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hey guys ... pride month is beginning and i wanted to do a lil thread on marsha p johnson! she's my hero and she should be yours too :-)
( most of the photos in this thread will be from https://www.flickr.com/photos/randywicker/sets/72157625873936233/with/7812540862/ and any alternate sources will be noted ! )
( most of the photos in this thread will be from https://www.flickr.com/photos/randywicker/sets/72157625873936233/with/7812540862/ and any alternate sources will be noted ! )
marsha was born in new jersey in 1945. she moved to new york at 17 to explore a gay lifestyle safely. she was raised religious and remained religious- but the lifestyle she was raised into made her fear open sexuality in new jersey.
( quote from a 1979 interview )
( quote from a 1979 interview )
her name is marsha 'pay it no mind' johnson- a commentary on her gender identity. transgender was not a term largely used in her era and referring to her as a trans woman was largely placed on her by the media! she referred to herself as gay, a transvestite, and a queen.
marsha wasnt the high drag we see popularized today- she was poor, often homeless, on welfare, and didn't take a job. her style was seen as an intersection between masculine and feminine, she loved to wear flowers in her hair, and imo, was always the prettiest person on the block
she was also mentally ill! some refer to her issues as a 'dual personality' . she was treated with antipsychotic medication for periods and alongside her violent outbursts speaks on visions and episodes that sound hallucinatory in nature.
( 1979 interview )
( 1979 interview )
marsha was not afraid to be mentally ill! she knew her situation but refused to let anyone have that deny her commitment to liberation. she knew how to focus and alongside this ( from the 'overlooked' obituary series, nyt ) her friends say she knew when to be in the right mind.
johnson is credited alongside zazu nova ( a black transfeminine sex worker ), stormé delarverie ( a butch mixed-race lesbian ), and jackie hormona ( a white drag-adjacent person ) as starting the stonewall riots. many will say she threw the first brick.
however johnson denies being the brick-thrower! reports cite the first brick as being thrown by a queen, but johnson reports not arriving until around 2am while riots began around 120am by police reports. johnson was at the center of the movement through history, however ( 1/2 )
( 2/2 ) many say the riots are credited as being due to stormé delarverie being mistreated by police ( quote from a 2008 curve interview cited in an article regarding a 2010 interview with delavaerie, photo by sam bassett ) do not deny her her place in history!
with her dear friend sylvia rivera, marsha p johnson started STAR, the street transvestite action revolutionaries ( and is so humble as to credit sylvia with a large portion of the work! ) which provided housing and support to queer homeless sex workers in lower manhattan.
the organization was funded largely through marsha and sylvia's sex work, and concentrated on the hyper marginalized parts of this group- disabled and/or black and brown people. sylvia offered presidency to marsha but marsha declined. they also held demonstrations via STAR!
marsha fought for everyone- she worked in the 1980s for the AIDS movement and was frequently seen working with ACT UP as well as wearing 'SILENCE = DEATH' pins. her message was liberation and freedom and she was willing to be imprisoned and beaten and institutionalized for it.
what brings me the most joy about marsha is she felt no need to stifle herself for liberation. the interview linked has a quote that makes me smile to no end- it shows the power of her support and personality ( quote transcribed below )
( )
( )
[ when asked why she was here ]
"darling, i want my gay rights now! i think it's about time the gay brothers and sisters got their rights! AND ESPECIALLY THE WOMEN!"
"darling, i want my gay rights now! i think it's about time the gay brothers and sisters got their rights! AND ESPECIALLY THE WOMEN!"
lists of qualms with her are few and never take away from her power. her family says in the life and death of marsha p johnson that the only thing she couldnt do was sing, and yet every video of her performance ends with applause and demands for an encore. she had charm AND power
marsha modeled for andy warhol- though didnt see near a dime from warhol. it's mentioned in the life and death of marsha p johnson that when warhol's work of marsha was selling for thousands, marsha was on the streets
( warhol's ladies and gentlemen series, 1975 )
( warhol's ladies and gentlemen series, 1975 )
marsha p johnson was found dead on july 6, 1992, age 46. her death was ruled a suicide. it was not a suicide. no one who knew her saw her as suicidal. her fragile mental state never showed suicidal intent. people reference her being assaulted shortly before death.
her case was reopened in 2012, 18 years after her passing. the best ruling we were offered was undetermined. if she was pushed into the water or fell in running away from assaulters, this could have been ruled as a homicide . and she have evidence to say these r possible causes.
to remember marsha is to remember an icon in many rights. she was HIV+, mentally ill, homeless, a sex worker, and a black gender non conforming person who never felt the need to stifle herself for her message- she was a saint and deserves to be see as the whole person she was.
please feel free to add or correct any information you have! i tried to grab most of this information from direct interviews with her or those close to her but if you have anything helpful to this thread please lmk! i want this to be as comprehensive as possible- she deserves it.
