177. Marsha P. Johnson

Snarky Opener (0:00)

It's not just about who threw the first brick at Stonewall. It's about who continuously showed up after.

Episode Introduction (0:24)

Hello, my LGBTQuties, and welcome back to another episode of A Jaded Gay. I'm Rob Loveless, and today I am a non-jaded gay for a very silly reason.

So, a couple of weeks ago, Liza Minnelli released a new song called Kids Wait Till You Hear This, and it cracks me up.

So, like, there's a little controversy over this, because, apparently, it's an AI song.

And I feel like you can't really even call it a song, because it's kind of just a generic dance club beat with just random Liza phrases throughout it.

Like, Hey, kids, wait till you hear this. All eyes on me. And my personal favorite, Liza. And unfortunately for my friends, I've just been randomly shouting Liza at them.

Like, I'll just go over my friend's house and, like, pop my head in the door and go Liza.

And no disrespect to Liza, because as much as I make fun of it, I do love this song. Like, don't think of it as a classic Liza song, because it's not that at all, but it's still fun to listen to.

Marsha P. Johnson (1:16)

Anyway, from one iconic woman to another. Today, we are talking about Marsha P. Johnson, a central figure to the LGBTQ+ and transgender rights movement.

Now we touched upon Marsha a few years back when we talked about the 1969 Stonewall Riots.

And Marsha is often credited with throwing the first brick at Stonewall, although there is quite a bit of debate around that.

But regardless, she was an iconic activist that did so much for the community, so we're going to be talking about her life today.

But before we do, you know the drill. Let's pull our tarot card.

Tarot (1:50)

So, the card for this episode is Judgment in reverse. This is a Major Arcana card, which indicates something big in our lives. It's the second-to-last card in the Major Arcana.

So, we're almost to the end of this major cycle, taking with us the lessons we learned from each of the previous cards.

Judgment is number 20 in the Major Arcana, so we add double digits together, and in numerology, two is tied to duality, partnership, and choice, and we see this duality in the card's meaning.

Upright, Judgment is all about a new awakening and stepping into ourselves as we accept this new chapter.

However, when we draw it in reverse like we did today, Judgment is suggesting we're doubting ourselves, repeating patterns without learning important lessons, and feeling resentment.

So, this card is telling us to reflect, meditate, and look within so we can understand the deep themes in our life and how to navigate them.

And Judgment in reverse typically comes to us when the universe is trying to send us a message.

Marsha’s Early Life (2:39)

So, with that in mind, let's get into it. Marsha P. Johnson was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, on August 24, 1945.

She was assigned male at birth, and was the fifth of seven children, and grew up in an African American working-class family.

Her family was also religious, attending an Episcopal Church, and Marsha remained a practicing Christian for the rest of her life.

According to Britannica, Marsha began wearing women's clothes at a young age. Wikipedia said she was five, but I couldn't find a source to verify that.

Regardless, she temporarily stopped wearing women's clothes after she was sexually assaulted as a child by a 13-year-old boy.

After graduating high school in 1963, Marsha moved to New York City with a bag full of clothes and $15.

Now I did see in some articles online that before moving to New York, she briefly enlisted in the Navy, but was dishonorably discharged because she punched a man who tried to sexually assault her.

But again, I can't find a reputable source confirming that. Anyway, the first year in New York, she attended her first drag ball and began working at the Childs Restaurant in Times Square.

And obviously, New York was and still is expensive, and especially at that time, New York State still persecuted LGBTQ+ people and criminalized their activities and presence.

And so, to supplement her income, she turned to sex work, where she was frequently abused by her clients and arrested by police.

She also didn't have a permanent house at this time, so she often stayed at friends' apartments, hotels, adult movie theaters, and gay bathhouses.

And it was around that time that 17-year-old Marsha met another well-known LGBTQ+ figure, Sylvia Rivera, who was 11 at the time, and we will definitely have an episode dedicated to Sylvia in the future.

Now, Marsha became well known in the LGBTQ+ community for her colorful wigs, which were often crowned with flowers or artificial fruit, red heels, sparkly robes, and multiple strands of costume jewelry.

For a while, she performed with the drag group Hot Peaches.

And I'm not sure when, but it was around this time she began calling herself Marsha P. Johnson, with the P standing for pay it no mind, which was a phrase she often used when questioned about her gender and lifestyle.

And in the mid to late 60s, she would frequent the Stonewall Inn.

The Stonewall Riots (4:36)

And that takes us to the early morning hours of Saturday, June 28, 1969, when the Stonewall Riots occurred.

Now, as a quick refresher, in the 60s, it wasn't illegal to be gay in New York City, but it was illegal for establishments to serve gay customers.

So, as a workaround, the mafia purchased gay bars, including the Stonewall Inn, and ran them as private bottle clubs so they didn't have to abide by the legal rules of bars.

However, these bars were dingy, subject to extortion, and were still raided by police.

But the mafia paid off the police, so typically, the police would tip off bartenders ahead of time and conduct raids at non-peak hours. But the night of the Stonewall Riots, the bar was not tipped off.

And because of this, along with the continuous oppression, and potentially because some were grieving Judy Garland, whose funeral was that Friday, the patrons fought back.

Now, for a long time, many stated that Marsha threw the first brick at Stonewall.

However, this is somewhat debated. Initially, it had been rumored that she was there to celebrate her birthday, but her birthday is August 24.

And in a later interview, Marsha even said that she and Sylvia didn't arrive at the Stonewall Inn until around 2 am, and at that time, the place was already on fire, and the riots had already started.

Now, while she may not have thrown the first brick, she was definitely there.

In fact, there are various accounts saying that she threw a shot glass at a mirror and screamed, I got my civil rights, and that she climbed on top of a lamppost and dropped a bag containing a heavy object onto a police car's windshield, which destroyed it.

However, these are all eyewitness accounts, and the timeline and facts are a bit blurry, because for so long, LGBTQ+ people were neglected and ignored, so there wasn't as much documented history there.

And as a reminder, these riots were the first time LGBTQ+ issues received mainstream media attention.

So, whatever her role may have been, Marsha, along with many trans women, were along the front lines of the riots, as well as the following gay civil rights movement, since they were among the most oppressed in our community and felt like they had nothing to lose.

STAR & The STAR House (6:24)

Following the Stonewall Riots, the first gay pride march was held in 1970, and the Gay Liberation Front and the Gay Activist Alliance were founded, and Marsha was involved in both.

However, she became frustrated with these two organizations, since they tended to exclude trans people and LGBTQ+ People of Color.

In September 1970, New York University shut down a series of planned dances at Weinstein Hall after discovering that they were intended to be gay centered events.

In protest, activists from multiple organizations occupied the dormitory beginning on September 20, launching what would become known as the Weinstein Hall Occupation.

During the takeover, Marsha put forward the idea of forming a dedicated group for transgender people called Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries or STAR.

And obviously, the term transvestite is no longer used, but that was in the vernacular at the time.

Anyway, the standoff ended on September 25 when a police tactical unit cleared the building, after which demonstrators marched through Greenwich Village.

Shortly after, Marsha and Sylvia managed a shelter for approximately 20 unhoused transgender youths out of a semi-truck trailer.

However, at a certain point, truckers tried to take the trailer away, which Marsha and Sylvia protested.

And despite this, they were ignored, and one of the unhoused youths was still inside and accidentally taken to California.

Now, this incident allegedly prompted the first official STAR meeting, with Sylvia becoming the first president and Marsha the first vice president.

They also made preparations for the creation of a permanent shelter for unhoused youth to be called STAR House by securing a rental from the mafia.

On October 30, 1970, STAR made one of their first public appearances, protesting in a 10,000-person march to the United Nations Headquarters.

Now this was organized by the Young Lords Party, which was demanding self-determination for Puerto Rican people. However, STAR joined to protest police violence.

The following month, the STAR House opened at 213 East Second Street, which was a four-bedroom rental house with no electricity or heat, inadequate plumbing, and piles of rubble littered across the premises.

To raise money to pay the rent, STAR members engaged in begging, sex work, and theft, as well as a bake sale.

And Marsha and Sylvia were influenced by ballroom house cultures, and they took on the role of house mothers for the STAR House.

Now, there were no membership roles like at a formal shelter, and drug use was common.

Remember, these were difficult times where he could be fired for being gay, so it was especially difficult to find employment opportunities as a transgender person.

And as a result, many engaged in sex work to make ends meet. That same year of the STAR House founding, Marsha met Thomas Gerald Davis, and they began a romantic relationship.

At some point, they held a wedding ceremony, but never formalized their marriage legally.

And their relationship was sometimes strained because of Thomas's drug addiction and his resistance to Marsha's association with transgender people.

Still, STAR House was politically active and advocated for prison reform in New York City, since gay youths lived in segregated facilities characterized by unsanitary conditions and abuse, both by prison officers and other inmates.

On January 17, 1971, representatives from STAR, the Gay Activist Alliance, the Gay Liberation Front, and the Mattachine Society formed the Gay Community Prison Committee to investigate instances of abuse, ensure visitation rights, raise bail money, and potentially sponsor protests.

In March 1971, Marsha's husband tried to rob an off-duty police officer for drug money and was shot and killed.

And this caused Marsha to experience an emotional breakdown, which resulted in her admittance to Wards Island State Hospital.

Now I don't know when Marsha left the facility, but throughout 1971, STAR participated in various protests for LGBTQ+ rights, including advocating against discriminatory hospital and prison treatment, challenging anti sodomy and loitering laws, supporting employment and housing protections, endorsing reproductive rights and sexual law reform, and taking part in major gay liberation conferences and Christopher Street Liberation Day rallies.

However, STAR House was evicted in July that year, and they moved their headquarters throughout Manhattan.

Then, throughout 1972, STAR stopped hosting meetings and saw a decline in demonstrations.

And according to Sylvia, the 1973 Christopher Street Liberation Day Rally marked the death of STAR since the gay liberation movement fragmented.

Now, immediately following the Stonewall Riots, the entire community came together to capitalize on that movement.

But in the years that followed, the movement began dividing itself based on identity, with transgender people and LGBTQ+ People of Color often feeling dismissed by the larger community.

And specifically, regarding the 1973 Christopher Street Liberation Day Rally, STAR was excluded from marching, and their banner was removed.

Marsha’s Later Activism (10:39)

Now, after STAR dissolved, Marsha began starring in theatrical performances as part of the Angels of Light and later with the Hot Peaches.

And in 1975, she served as a model for Andy Warhol's Ladies and Gentlemen series. Also, around this time, Marsha experienced many emotional breakdowns.

In one instance during the run of the show, Alice and The Great American Sideshow, she was arrested after smashing the car window of a group of hecklers.

And this resulted in her being confined to Bellevue Hospital and given the antipsychotic medication Thorazine, which hurt her throat and limited her ability to perform.

There were also instances where Marsha was reported walking naked up Christopher Street, and then she would disappear for two to three months to receive Thorazine treatments.

And something I want to touch upon here. Remember that there is still a lot of stigma around mental health and transgender identity in 2026, so think about the stigma faced in the 1970s.

Marsha was a transgender Woman of Color during a time that was even more hostile than it is today.

So, you can only imagine the psychological distress that places upon a person, and then on top of that, the obstacles she faced to receive treatment.

But despite that, she never let her personal setbacks stop her advocacy.

Moving on through the decade, in 1979, Marsha was unhoused again, and in 1980, while engaging in sex work, she was shot in the back by a taxi driver.

Medical staff was unable to remove the bullet, and it remained in Marsha's back for the rest of her life, which caused her discomfort and made it difficult to sleep. But on a lighter note.

Also, that year, she was invited to ride in the lead car of the gay pride parade in New York City.

During the AIDS crisis during the 1980s, Marsha regularly spent time with AIDS patients in hospitals and prayed for them.

In 1985, she was honored in the New York Pride rally, and the following month, she helped to organize the first AIDS Walk in Los Angeles.

However, the strain of this pandemic caused Marsha to have another mental breakdown, and she was temporarily admitted to St. Mary Hospital.

In 1987, following the formation of ACT UP, Marsha participated in various ACT UP initiatives, although she never became a member.

And in or around 1990, she found out she was HIV positive, which understandably led to another mental breakdown, and she was admitted again to St Mary's.

However, in a June 1992 interview, she spoke publicly about her diagnosis and how people should not be afraid of those living with HIV. And this was the last interview she participated in.

Marsha’s Death (12:49)

Then, on July 6, 1992, at the age of 46, Marsha's body was found in the Hudson River. Police originally ruled her death a suicide, but many rejected that, saying she was not suicidal at the time of her death.

However, there were several eyewitness accounts that on July 4, Marsha had been harassed by four men.

One witness saw one of the four men fighting with Johnson at the pier, and he went on to call her a homophobic slur and then bragged to someone at a bar that he had killed a drag queen named Marsha.

And this witness allegedly went to police over this, but they ignored him. And at least one other witness saw that Marsha was being chased the night of the fourth.

Additionally, her body was found with a bruise on the back of her neck, which led many to believe she was attacked.

And according to the New York Anti-Violence Project at the time, 1992 was the worst year on record for anti-LGBTQ violence.

Marsha’s Legacy (13:35)

Still, all these years later, Marsha's legacy continues to live on. In 2012, Pay It No Mind, a documentary about Marsha's life, was released.

In October 2017, Netflix released a documentary, The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson.

In 2019, TIME created 89 new covers to celebrate women of the year, starting from 1920, and chose Marsha for 1969.

In June 2019, Marsha was one of the inaugural 50 American pioneers, trailblazers, and heroes inducted on the National LGBTQ Wall of Honor, which is located at the Stonewall National Monument.

On June 30, 2020, Google celebrated Marsha P. Johnson with a Google Doodle.

And on August 24, 2020, which was the 75th anniversary of Johnson's birth, East River State Park was renamed the Marsha P. Johnson State Park, becoming the first New York State Park named after an openly LGBTQ+ person.

And Marsha is widely regarded to be foundational to the transgender rights movement and other LGBTQ+ movements, inspiring new generations with her activism.

Also, on a personal note, I recently watched The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson. It was fascinating to see the joy radiating from her.

Just very inspirational and also emotional, obviously, as the documentary focuses on solving her murder and dealing with anti-trans violence, but highly recommend. Definitely worth the watch.

Episode Closing (14:47)

And connecting it back to the tarot, Judgment in reverse. Again, this is a big card that's trying to send us a message.

Being the second to last card in the Major Arcana, this card is reminding us we're almost to the end of a cycle.

And while the card's traditional meaning is about stepping into a new awakening, its reverse meaning suggests we're keeping ourselves in patterns that no longer serve us, which may lead to resentment.

So, we really need to look inward to understand why we may find ourselves stuck in those patterns, and what we need to finally move beyond them so we can accept that new awakening on the horizon.

And I think you can see how that ties into today's episode. Marsha was a transgender Woman of Color in a time when the LGBTQ+ community was first gaining mainstream attention when it came to acceptance.

And a reminder that transgender Women of Color are the most marginalized individuals in our community today.

So, imagine the adversity Marsha faced in the 60s and 70s during the gay liberation movement. And despite that, she remained a beacon of joy for so many and took meaningful action to make a difference.

Even when the larger LGBTQ+ movement turned their back on the transgender community, Marsha was unwavering in her commitment to push for change.

She and Sylvia started up STAR and STAR House to care for transgender youth, and continued speaking up for gay rights, even when the larger community wasn't speaking up for trans rights and acceptance.

And while some may have given up in frustration, Marsha took action to move beyond the obstacles to begin a new awakening for the trans community, and her legacy lives on today.

And while we're still living in a politically hostile time, the LGBTQ+ community still has been afforded so many rights that the gay liberation movement of the 60s and 70s paved the way for.

And we owe it to Marsha and Sylvia and so many other trans women and trans Women of Color who were major forces in the fight for gay rights, even at a time when both society and the LGBTQ+ community turned their back on them.

So obviously, we owe a lot to Marsha, and she's such an important figure to honor.

Now, this episode is just an overview of her life and legacy, and there's so much more history surrounding her, Sylvia Rivera, and so many others.

And we owe it to those activists to remember and honor their contributions as we continue to push for progress.

Connect with A Jaded Gay (16:46)

Anyway, thank you for listening. As always, if you have any questions or feedback, you can reach out to me rob@ajadedgay.com.

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Mmm-bye.