Constellating Trans Activist Histories

Abstract

The narrative that the 1969 Stonewall Riots were the origin of queer and trans liberatory movements is common in queer and trans communities and institutions. This emphasis on Stonewall, however, has come at the price of minimizing or erasing other queer and trans activist histories and legacies. I propose using the framework of ‘constellating’ as a means of thinking about multiple points of trans activist histories and how they relate to one another. Such a reading enables us to see trans brilliance in and beyond Stonewall.