Stomping on police officers with their high heels and then smacking the officers with purses, they fought. It was 1966, and together the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district were fighting against social oppression.
In a small nook in the Multicultural Center on June 8, Max Gustafson, English major, showcased the film “Screaming Queens,” a documentary on the first-known resistance to LGBT-related violence in America. The riot took place in the Tenderloin’s Compton Cafeteria after a policeman attempted to arrest a drag queen.
“It was a very powerful experience,” said Alexandra Rosa, art history major, of the “Screaming Queens” screening. “A whole bunch of people from different economic, social, political, and gender expressions came together.”
Some audience members were unaware of the upheaval that marked a change in the San Francisco LGBT community.
“I already have respect for and admire [the transgendered community], but I feel more respect,” said Stephanie Martinez, a student studying women’s history. “I’m going to tell my friends about it.”
Gustafson said he felt prompted to present the film because of the lack of gender knowledge, and the recent killing of California transgendered woman Brandy Martell, a victim of a hate crime case.
“People are very uninformed about gender sexuality and gender expression,” Gustafson said. “Especially gender pronouns… it just goes straight over their heads.”
Approximately 30 De Anza students gathered to watch the film screening, and afterwards, individuals shared their learning experiences.
Feelings of unity, strength, respect, and inspiration were echoed among the audience members. Another emphasis of the “Screaming Queens” showing was the access to a “safe space.”
A “safe space” provides a place where everyone has agreed to respect and to show consideration of perspectives, while agreeing “to be able to say what [one may] feel and kind of reflect on it,” said Julie Lewis, 2012 organizer of LGBT pride events at De Anza. “It’s also a safe space to heal.”
Lewis said she is a member of the LGBTQ community. She prefers to be called “queer” because of its inclusivity, so as to avoid marginalizing anyone.
“If we offered more events like this on campus, it would be the biggest thing to me,” said Rosa, who has family and friends who are transgendered and whom she also identifies as “queer.”
