Changing More than Gender
The story of Marsha P. Johnson needs more attention. During the same time that Martin Luther King Jr. was fighting for the rights of African Americans, Ms. Marsha Johnson was fighting for a cause too. The rights to be accepted by society as a man who dresses in drag. During the 1960's-1970's there were the civil rights movements. At the same time another movement was happening, the rise of the STAR (Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries) movement. Johnson was not the first man to dress as a female, but the first one to be completely outspoken about it, the first one to become a star by dressing in drag, and most importantly the first one to try and initiate change for this culture.
She would parade around the streets of New York in drag. Marsha would wear the most attention grabbing outfits that one could imagine. Of course as always, there is good attention and bad attention, she got treated like an alien because of her desire to be “herself” and dress however she wanted. But this story is not just about a man that likes to dress like a woman, this story is about a man who changed history, a man who inadvertently allowed other men who feel like this to “come out of the closet.” Seeing a brave man dress in drag let other men feel comfortable enough to express themselves similarly. This of course was by no means easy, Marsha was harassed, beaten, arrested multiple times, death threatened and physically assaulted. But to those who knew her, she was seen as a saint. Marsha was by no means rich, but she gave everything she had and didn’t have to those in need too. She would ask for money and find a better way to use that money. Even in the worst of situations she kept that famous smile that everyone close to her would recognize. A historic event like this is obviously shadowed by bigger events happening at the time, but society seems to almost be ashamed of accepting the fact that something so like this was happening.
Marsha “Pay It No Mind” Johnson opened the door for an entire way of living. Her and Sylvia Rivera in the ‘70s began the STAR movements. These STAR movements were a way of becoming visible to the public communities. Johnson and Rivera provided young transvestite teens with a place to feel safe and to stay because most teens who came out as transvestites were often kicked out of the home because of parents who could just not understand or support the idea of their kid dressing in drag or being gay. The STAR marches often took place in the Gay Pride marches, it was a place where they felt they could get the most amount of news coverage and still feel safe enough to come out in broad daylight.
Even though Marsha was not accepted by the general public, this did not stop her from spreading positive vibes to those in the city. She was mostly known on Christopher Street where she would walk in the most lucrative outfits and catch attention and act as she always would, outspoken, loud, and genuinely positive. She was the robin hood of New York City streets. Marsha is credited for being the first to fight back against police during the Stonewall Riots. She would stand up for her rights and for the rights of transvestite who is too scared to face the wrath of racist, close-minded 1960's America.
Attention
What led to most of her success is the recognition of Andy Warhol, who captured her in one of his famous “ladies and gentlemen” series of Polaroids. Having the attention of an art icon such as Warhol explosively caught the attention of media and I believe this is when Johnson was able to truly shine on the messages that she was trying to get across. The message being that she is just a woman trapped in a man’s body and should be able to express herself just as any heterosexual or homosexual man should. Again, this was all happening at a time where white America was barely beginning to accept the fact that African Americans should be treated equally to white Americans. Now can you imagine how they felt about a black male, dressing and acting as a female? This idea is ludicrous and the fact that Johnson was successful enough to make some sort of change is the reason why I think this is so undervalued.
To be a Queen
So, what makes a drag queen? Mainly the idea that this country was founded on, the ability to express oneself as they please. To be able to say and do whatever you want as long as it is within the law. A drag queen usually tends to exaggerate feminine qualities and gender roles, they impose on themselves the role of a stereotypical woman. They do this because, again, most of them feel trapped in the wrong body. Not all drag queens are men dressing like women, there are also men trapped in a female body and act the part of a man. These queens are called so because of their fashion and the way the express themselves. They are stereo typically loud and attention getting, they like to be noticed when they enter a room and are usually wearing something extravagant. I personally think that this way of behaving is due to their suppression that they have had to endure during most of their lives, they have had to be shut up and shot down because these people never felt comfortable enough to be themselves. Once finally comfortable enough, they let it all out, every emotion, every attire, every reason to yell and dance as they please is able to come out.
The transgender society is much more accepted by today’s standards than they were even 20 years ago. For example there are now very popular television shows such as RuPaul’s Drag Race, whose primary cast is transgender males acting and dressing like drag queens. The popularity of the show says something about society, that they have at least some interest in learning how these transgender people are and why they act the way they do.
Changing more than the transvestite community
I don’t think that Marsha Johnson just changed the transvestite community, she basically changed the way people expressed themselves from the sixties until today. In today’s society, you will see the most unique characters imaginable. You can see someone wearing a just patches on their privates to someone wearing a Frankenstein costume. This is because society has become so tolerant of unique personalities. Johnson changed the perception people have on anyone who might not fit the “social norm” of society, she made society realize that one can be different or weird and still be a genuine, good citizen.
Death
Marsha did not even make it to the age of 50. To this day it is not known whether she committed suicide or she was murdered. On the same day as the Gay Pride parade of 1992 she had disappeared from the parade and hours later found dead in the river. Of course with no support of police, the case was dismissed as suicide but to those that knew her, she was not suicidal.
Maybe she believed that she has done as much as she can and could no further help society. Perhaps she was overwhelmed and found no other escape. The world will never know what could have led to the death of Marsha Pay it No Mind Johnson, but all that could be said is that this extremely brave woman has done something so incredibly revolutionary that to this, the world is still being changed by the actions that she took over 50 years ago.
