Historically, the alliance between trans individuals and the gay and lesbian movements was one of practical necessity and shared geography. In the mid-20th century, police raids targeted any form of gender or sexual nonconformity under the vague charge of “disorderly conduct.” At the Stonewall Inn in 1969, it was trans women of color like Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera who were on the front lines, resisting a system that criminalized their very existence. For decades, however, their contributions were sidelined by a mainstream gay rights movement that sought respectability through assimilation. The infamous “Lavender Scare” gave way to a strategy of emphasizing that homosexuality was “not a choice” and that gay people were “just like everyone else”—a framework that inadvertently excluded trans people, whose identities directly challenge the fixed, binary notion of sex and gender that this argument often relied upon.
The modern gay rights movement, often celebrated for its strides in sexual orientation equality, was heavily influenced by trans women of color and gender-nonconforming people at the forefront of resistance, such as the Stonewall Inn riots in 1969.
In 2026, the celebration of transgender history is more vibrant than ever. Trans+ History Week, taking place from May 4-10, 2026, is dedicated to exploring this long, global history. It is anchored by Trans+ History Day on May 6, marking the 1933 Nazi raid on the world’s first trans clinic in Berlin.