When police raided the Stonewall Inn in New York City, it was not respectable, middle-class gay men who fought back. The vanguard consisted of street queens, trans sex workers, and homeless queer youth. (a self-identified transvestite and gay liberation activist) and Sylvia Rivera (a Latina trans woman and co-founder of STAR, Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries) threw bricks and high heels into the face of police brutality. For decades, mainstream gay organizations minimized their contributions, but the modern LGBTQ rights movement was baptized in transgender blood and courage.

You cannot talk about LGBTQ culture without talking about . Originating in the Black and Latinx trans communities of New York City, the Ballroom scene was a sanctuary where trans people—often rejected by their biological families—created "Houses" and competed in categories that celebrated their "realness" and creativity.

A transgender person can be gay, straight, bisexual, or pansexual. This intersectionality is what makes the community so diverse; a trans man might identify as a gay man, rooted in both trans experience and gay male culture. Transgender Contributions to Queer Culture