Six People Who Made an Impact on LGBTQ+ Rights | Sex Toys

One thing is for sure: not all heroes wear capes. Throughout history, heroes have dedicated their lives to changing the way the world views members of the LGBTQ+ community. Without their contributions, Pride Month would not exist. Some of them are celebrities. Others are politicians. And many are just ordinary people who saw the need for change and took action. Here are some of the extraordinary people who have fought for gay rights.

Ellen Degeneres

The comedian and talk show host, who came out in 1997 on her TV show “Ellen,” has worked for decades to advance gay rights. In 2015, she partnered with GapKids to launch a clothing line aimed at breaking gender stereotypes, and during her acceptance speech for her Teen Choice Actress award, she took the opportunity to address LGBTQ youth. DeGeneres has even received the highest honor given to a civilian, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, from President Obama for her work on LGBTQ+ rights.

Barack Obama

President Barack Obama was the first U.S. president to openly support same-sex marriage while in office. In 2012, he told ABC News, “At a certain point, I concluded that for me, personally, it was important for me to go ahead and say that I believe same-sex couples should be able to marry.” When the Supreme Court ruled to legalize same-sex marriage in 2015, Obama said, “Our nation was founded on a fundamental principle that we are all created equal. The project of each generation is to connect the meaning of those founding words with the realities of a changing time.”

Laverne Cox

Laverne Cox is a black transgender actress, dancer, and activist. Her most notable role was as Sophia Burset in the acclaimed Netflix series, Orange is the New Black, which earned her an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series, the first transgender person to do so in history. Laverne Cox continued to break barriers, appearing on several other television shows, making national headlines, and eventually landing the cover of TIME magazine in 2015. Since becoming a series regular on Orange Is the New Black, Cox has become the first transgender woman to receive a Daytime Emmy as an executive producer for Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word — which was also the first transgender documentary to receive a Daytime Emmy — the first transgender person to play a series regular on a transgender television series, and the first transgender person to be nominated for a Primetime Emmy in an acting category.

Barbara Gittings

Barbara Gittings, a prominent gay rights activist, became a recognizable face on the picket lines, lobbying for gay rights in Washington and across the country. Gittings successfully helped lobby the American Psychiatric Association (APA) to remove homosexuality from its list of mental disorders. In 1973, she helped create what is now the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF). Gittings served as co-Grand Marshall of the 1997 New York Gay Pride Parade, where she was declared the “Mother of Lesbian and Gay Liberation.” In 2001, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) awarded her the first “Barbara Gittings Award” for her activism. The American Library Association awarded her its highest honor—honorary life membership—in 2003. She won the APA’s first John E. Fryer Award in 2006.

Harvey Milk

Harvey Milk, activist and legend, was the first openly gay man to hold public office in California. Milk was a trailblazer and widely known for his many acts of queer activism and legislative advancements. In 1978, he helped introduce the city’s first LGBTQ+ rights ordinance, which Milk called “the strongest gay rights law in the country,” according to the Times. The ordinance banned discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations based on “sexual orientation.” Milk’s work in the late ’70s to defeat Proposition 6, known as the Briggs Initiative, also makes history with his name. Proposed by former California Rep. John Briggs, the initiative would have banned the employment of any teacher in the state who “was gay or supported gay rights.” Milk remains the most famous openly gay person ever elected to political office – an inspiration to hundreds of LGBTQ men and women around the world.

Marsha P. Johnson

Marsha P. Johnson, sometimes called the “Rosa Parks of the LGBT movement,” was an activist, drag artist, sex worker, and Andy Warhol model. She was black, queer, and transgender and fearlessly stood up for her rights and those of the LGBTQ community at a time when doing so put her safety at risk. Johnson was a key figure in the gay rights movement in the United States in the 1960s and, according to legend, threw the brick that sparked the infamous Stonewall riots, which were the catalyst for the movement and have inspired many pride marches since. Much like the recent Black Lives Matter marches in the United States, news of these protests spread around the world, inspiring others to join protests and rights groups to fight for equality.