The National Park Service has removed all mentions of the words “transgender” and “queer” from its web page dedicated to the Stonewall National Monument, a site that marks a landmark moment for LGBTQ rights quite literally led by transgender and gender non-conforming people.
The site’s online hub for the New York visitor centre and park honouring the 1969 Stonewall Uprising, a turning point for LGBTQ activism and civil rights in America, now only makes reference to “LGB civil rights,” omitting the T and Q representing transgender and queer people in the acronym.
The changes come after anti-LGBTQ executive orders signed by President Donald Trump upon his inauguration, one stating that the federal government now only recognises two sexes, male and female, which medical and legal experts have criticised for biological inaccuracy and ignorance of sexual and gender diversity, and erasure of transgender, nonbinary, and intersex people in America. The Trump administration has been systematically erasing LGBTQ mentions and content from the White House website and federal agency websites.
Using the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine, Mashable can see the NPS’ Stonewall National Monument site has been updated within the last two days.
Here’s what it used to look like on Feb. 12:
Credit: Mashable screenshot: National Park Service
And here’s what it looks like after Feb. 13:
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Credit: Mashable screenshot: National Park Service
The removal of mentions of transgender and queer people from the NPS’ Stonewall National Monument website marks a dark, infuriating, unjust day for LGBTQ rights and representation in America. It’s a cruel, calculated move that quite literally erases transgender and queer people from a site dedicated to a historical moment of resistance led by trans people of colour and genderfluid people including Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera.
“This blatant act of erasure not only distorts the truth of our history, but it also dishonors the immense contributions of transgender individuals — especially transgender women of color — who were at the forefront of the Stonewall Riots and the broader fight for LGBTQ+ rights,” said organisers at NYC non-profit Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative and the Stonewall Inn (which is physically part of the National Monument) in a statement.
“This decision to erase the word ‘transgender’ is a deliberate attempt to erase our history and marginalize the very people who paved the way for many victories we have achieved as a community. It is a direct attack on transgender people, especially transgender women of color, who continue to face violence, discrimination, and erasure at every turn.”
“This decision to erase the word ‘transgender’ is a deliberate attempt to erase our history and marginalize the very people who paved the way for many victories we have achieved as a community.”
GLAAD also published a statement, describing the decision as “yet another example of the Trump administration’s blatant attempts to discriminate against and erase the legacies of transgender and queer Americans.”
“The Stonewall Uprising – a monumental moment in the fight for LGBTQ rights – would not have happened without the leadership of transgender and gender non-conforming people,” the statement continued. “The tireless work of Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, and countless other trans women of color paved the way and continue to inspire us. You can try to erase our history, but we will never forget those who came before us and we will continue to fight for all those who will come after us.”
New York Governor Kathy Hochul took to Twitter to call the move “cruel and pettty.”
“Transgender people play a critical role in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights — and New York will never allow their contributions to be erased,” she wrote.
