this has been a historically accurate public service announcement (sources here, here and here, if you wanna fight me on this)

i know him, that can’t be…

Marcela and Elisa, married in 1901

Ever since gay marriage became legal in Spain in 2005, thousands of lesbian couples have tied the knot. But this law has an interesting precedent; Marcela and Elisa were married in 1901. In a church wedding!

Wedding photo of Marcela (left) and Elisa, dressed as a man.

Of course, same-sex marriage was not legal in Spain at the time, so the two school teachers had to come up with a delicate scheme. One day, Elisa and Marcela simulated a fight in the house they shared in the tiny village of Dumbría, and Elisa moved to A Coruña. While there, Elisa cut her hair, started wearing men’s clothes, and took up smoking. She found a priest desperate to gain parishioners, and he baptized her as a man. She adopted the name ‘Mario’ and returned to Dumbría. Marcela then introduced Elisa to her family and neighbors as ‘Mario’, Elisa’s cousin, and said they were going to get married. Indeed, people were amazed at how much this ‘Mario’ looked like Elisa; same height, same voice, same mannerisms and temper. The wedding was held on the 8th of June, 1901, in the Church of St. Jorge in A Coruña. After the ceremony, the happy couple was photographed at José Sellier’s studio. The next day, the newlyweds returned to Dumbría in a horse carriage.

Eventually, Marcela and ‘Mario’ were outed by their suspecting neighbors to local authorities. A huge scandal broke out, with both national and international newspapers writing about the ‘disgraceful’ marriage which did not include a man. Both women were fired from their jobs, excommunicated, and an arrest warrant was issued for both of them. The couple fled to many Spanish cities, until finally boarding a ship to the Americas, presumably to Argentina. It should be noted that Marcela and Elisa’s wedding is still valid to this day, since it was never annulled by neither The Catholic Church nor the Civil Registry. Therefore, Marcela and Elisa’s union is the first officially registered same-sex marriage in Spain, 104 years before it became legal for Spanish lesbian couples to marry.

Sources: x x x x

I love how it’s still legal, so, like literally:

After protests over the erasure of trans women of color from Robert Emmerich’s Stonewall, expectations are high for the short film Happy Birthday, Marsha!, about trans activist Marsha P. Johnson. If the trailer’s any indication, this movie will slay!

Marsha features acclaimed Tangerine star Mya Taylor in the title role.

The trailer shows off a sumptuous, hyper-real 60’s aesthetic.

The film also features trans actresses Eve Lindley, Cherno Biko, and Rios O’Leary-Tagiuri.

There’s even a glimpse of Marsha P. Johnson herself in the trailer!

That’s right — it’s gonna be legendary.

BuzzFeed News caught up with filmmakers Reina Gossett and Sasha Wortzel, who showed us some wonderful exclusive images from the making of the movie.

Gossett told BuzzFeed News: “The pictures were all taken during the shooting of our ‘Hotel Dixie’ scene in which Marsha, Sylvia, Bambi and Andorra are hanging out in a hotel room they share.The scene is a flashback to 1965 when Sylvia is new to their scene and to sex work. Marsha is acting a as a sort of mentor to Sylvia.”

Commenting on the rich look of the film, Gossett notes: “We wanted the movie to reflect Marsha’s beauty. She wasn’t really fancy but she was fanciful, and when we talk about aesthetics it’s about the beauty of how she relates to other people.”

Wortzel adds: “Frequently people expect that if a film is political it’s not going to be beautiful. It was really important for us to make a film that was deeply political and personal in many ways but also gorgeous to look at.”

Happy Birthday Marsha is currently raising funds on Indiegogo, to make sure the film will be as amazing and beautiful as possible.

What percentage of the crowd was Hispanic or black?

At least 70%. The Spanish group was the Delightful Ladies. The black group was the Blackwell. There were no leather queens there. There were leather bars for leather people. The majority of people at Stonewall were either drag queens or gay men of color. You could never go to Julius [a nearby bar] unless you were extremely conservative and well dressed. We were never allowed there.

What did the cops do to you once you were busted?

In those days, if you were busted, the first thing they did was shave your head. They’d crop your hair right off. It was to humiliate you.

Given the discrimination that bisexual people still face––including biphobia within the LGBT community––and how bisexual identities and needs are so often erased within the broader LGBT movement, it is critically important to recognize that bisexual people have been leaders in this movement since its beginning.

[Bottom: Chevalière d’Éon’s signatures over time, Top: d’Éon pictured in a portrait]

Chevalière d’Éon (born 1728) was assigned male at birth. She presented as a man for forty-nine years, and as a woman for thirty-three years. d'Éon held a variety of professions during her life including being a spy, a dragoon captain, and an author. When d'Éon demanded that the French government recognize her as female King Louis XVI and his court granted her request.

d’Éon’s signature changed overtime as an expression of her womanhood. During 1769 she signed as the masculine ‘Le Chevalier d’Éon’. Years later her signature began to change drastically. In 1790 she signed with the feminine ‘La Chevalière d’Éon’.  During the French Revolution noble titles such as ‘chevalier/chevalière’ fell out of fashion as they invoked the Ancien Regime. Instead it became popular to employ the term citizen/citizeness. d’Éon followed that fashion when in 1793 she signed with the revolutionary and feminine ‘La Citoyenne Généveve d’Éon’. Finally, later during 1793, she identified herself as Madmoiselle d’Éon.

{5/10 Posts on Chevalière d’Éon}

Stonewall Riots + 5 Names To Know

attn: ignorant men who come into the record store i work at // my coworkers

In case you’re not acquainted with this amazing musician

My friend showed me her music the other day! She’s incredible!!!

But also she was not “queer” she was a lesbian.

Bisexual.

Bisexual.

BISEXUAL.

You can watch a documentary on her here.

Meet the Women of Stonewall

Since the trailer of the atrocious Stonewall movie was released, people are rightfully upset that it white-washes and erases the trans women and lesbian who started the Stonewall Riots. Posts are going around reminding us of these women, but usually only mentioned one or two, which I find a little a-historical. We should know who all these women are as they each played a significant role in what happened in June of 1969.

Stormé DeLarverie (December 24, 1920 – May 24, 2014)

Stormé was a biracial butch lesbian, drag king and considered the “Rosa Parks of the Gay Community”. When the police raided the Stonewall Inn, she was one of the women arrested and clubbed on the head by the police. She is credited with yelling  “Why don’t you guys do something?” which sparked the bystanders into action. (x) In her own words:

Marsha P. Johnson (June 27, 1944 – July 6, 1992)

Marsha “Pay it No Mind” Johnson was a black trans woman, drag queen and LGBT activist. She, along with Sylvia Rivera, co-founded the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR) and is credited as being the first to fight back at Stonewall Inn. (x) Happy Birthday, Marsha! is a film project in the works to honor life, please consider donating. 

Sylvia Rae Rivera (July 2, 1951 – February 19, 2002)

Sylvia was a Latina trans woman, drag queen and LGBT activist. As mentioned above she co-founded STAR with Marsha P Johnson, as well as a founding member of the Gay Liberation Front and the Gay Activists Alliance. She is also credited with being one of the first women to throw a bottle at the police. 

Miss Major Griffin-Gracy (October 1940)

Also known as Miss Major, is a black trans woman and community leader for transgender rights with a focus on women of color. Miss Major was a leader in the riots who was struck by police and arrested. While in custody an officer broke her jaw. (x) A documentary called Major! is in the works to portray Miss Major’s role in the transgender activist community. (x) (I hope people watch this instead of Stonewall). 

Many more people were involved in the riots, but one thing is clear, it was not started by cis white men, it was by these 4 women of color. Don’t let men take away our history. 

dont let WHITE MEN  specifically steal the history.

“Stormé DeLarverie (December 24, 1920 – May 24, 2014) was a butch lesbian whose scuffle with police was one of the defining moments of the Stonewall uprising, spurring the crowd to action. She was born in New Orleans, to an African American mother and a white father. She is remembered as a gay civil rights icon and entertainer, who graced the stages of the Apollo Theater and Radio City Music Hall. She worked for much of her life as an MC, singer, bouncer, bodyguard and volunteer street patrol worker, the “guardian of lesbians in the Village.”

She is known as “the Rosa Parks of the gay community.“ 

Source: Stormé DeLarverie on Wikipedia

#KnowYourHistory #Stonewall

More Info:

5 Tweets That Sum Up Why People Are Upset About Stonewall

Whitewashing History: Stonewall Movie Leaves Out Trans Women and Black Drag Queens Who Started The Movement

Stonewall Movie Erases Trans Women And Black Drag Queens From History

Ugh of course

#KnowYourHistory: #Stonewall

New York City: Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, veterans of the Stonewall Rebellion and founders of STAR (Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries), march in the 1973 Pride Parade.

NEVER FORGET OUR FOREMOTHERS!!!!!!!!

Just a warning, there’s a photo of burnt dead man in the link. 

I literally never heard about this until today. 

Don’t talk to me about straight pride

Ireland has officially become the first nation on Earth to legalize same-sex marriage via popular vote 

So proud of the voters for this!!