STONEWALL DIVAS!!!! Pic

[Guest jizzdepapi]

Guys, weigh in on this thread with your heros. There are many, many sung and unsung heroes who inspire gay men and it would be great to hear who they are. Ellen de Generes, Elton John, K.D. Lang, Melisaa Etheridge and other media darlings have helped along but I feel, most of all inspired by:

 

the drag queens who fought off the cops--FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER--who attempted to bust the Stonewall Inn in NYC 32 years ago this month.

 

http://128.242.52.94/Titleholders/TOMIPICB.JPG

 

In those dark days, while so many of us butch and not-so-butch numbers safely hid in our closets, these ladies took the brave position and held off these uniformed thugs for three days.

 

I just want to say THANKS! THANKS! THANKS! If it weren't for these stylish boys-turned-goddesses I don't think you or I would be able to now walk down some streets hand-in-hand safely, participate in Pride activities, post on this site, and enjoy rights that should have been ours from the beginning of this country. I hope someday it's a direct route from Stonewall to passage of an ERA for GLBTs that ensures our full civil rights.

 

And on a personal note, I'd encourage everyone to throw on their flannels and jeans anytime they like but implore them to NOT forget a garter belt or two. Surely these ladies have something to teach us.

 

thanks,

jizz

[CT Dick]

Great posting. Thanks, Jizz. Too often we forget who started it all.

 

Dick

[+ deej]

Well said, jizz. And well timed too!

 

Tomorrow is the Pride Parade in many US cities, among them Chicago which I am very proud to call home.

 

I will attend the parade because it's fun (and because I'm covering it for another website) but I will, as I always have, keep those who went before us in mind. While I stand at attention and salute the ex-military guys, I'll think of those drag queens in NYC. They were every bit as butch.

 

We had a recent thread here about the worth of gay pride celebrations. If nothing else, it should remind us that we now CAN celebrate our pride. 30 years ago, we couldn't.

 

HAPPY PRIDE EVERYONE!

 

(and now I'm going to go out to my favorite strip club and stuff some dollar bills in some g-strings ;-))

[Guest ChicagoCorey]

Happy Chicago Pride...and to other cities too.

 

Where's your favorite strip club? And why haven't we bumped into each other there yet?

 

 

-------

chicagocorey@yahoo.com

new site and pictures

http://www.geocities.com/chicagocorey

[Will]

Great post, Jizz! I've got lots of gay heroes, but today I'm thinking about the NYPD Gay & Lesbian Marching Band that I saw at the 1986 March on Washington. It made me feel safe just looking at them. Keep spinning these great, great threads!

[Guest WetDream]

Your post certainly brought back memories. 32 years ago on a fateful Saturday night my friend Scott and I had dropped acid at a friend's loft uptown; we wandered from there up to Central Park. At about 1:30 a.m. we hailed a cab and went down to the Village to get something to eat. When we arrived at Sheridan Square the first thing we noticed (in addition to mobs of people swirling around) were three yellow Riot Squad busses. What was going on? We discovered we had gotten into the middle of night two of the riots. A bit later we worked our way over to the Pink Teacup for a late-night dinner. Wharhol superstar Jackie Curtis invited was there and invited us to her upcoming wedding! All in all, a night to remember.

[Guest jizzdepapi]

sorry will beg to differ but ill take it to another post

 

i don't trust cops--any cop--for a multitude of reasons, all of which they have created.

 

oh boy, is the shit gonna fly on this one.

 

jizz

[Guest jizzdepapi]

OMIGOD

 

Omigod, Will, my faith is restored. Gay and Lesbian Marching Band is not Gay and Lesbian Police.

 

mea maxima culpa but that other thread could be interesting anyway.

 

best ever,

jizz

[Guest jizzdepapi]

OMIGOD retracted

 

NYPD Gay and Lesbian Marching Band.

 

grrrrrrlllllll

[Guest jizzdepapi]

Not so Stylish but Very Sacred! more than a PIC

 

mention of drag queens during Pride Month simply MUST include the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, begun and still very active in San Francisco but with both national and international chapters. their fascinating history is at the link below. (use link at top of history to navigate site.) the Sisters are a constant reminder of our radical roots, their work inspiring many, especially as this country's religious leaders and civic institutions chose to ignore the AIDS crisis in our midst.

 

http://www.thesisters.org/sistory/spihistory.htm

 

jizz

p.s.: yes, Mary, like it or lump it, we do ALL have radical roots.

 

http://www.thesisters.org/pinksatteas.jpg