NPR Re-Writes LGBT History Edition [What You Need To Know]
Filed By E. Winter Tashlin | January 23, 2013 10:00 AM
http://www.bilerico.com/2013/01/npr_failure_edition_what_you_need_to_know.phpThe high standards to which I hold NPR certainly contribute to how disturbed and disenchanted I was with the January 22nd article by NPR Washington Correspondent (Digital News) Liz Halloran entitled "Stonewall? Explaining Obama's Historic Gay-Rights Reference."
The piece was ostensibly intended to provide background on the Stonewall Riots for people who may have been unfamiliar with the historic reference President Obama made during his second inaugural address. Unfortunately, Ms. Halloran's piece, which as of 4:30am EST Wednesday morning was top of NPR's "most shared" list, is one of the most blatant examples of what could only be considered trans* and non-conformist erasure I've ever seen.
How, one might wonder, is it possible to write an account of the Stonewall raid and subsequent uprising without any mention of the pivotal role played by drag queens and trans* women? As hard as it is to imagine, Ms. Halloran has done exactly that.
In fact, the only mention of drag found in the article is an assurance by Stonewall veteran Martin Duberman that the Stonewall Inn was not in fact "filled" with "drag queens and street hustlers." Equally disturbing, the piece explicitly states that "gay men resisted police harassment," despite the fact that the presence of trans* women among those fighting back that night, and throughout the days that followed, is an accepted part of the history of the Stonewall Riots.
