Given how LGBTQIA+ issues are presented in current news coverage, it’s easy for people to believe many of today’s “hot topics” are new concepts. The Stonewall Reader reminds everyone that this couldn’t be further from the truth. The queer community has always been here. Transgender people have always been here. What has changed, albeit slowly, is the level of visibility and acceptance.
An anthology of articles and firsthand accounts from before, during, and after Stonewall, The Stonewall Reader skillfully captures queerness across decades. The book starts with a piece by Audre Lorde that focuses on life in the 1950s, which, as goes without saying, is a strong opener—but it was the excerpt from Mario Martino’s Emergence: A Transsexual Autobiography that hit me the hardest. In about five pages, one brief recounting of a life experience shatters the illusion that gender-reaffirming care is a new phenomenon. Sharing stories like Martino’s can squash misguided perceptions that drive a lot of dangerous rhetoric in today’s political climate. Jason Baumann said right in the anthology’s introduction, “It is my sincere hope that reading these stories will bring you closer to the generations of LGBTQ activists who precede us and that it will help to fuel future struggles for liberation.” Without a doubt, through the careful selection of these pieces, he’s accomplished just that; if able to reach a wide enough audience, this anthology could reshape public opinions of the LGBTQIA+ community and aid in the fight for equality.
Though the anthology is around 300 pages, you’d never know it while reading. Each article and interview brings new perspectives and personalities, and there’s never a dull moment because of it. While I think it’s a valuable read for all ages, it is especially valuable for those too far removed from Stonewall to truly understand its significance—and, in some cases, what even happened at Stonewall.
Thanks to the diligent research and organizational efforts that went into it, The Stonewall Reader allows its audience—both inside and outside the queer community—to learn about LGBTQIA+ history in a way that puts authenticity at the forefront. This is not a book filled with only a handful of influential voices that supplement an academic, sterile account of history. This is a book that lets readers hear the voices of other humans that deserve love, care, and acceptance, just as we all do.