender.

Transgender people are not a monolith, and our experiences are not all the same. But for me, I created who I am and forged my identity from scratch. I am both painter and canvas, and I don’t know what could be more beautiful than that.

Although I was assigned female at birth, I do not identify as FTM, or female to male. I am empty to complete. I am parts becoming a whole.

I never felt like I was born in the wrong body.

I was born in a body that loves me, that never stopped loving me when I could not love it back.

I learned to be grateful for the body I was born in because to take up a physical form, to exist at all, is a gift.

I am a man because I say so. I carry my narrow shoulders, my shorter frame and my wider hips with pride because they are parts of the body that have gotten me this far.

I used to nitpick these features and every part of me that made me dysphoric. Every day, these characteristics would torture me. I tried learning to accept them, but didn’t put pressure on myself to practice body positivity.

It seemed too big and too unrealistic of a task to love every part of my body, so I tried just accepting it as it was.

I figured that if I hated my body pre-transition, I would still hate it after medically transitioning.

Because I would still be the same self-hating person, just in a different body. Self hate is in the mind, not in the mirror.

I was never trapped in my body, I was trapped in an immovable mind. I was trapped by norms and rules forced on me by those who could not understand or accept my existence. But now I know and accept myself, and that is enough.

Once I accepted myself fully, I could evolve.

The choice to start hormone therapy was the best decision I’ve ever made. I was ready to occupy a new space. I had outgrown my old one, and it was time for an upgrade.

My goal used to be to be seen as male, and to be called my proper name and pronouns, a privilege cisgender people are given just by existing. I still want these things, of course. But that is not where my goals end.

For me, there is no finish line where I “become a man” and am done, in the same way that people don’t stop evolving once they become adults. I am transitioning to my highest self, constantly changing and improving.

I love discovering the ways I feel my gender transcends physical form. It is a soft-spoken poem. It is my grandmother’s smile. It is the scent of jasmine.

I wish I could talk to my younger self. I wish I could tell him I love him more than anything in the world and that one day the pain and confusion end.

It really does get better. He just didn’t know when.

I loved growing into my name. The first name I tried was the masculine version of my birth name.

I ended up going for a name with similar letters that I thought sounded nicer.

I ended up rediscovering my love for Peter Pan. He was a boy, forever. And that’s all I ever wanted to be. Love flows through the air whenever I speak and hear my name. It is the greatest gift I have ever given myself.

Everyone is assigned genders and gender roles at birth. My existence flows past these labels, freeing me up to define masculinity however I want to.

That won’t stop people from trying to police my masculinity, but now I can finally say with confidence that I know who I am.

I am a man because I say so. I carry my narrow shoulders, my shorter frame and my wider hips with pride because they are parts of the body that have gotten me this far.

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10 of the most influential LGBTQ Activists In honor of LGBTQ history month, let’s take a look at the lives of the most influential activists for the community’s rights.

By Andrea Ramos Photo Editor

S

tarting in 1994, Rodney Wilson, a Missouri high school teacher, recognized that the LGBTQ community is the only one in America not taught in normalized public history.

Because of the lack of appreciation, Wilson gathered other teachers and community leaders to dedicate October as the honorary

month, which included Coming Out Day on Oct. 11.

October is a time to celebrate love, support our LGBTQ community and promote those who have fought for their rights. LGBTQ Americans have long since contributed to politics, art, music, medicine,and other cultural impacts.

In honor of OUTober, we celebrate the following activists because without them the LGBTQ rights movement would not be where it is today:

BAYARD RUSTIN (

tivist who took a nonviole change for civil and gay r in Pennsylvania, Rustin m York in 1936.

During this time, he wo in a nightclub while going New York. After studying M losophy of nonviolence in I 1948, he was able to impl organized protests throug and 1960s.

His most prominent infl Luther King Jr., who notic tion, leadership and know olence and invited him to civil rights cause.

Despite opposition from ers, he utilized nonviolen ery Bus Boycott and the During the 1980s, Rustin a his sexuality in an effort to AIDS crisis.

HARVEY MILK (1930-

politician and the first op in California. He was elect Board of Supervisors in 19 York City, he eventually m in 1972, where he opened u middle of a growing gay co After several failed cam finally elected in 1977 and known as the “Mayor of Ca

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(1912-1987) was an acent approach to demand rights. Born and raised moved to Harlem in New

orked as a stage singer g to The City College of Mahatma Gandhi’s phiIndia for seven weeks in lement his teachings in ghout the 1940s, 1950s

fluence was with Martin ced his gift in organizawledge executing nonvio advise closely with the

m other civil rights leadnce on the MontgomMarch on Washington. also became open about o bring awareness to the

-1978) was an American penly gay elected official ted to the San Francisco 977. Growing up in New moved to San Francisco up Castro Camera in the ommunity. mpaign attempts, he was d became affectionately astro Street.” Milk, along

community focusing on trans women. Through Griffin-Gracy’s lifelong leadership, she mainly worked in the San Francisco-based Transgender Variant and Intersex Justice Project, advocating for incarcerated transgender women. Even though she officially retired in 2015, she still works with House of GG, a safe haven for the transgender community.

MARSHA P. JOHNSON (1945-1992) was an activ-

ist for gay and transgender rights, a self-identified drag performer and a prominent street life figure for Greenwich Village in New York. Marsha “Pay it no Mind” Johnson was an important leader in the Stonewall Riots of 1969, which led her to create the Gay Liberation Front in response to police violence toward gay demonstrators during the riots.

Johnson and her longtime friend Sylvia Rivera co-founded the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries, supporting transgender youth experiencing homelessness. As a popular figure in the gay and art scenes of New York City, Johnson also modeled for Andy Warhol, performed on stage with drag performance troupe Hot Peaches and was known as the “Mayor of Cristopher Street,” the street where the Stonewall Inn is located.

SYLVIA RIVERA (1951-2002) was a Latina Amer-

ican drag queen and activist for gay and transgender rights. Because of her upbringing, Rivera ran away from home at the age of 11 and found her home in the New York drag scene.

An activist since 17, Rivera participated in the Stonewall Riots and promptly joined the Gay Activists Alliance soon after. Rivera co-founded the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries with Marsha P. Johnson to support and empower gay, trans and genderfluid youth in the 1970s.

Fighting for marginalized groups within the LGBTQ community, Rivera advocated for trans issues through the 1990s cultural conversations such as marriage equality and LGBTQ individuals in the military.

Photo Illustration by ANDREA RAMOS

GILBERT BAKER (1951-2017) was an activist for

gay rights, artist and the creator of the rainbow flag, a worldwide symbol of LBGTQ pride. Baker grew up in the conservative state of Kansas.

While trying to find an escape to his artistic side, he was drawn to art and fashion design. In an effort to leave the state, he joined the U.S. Army as a medic where he was promptly placed in San Francisco and was able to live as an openly gay man.

As soon as he completed his military service, Baker used his talents to create banners for anti-war and pro-gay marches and protests. At the request of former member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors Harvey Milk, Gilbert created the new symbol for the LGBTQ political movement, the rainbow flag.

On June 25, 1978, Baker raised the flags in the United Nations Plaza to celebrate that year’s San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade. Baker’s work as a flag maker spanned four decades and included distinctions for creating two flags that set records for their lengths.

JAMES LECESNE (1952- Present) is an actor, with other business owners, also founded the Castro Village Association, which protected gay business owners by giving them a voice and became a blueprint for other LGBTQ communities.

With a commitment to help a wide range of people, Milk became an effective and popular member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. His agenda included protecting gay rights, supporting an anti-discrimination bill, establishing daycare centers for working mothers and converting military facilities to low-cost housing.

AUDRE LORDE (1934-1992) was a writer, feminist and civil rights activist. Her work consisted of poetry and essays focusing on the issues of race, gender and sexuality. Her most notable works include “Cables to Rage,” “Coal” and “The Black Unicorn.”

Lorde also founded the Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press, an activist and feminist press organization closely related to the National Black Feminist Organization. Her work contributed to the idea of personal identity, stating that one’s identity is found through the different personal connections of one’s life and lived experiences.

Lorde also delivered a keynote speech at the national Third-World Gay and Lesbian Conference in 1979 calling for diversity in the LGBTQ community to be the driving force for change in the future.

LARRY KRAMER (1935-2020) was a play-

wright, film producer, public health advocate and LGBTQ rights activist. Despite finding his calling in fiction writing with his commercially successful

book “Faggots” in 1978, Kramer also had a newfound drive for activism in 1981 after the discovery of Kaposi Sarcoma, a form of cancer that was eventually attributed to AIDS, was spreading quickly among gay men worldwide.

In wake of the AIDS crisis, the American government had an obvious passivity and societal prejudice had increased against homosexuality. Kramer responded to this by creating the Gay Men’s Health Crisis, a group consisting of doctors and interested parties to seek strategies that would combat the virus.

However, due to Kramer’s aggressive rhetoric toward the government and corporate entities, he was removed from GMHC. This did not stop Kramer’s drive to fight the epidemic. In 1987, he went on to create the AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power, which organized protests and demonstrations to raise awareness on HIV and AIDS and combat the political and economic forces blocking the development of effective treatments.

MISS MAJOR GRIFFIN-GRACY (1935-

2020) is an activist for transgender and women’s rights. Growing up in the south side of Chicago, Griffin-Gracy attended drag balls and got to know herself and her role in the LGBTQ community.

After moving to New York City, Griffin-Gracy participated in the Stonewall Riots of 1969 and served five years in prison for participating. This influenced much of her activism throughout her life.

She then moved to San Diego in 1978, where she created and led grassroots movements for the

author, screenwriter and LGBTQ activist who is best known for his Academy Award-winning short film “Trevor.” He based the character on his one-man show called “Word of Mouth,” which won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One-Person Show.

Due to the success of the film, Lecesne and producer Peggy Rajski saw the effects it would have to create a national movement. This led to the creation of the Trevor Project, a recruitment of mental health experts on a 24-hour national crisis and suicide prevention line for LGBTQ youth.

Since its creation in 1998, thousands of young people have reached out to the Trevor Project, using the Trevor Chat, Trevor Space and Trevor Education Workshops.

LAVERNE COX (1972-present) is an actress and

LGBTQ advocate. Cox first rose to fame in 2013 for her recurring role in “Orange is the New Black” as Sophia Burset, a trans woman sent to prison for credit card fraud.

With the help of this role in mainstream media, she is able to represent the trans community and use her fame as a platform to speak on the rights of the trans community. In 2014, Cox later became the first openly transgender woman to be nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for her role as Sophia Burset.

Later that year she joined a campaign against an Arizona law that allowed police to arrest anyone suspected of “manifesting prostitution,” which targeted transgender women of color in particular. Cox also won a Daytime Emmy Award for “Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word,” the first trans documentary to win. Cox’s presence and impact in mainstream media has played a pivotal role in the growing conversation of transgender culture and how being transgender intersects with one’s race.

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OUTOBER 11

Illustration by ALINA SCHWIEDER

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Don’t be a drag

let’s have a ball

Here is a look into the origins of drag and ball culture that is now ingrained into modern day society.

By Paris Barraza Arts and Life Editor

L

ike RuPaul telling a queen to “Shantay, you stay” on an episode of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” no doubt after she lipsynced for her life, American pop culture has pointed a manicured fingertip at drag culture and said the same.

Drag queens shantay, which means to enchant or weave a spell, and stay.

Drag culture has permeated into our everyday language. Teenagers ask for the latest “tea” from their friend group. Social media influencers are bombarded with comments saying “Queen!”

The sudden trend of contouring your nose and cheeks was born out of drag queens’ makeup routines.

But the glamorous individuals who strut down the stage in 7-inch heels and a latex mini-dress that could be a second skin are only the latest iteration of drag culture.

The history of drag has always been rooted in entertainment and self-expression, but it did not have the association with the LGBTQ community that it does now.

The term drag originated in 1870, used in British theaters to refer to women’s floorlength dresses that the men would wear.

While it seems odd that a society rooted in conservatism due to Queen Victoria’s rule would find it acceptable for men to dress in gowns and corsets and paint their faces, it was the norm.

In fact, men dressing as women ensured that women would be kept to where it was believed they belonged: at home.

Those gender constructs have existed long throughout civilization. The theater performances in Ancient Greece and during the time of Shakespeare in the late 16th and early 17th centuries always featured men portraying women.

These men were not drag queens, not yet.

In the 1880s, a form of entertainment swiftly dominated America: vaudeville.

Vaudeville invited all types of performers, including singers, dancers, comedians, acrobats and animal trainers to the stage in cities across the country to entertain the crowd in short segments.

And, at one point, one of the top female impersonators was Julien Eltinge, who made his first appearance on Broadway in 1904 dressed as a female.

Eltinge was no different than his predecessors, but he brought such fame to his work that he was as recognizable as Charlie Chaplin.

He was a Hollywood superstar and a drag queen.

But he was not the first.

The first to title himself a “drag queen” was William Dorsey Swann.

Swann was born in Maryland in 1860 into slavery.

He was one of the main organizers of balls in Washington D.C. in the 1880s, a series of underground parties that started as early as the 1860s in Harlem where men dressed in drag and danced, posed and walked to compete against each other for a prize.

These balls, although intended for heterosexual men, were filled with members of

the LGBTQ commmunity who would could freely express themselves in a space that would not out them.

But these balls were far from perfect.

African Americans and Latinos faced racism by the all-white judges and were expected to wear makeup to lighten their skin in order to resemble white women.

And the balls were targets of police raids, including Swann’s.

Ball culture evolved in the 1920s due to the Harlem Renaissance, where Black culture was able to reimagine itself and flourish through art, literature and music. This widespread celebration of art fueled the night scene, including for the LGBTQ community, and balls became a place where LGTBQ members could openly be themselves while entertaining spectators.

It was then that balls had begun to intertwine with the LGBTQ community.

And by the 1980s, balls were a place of liberation and a safe haven for the drag community, a community that by then was made up of members for the LGBTQ commu-

nity.

There, for one night, an individual ostracized from society, because of their sexual preference or the desire to wear a wig, could become a star. They could become someone to envy or someone that they envied, as discussed by the drag queens in “Paris is Burning,” the 1990 documentary that follows the ball community in 1980s New York.

Although drag was still a performance, each time a drag queen took to the center of the stage, they performed a story rooted in reality.

Men walked with the gait and confidence of a rich, white woman. Men could dress as a wealthy business executive, an experience unattainable for gay Black men then and sometimes now.

For all the harassment and ridicule drag queens faced outside of the walls they performed in, they were in control in the center of the stage at the balls, and later bars and clubs.

And for a time, they are able to transform into someone else.

And they shantay.

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A GUIDE TO SAFE SEX INFOGRAPHIC BY MADALYN AMATO

OUTOBER 13

14 OUTOBER

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Seeing ourselves on screen How queer representation in media has evolved, and where it still needs improvement.

By Jireh Deng Assistant Opinions Editor

Q

ueer representation in media is seriously lacking, and when we do appear in movies and television, we have a mysterious case of the “expendable queer character” syndrome.

There’s a nagging sense that explicitly written queer characters can never settle down and be happy, and this comes from lesbian characters dying, trans characters being portrayed as deranged or dangerous, the invisibility of asexual characters—I could go on and on.

When we do get TV shows that center our narratives like “The L-Word,” the only representation we see is a cast that is basically all white, and most of the actors fit the male gaze of attractiveness: thin and femme.

While the reboot of the “The L-Word” tries to push for diversity in the new generation of queer women who take center stage, the one trans character, Leo, feels like a diversity trope when his story isn’t as well woven into the rest of the plot. The sex scenes are gratuitous and make the viewer wonder if polyamory is also satisfying some sort of weird obsession that mainstream culture has with lesbian sex.

That’s not to mention the countless times where we see cis-gender and heterosexual actors playing trans and queer characters. Eddie Redmayne in “The Danish Girl,” Rami Malek in “Bohemian Rhapsody” and Cate Blanchett in “Carol” are only a few examples in the plethora of instances shown in movies and TV shows.

But even if we were to have Black, Indigenous and people of color fairly represented alongside true representation of LGBTQ people in the actors that played these roles, the directorial roles play an integral part too. The flop of the recent live-action “Mulan” film was a clear indication of that.

interwoven with honest representations of culture.

One of my favorite movies is directed and written by Alice Wu. “Saving Face” was a huge hit even though she had chosen to ignore the advice of film industry professionals to make the love interest a white woman and to pare down the lines spoken in Mandarin. Wu chose to stay true to her story as a lesbian Taiwanese American and the authenticity of her narrative shone through.

“Pose,” a popular TV show that focuses on the ballroom culture of the ‘70s and ‘80s, is breaking ground in representation of transgender and gay men who often

For the first time, we are starting to see stories on our screens that have never been shared before.

The movies that truly move me are the ones that capture the complexity and the normalcy of seeing LGBTQ and BIPOC characters moving in daily life.

These movies often are led by individuals who take control of the directorial and screenwriting roles and present us with stories that are unapologetically queer

lived in the margins during that time period.

For the first time, we are starting to see stories on our screens that have never been shared before.

In Hollywood, it isn’t easy to break through, as ideal as it sounds. Most people get their start as a staff writer or assistant

on set through the network and connections they have.

When hiring, those in the industry tend to prioritize individuals within their familiar networks, resulting in the media perpetuating white and cisgender narratives.

There is hope that we are going to see changes in the industry, though. The Oscars have been consistently seeing a lack of change in the diversity of stories being nominated for awards and have set new standards for the inclusion of underrepresented and marginalized voices.

It is a step in the right direction for the film and TV industry.

There are those who say that asking for more representation is furthering a “gay agenda,” but in reality, BIPOC and queer folks are not asking for more than just their fair share of airtime.

GLAAD has been tracking numbers for diversity in media and found that in 2018, 18% of the major films it studied had LGBTQ representation and, in 2019, of the 879 primetime TV show characters studied, 10% openly identified as LGBTQ. Conducted in 2018, a study by Ipsos MORI found that in the UK, only 66% of Generation Z identified themselves as strictly heterosexual.

The perspectives and diversity of Western youth are not nearly matched by the representation they deserve in Western media.

I’m hopeful though, as we are seeing the numbers of BIPOC and LGBTQ grow in the media, people will begin to see themselves represented by the stories and the characters that are shared on screen.

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INFOGRAPHIC BY ALEJANDRO VAZQUEZ

OUTOBER 15

16 OUTOBER

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Spill the Tea is a weekly section for students to share their opinions and make their voices heard. Long Beach State students answer a question that can rnage from the silly the political. We at the Daily Forty-Niner valve deverse opinions of the CSULB student body and look forward to you sharing them with us.

What is your worst dating experience?

Leilani Lopez, third-year sociology major

Lindsey Bouchard, third-year creative writing major

I tried dating guys, and I never had those feelings with crushes or with another person. I didn’t realize that it was because I liked girls at the time, but once I got my first crush on this girl, it was a whole new thing. I felt the butterflies, I felt the nervousness, I finally understood what everybody was talking about.

So, there [was] this girl in Spanish class. And, you know, we talk[ed] in class, and we actually got really close really fast. I started to really like her. I [was] newly out, so my gaydar—non existent. I just didn’t know how to tell if someone was also into girls, so I tried to make my move on [the] last time we really hung out.

We kissed, but it stopped almost immediately. She was like, “I’m sorry, I have a girlfriend.” So I [was] super embarrassed, and I apologized. She was like, “Well, you never made a move like that.

I thought we were just friends,” but she kind of had this idea, too, that we were going out on dates.

We were both on that page, but I think she didn’t know either. I was waiting to see if she would make a move. I was too scared to, so she moved on. She ended up seeing someone else. They had just gotten together like a week before. But I kissed her, and that’s how I found out she was a lesbian as well. I just remember it being super awful.

Even now, I still have trouble knowing if someone is or not. It’s just a very difficult thing. I think in the LGBTQ community, it’s a lot nicer and more fun. I think we’re always having a great time out here. It was a super embarrassing time, but you live and you learn. I’m just happy to be really enjoying myself now.

I decided to do a little write up on my experience being unicorn hunted, where a straight couple targets a queer person, usually a bi or pan woman, to join their relationship.

Dating as a pansexual, panromantic, non-binary badass is all fun and games until you’re 18 and unicorn hunted at Disneyland.

True, maybe I shouldn’t have trusted being suddenly invited to my new coworker’s birthday Disneyland trip, or at least I should have been suspicious of the fact that I was the only person invited besides her husband.

True, I should have probably asked more questions about her husband’s job and why it made him good at tying knots and hiding secrets.

True, I should have asked why the happily married couple wanted me to sit between them on The Haunted Mansion ride, but, trust me, no matter how suspicious you are, you’ll never be ready to end a day at Disneyland with the words “I’m a master, and my wife scouted you to be our new pet.”

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Stonewall wasn’t just a riot Remembering the fateful morning in 1969 that ignited demands for gay rights.

By Kelsey Brown Opinions Editor

A

little over a half century ago, a police raid of a gay club in New York City’s Greenwich Village, the Stonewall Inn, catalyzed a worldwide movement for gay pride.

Raids during the 1960s were common at LGBTQ bars, and, in some cases, the police would tip off the owners so they could hide any illegal activity, including stashing alcohol they had without a liquor license.

But on the morning of June 28, 1969, no one was tipped off about the raid. The police ambushed the bar, beat people, took their money and threw them out onto the street.

As the bar-goers began to gather outside the club, instead of dispersing, they united.

The early morning at Stonewall was significant because, instead of dispersing at the police’s orders, they stood up against their oppressor. There was no planning or organizing; it was a movement created in the spur of the moment.

As club-goers watched police load vans with people from the bar, one lesbian was hit over the head by an officer forcing her into the vehicle.

She called to the bystanders to act,

and they began to throw bottles and debris at the officers. The police had to barricade themselves inside the bar, while around 400 people rioted. Protests outside of Stonewall continued for the next six days and inspired protests around the country and world.

Part of the power of Stonewall was the spontaneity of the riot. It was not a scheduled protest, but an honest and emotional response to the frustration of oppression and brutality being faced at the hands of police and in that moment they realized they had the powerIt was one of the first times that gays, lesbians and trans people came together to fight for their civil rights, and inspired that unity to carry on for the decades that followed.

Though in America we’ve progressed as a society in our views and treatment of LGBTQ people since the 1960s, it’s still important to remember our not-so-distant history and how it still affects people today.

It’s important to remember that sixty years ago, gay people couldn’t even hold hands without harassment and wearing clothes outside of one’s assigned gender was considered criminal activity. You could be jailed for just being with someone you love.

On the morning of the Stonewall raid, 13 employees and bar-goers were arrested for violating the state’s gender-appropriate clothing statute.

Because anything associated with being gay or queer was criminalized, many gay clubs were owned by people affiliated with crime. Many of Greenwich Village’s gay bars at the time were run by a Genovese crime family, who had bought the Stonewall Inn when it served as a “hetero” bar.

They renovated it and a year later opened the Stonewall Inn as a gay club.

The Stonewall Inn was popular in the LGBTQ scene for a multitude of reasons: the entry fee was cheap, they were welcoming to drag queens and housed runaways and gay youth.

The outside world was unwelcoming to LGBTQ folks, so these bars were one of the few places they could go to be themselves without fear of harassment. Gay clubs served as a safe haven, a place of unity and connection for those deemed as outsiders.

Prior to Stonewall there were gay rights organizations, such as the Mattachine Society, who staged a “sip-in” where they would announce their sexuality at a bar and sue if they were turned down service.

Stonewall paved the way for more radical organizations to thrive, like the Gay Liberation Front and the Gay Activists Alliance.

As demands for gay rights became broadcasted louder than ever before, new nondiscriminatory policies were passed. Twenty-two states,

including Illinois and Connecticut, repealed their anti-sodomy laws in the 1970s. Also, 10 states and over 80 cities revised their civil rights laws, including executive orders that discriminated against persons based on sexual orientation in aspects such as employment. Legal changes to gender were allowed on birth certificates and driver’s licenses in 20 states by the 1990s.

We’ve come a long way since then.

In 2015, the Supreme Court legalized gay marriage in all 50 states, and much of society has shifted to have a more embraceful approach to LGBTQ issues.

Though we are able to express our identities more openly now, and love who we want to love, history is not entirely in the past. There are still many inequities and injustices the LGBTQ community faces.

We owe our progress and possibilities to the people of the past, who decided to stand up instead of sit back when met with the oppressor.

Stonewall’s legacy reflects the power the people hold. All these disenfranchised groups came together to demand respect and their natural born rights. Though these individual groups had been ignored and ostracized, when they came together their voices were impossible to ignore.

People were in the streets screaming they were gay, and they were proud,a tradition that will live on forever.

‘Eat, drink and be Mary’

18 OUTOBER

By Andrea Ramos Photo Editor

Hamburger Mary’s Bar and Grille is a popular LGBTQ-friendly restaurant that opened in San Francisco in 1972 and grew to 18 different locations spread around the U.S. A staple in gay commmunities, the restaurant

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chain is styled with flamboyant, mismatched decor and whimsical names for menu items.

It also hosts drag shows on the weekends.

Beginning with a Long Beach location at the crossroads of Broadway and Alamitos Avenue in 2001, Hamburger Mary’s eventually moved to a larger space on Pine Avenue in 2014 to accommodate its growing popularity. The restaurant hosts a variety of events, putting its stage and stadium seating to good

use with entertainment such as Disco Dining, Way Back Wednesdays, Trans Tuesdays and Brunchettes during the weekends.

However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, Hamburger Mary’s has had to adjust its business model to extend service to outside parklets and include masks and face shields to employees’ wardrobe. Despite the limited seating, Hamburger Mary’s still has frequent entertainment and a friendly staff.

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OUTOBER 19

As the first establishment in Downtown Long Beach to have a parklet in 2014, Hamburger Mary’s has had an advantage since the coronavirus pandemic caused indoor dining to close for the foreseeable future. The restaurant chain did extend its outdoor area to accommodate more seating and tents.

ANDREA RAMOS | Daily Forty-Niner

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