STAR aimed to support and help provide housing for homeless queer youth and sex workers in New York throughout the 1970’s. Johnson, another iconic transgender figure who is most famously known for her role in the Stonewall Inn uprising. Over her lifetime, she even challenged gay rights leaders who tried to exclude drag queens, transgender people and others across the gender identity spectrum in life-changing gay rights legislation.Īlongside her activism, Slyvia created the charity STAR, the Street Action Transvestite Revolutionaries with Marsha P. Sylvia was born to Puerto Rican and Venezuelan parents in 1951 and was a prominent LGBTQ+ activist who fought for inclusion and equality for everyone. Her story came to national attention in the 1990 ballroom documentary Paris is Burning, which chronicles the end of the ‘Golden Age’ of NYC ballroom culture.
She was part of the house until she was tragically murdered on Christmas Day 1988 at the age of 23, in a case which remains unsolved. Her New York ball career officially began at the House of Xtravaganza, one of the most publicly recognised ‘houses’ which act as a family unit and competing group for ball performers. She competed in these balls from her young teens and after her family discovered her activities, she moved to New York City to perform freely and out of fear that she would embarrass them. Venus was an American legend in the ballroom community, an LGBTQ+ Black and Latinx sub-culture of drag performances, competitions and dancing at costume balls. After having her name legally changed, France updated its laws to allow for changes to be made on birth certificates. She also made a prominent impact on French law, with her marriage in 1960 to a French journalist being the first union to be officially acknowledged by the French government. Throughout her life, she performed alongside other famous trans showgirls April Ashley, Marie-Pierre Pruvot and Amanda Lear at the Le Carrousel de Paris nightclub, starred in several films and even had Italian singer Ghigo Agosti dedicate the song Coccinella to her, which at the time caused much media attention and controversy.Īs an activist, she founded the trans support group Devenir Femme (To Become Woman), which helped to provide emotional and practical support to trans people, and later helped establish the Center for Aid, Research and Information for Transsexuality and Gender Identity.
She was also one of the first people to undergo a widely publicized successful gender confirmation surgery in Europe and was delighted to be greeted with "Bonjour Mademoiselle" after her operation. Jacqueline Charlotte Dufresnoy, better known by her stage name Coccinelle, was a French actress, singer, entertainer and activist. While a lot of people may have heard of modern trans celebrities such as Laverne Cox, there are many brilliant trans icons throughout history that we should celebrate and share, and you can read five of their stories here.
On March 31st, International Transgender Day of Visibility celebrates the incredible impact that transgender people have made on society and also recognises the ongoing and systemic discrimination and fear of violence that many transgender people face on a daily basis.
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