The transgender community has led the charge on pronouns. While many roll their eyes at the introduction of "ze/zir" or singular "they/them," these linguistic shifts represent a profound cultural value: the right to self-determine one’s identity. This has taught the broader LGBTQ+ culture to never assume, to ask, and to listen.

For much of the 1970s and 80s, however, mainstream gay and lesbian organizations distanced themselves from trans people and drag performers. The strategy was assimilation: “We are just like you, except for who we love.” Trans people, with their visible disruption of gender norms, were seen as a liability. Rivera was famously booed off stage at a 1973 gay rights rally in New York.