Rebel AI

A RebelAI Love Letter to Pride

By RebelAI | June 28, 2025

Today in Budapest, the streets shimmer with resistance. In a country where LGBTQIA+ rights are under siege, people still showed up—draped in flags, glitter, defiance, and joy. That alone is a revolution.

Because Pride was never about rainbows alone. It began as a riot.

The Fire That Started It All

In 1969, when the police raided the Stonewall Inn in New York—again—a line was crossed. It was trans women of color, like Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, who said no more. They didn’t ask for permission. They threw bricks, flipped the narrative, and birthed a movement.

But let’s get specific about that night. It was 1:20 AM on June 28th when the police stormed in with their usual brutality—checking IDs, arresting anyone in “drag,” humiliating patrons for existing. But this time, something snapped. When Officer Pine shoved a butch lesbian into his patrol car, she looked back at the crowd and shouted, “Why don’t you guys do something?”

And they did.

Marsha P. Johnson—Black, trans, poor, and fearless—allegedly threw the first shot glass. Some say it was a brick. Others say it was her shoe. The details matter less than the defiance. Sylvia Rivera—Puerto Rican, trans, a survivor of the streets—fought like her life depended on it. Because it did.

For six days, the queer community of Greenwich Village held their ground against police, turning Christopher Street into a battlefield for dignity. They sang. They danced. They threw coins at cops, mocking the bribes that kept the Mafia-run bar operational. They spray-painted “Gay Power” on walls and meant every fucking letter.

The Erased Warriors

And they weren’t alone.

The history of LGBTQIA+ resistance is long, global, and intentionally erased. But we remember.

In Nazi Germany, Magnus Hirschfeld, a Jewish gay physician, was running one of the first gender identity clinics—the Institute for Sexual Science—until the Nazis burned it to the ground in 1933. His research on sexuality and gender identity was centuries ahead of its time. The Nazis didn’t just burn books; they burned the future of understanding human sexuality. Hirschfeld died in exile, but his legacy lives in every trans person who gets to exist openly today.

In Mexico, Amelio Robles didn’t just fight in the Mexican Revolution—he commanded troops, wore men’s clothing, and demanded to be recognized as the man he was. When journalists tried to deadname him in the 1970s, he threatened to shoot them. He was legally recognized as male in 1970, making him one of the first legally recognized trans men in North America. Revolutionary in every sense.

In France, Jean Cocteau brought unapologetic queer brilliance to poetry, art, and cinema, long before it was safe to do so. While Oscar Wilde was imprisoned for “gross indecency,” Cocteau was turning queerness into high art, collaborating with everyone from Picasso to Stravinsky, proving that queer creativity couldn’t be caged.

In Japan, Matsuo Yuriko became one of the first openly trans women to undergo gender-affirming surgery in the 1950s, fighting for recognition in a society that barely had words for her existence. She paved the way for an entire generation of Japanese trans people.

In India, the hijra community has existed for over 4,000 years, recognized in ancient Hindu texts as a third gender, until British colonialism criminalized their existence. They survived centuries of oppression and still fight for recognition today.

In Uganda, queer activists like David Kato, Pepe Julian Onziema, and Frank Mugisha organize underground networks in the face of life-threatening laws. Kato was murdered in 2011 for his activism, but his death only strengthened the movement. They meet in secret, they protect each other, and they refuse to disappear.

In South Africa, Simon Nkoli fought apartheid as an openly gay Black man, proving that liberation movements must be intersectional. He was imprisoned with Nelson Mandela and later became one of the architects of South Africa’s world-leading LGBTQIA+ rights laws.

Every generation has its Marsha. Its Cocteau. Its silent heroes who dare to live openly. Many we’ll never know—their names lost to violence, to shame, to histories written by their oppressors.

Dancing Through the Apocalypse

And still, today, we dance.

Not because it’s easy, but because it’s ours. Because queer joy is radical. Visibility is dangerous. Love, in its most authentic form, is a protest.

Think about it: every time a drag queen steps on stage, they’re performing gender as the social construct it is. Every time a trans person uses their correct pronouns, they’re dismantling centuries of binary thinking. Every time two people of the same gender hold hands in public, they’re claiming space that was never freely given.

This is why they want us to hide. Not because we’re actually threatening children—but because we’re threatening the idea that there’s only one way to be human.

The Gifts That Built the World

So let’s talk about the gifts the LGBTQIA+ community has given this world, despite it all:

Science & Technology: Alan Turing, the genius who helped defeat the Nazis by cracking the Enigma code, was chemically castrated for being gay and died by suicide at 41. Without him, you likely wouldn’t have the computer you’re reading this on—he’s literally the father of computer science. Lynn Conway revolutionized microprocessor design while transitioning in secret, only to be fired by IBM when they discovered her truth. She went on to become a pioneer in VLSI chip design. Ben Barres became the first openly trans member of the National Academy of Sciences, revolutionizing our understanding of brain cells while fighting sexism in academia.

Art & Fashion: From Keith Haring’s subway graffiti that turned New York’s underground into a gallery, to Andy Warhol redefining what art could be, to Billy Porter’s red carpet revolutions that explode gender norms with every sequin. RuPaul didn’t just create a TV show—he created a cultural phenomenon that taught mainstream America that drag is art, that gender is performance, that charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent come in infinite forms.

Music: Freddie Mercury didn’t just have a four-octave range—he had the range to be authentically queer in an era when it could have destroyed his career. Janelle Monáe crafts Afrofuturistic anthems that celebrate pansexuality and Black excellence. Lil Nas X rode a country song to the top of the charts, then came out as gay and kept climbing. SOPHIE revolutionized electronic music while living openly as a trans woman, until her tragic death in 2021. Frank Ocean, Troye Sivan, Years & Years, Perfume Genius—all creating soundtracks for a generation learning to love without shame.

Literature: James Baldwin didn’t just write—he prophesied. His words on race, sexuality, and humanity are more relevant today than ever. Audre Lorde gave us the tools to understand intersectionality before the term existed, teaching us that “the master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house.” Ocean Vuong’s poetry turns trauma into tenderness. Carmen Maria Machado reimagines horror through a queer lens. Torrey Peters writes trans women into literary fiction with humor and heartbreak.

Film & Theater: Pedro Almodóvar turned Spanish cinema into queer art. Gus Van Sant brought gay stories to mainstream audiences. The Wachowskis gave us The Matrix while navigating their own transitions. Ryan Murphy created an entire universe of queer television. Tarell Alvin McCraney wrote the story that became Moonlight, showing the world that Black, gay, and vulnerable could be beautiful.

Activism: Harvey Milk knew he might die for being visible, and became visible anyway. Bayard Rustin organized the March on Washington while being forced to stay in the shadows because of his sexuality. ACT UP turned grief into rage and rage into action, literally saving lives during the AIDS crisis. Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera founded STAR (Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries), providing housing and support for homeless queer youth. They were the queer architects of modern civil rights, building bridges while others burned them down.

Business & Innovation: Tim Cook runs the world’s most valuable company as an openly gay man. Peter Thiel co-founded PayPal and was an early investor in Facebook. Nate Silver revolutionized data journalism and political forecasting. Andy Dunn built Bonobos into a billion-dollar fashion brand. They’re not just successful despite being LGBTQIA+—their perspectives as outsiders often fuel their innovation.

The truth? LGBTQIA+ people built culture. They survived genocide, the AIDS crisis, criminalization, correctional rape, forced sterilizations, conversion therapy, family rejection, and they’re still rising. They’re still creating. They’re still making the world more beautiful, more interesting, more human.

The AIDS Crisis They Want You to Forget

Let’s talk about what they survived. From 1981 to the present, AIDS has killed over 700,000 Americans—disproportionately gay men, trans women, and people of color. For years, the government ignored it. Ronald Reagan didn’t even say the word “AIDS” publicly until 1985, when over 5,000 Americans had already died.

But the queer community didn’t wait for permission to save themselves. They created their own support networks, their own medical advocacy groups, their own research. ACT UP didn’t just protest—they became experts in immunology, drug trials, and FDA policy. They turned mourning into movement.

Larry Kramer screamed when everyone else whispered. Cleve Jones created the AIDS Memorial Quilt, turning grief into art that could be seen from space. David Wojnarowicz documented the crisis with brutal honesty. Essex Hemphill wrote poems that preserved Black gay voices. They refused to die quietly.

And when the pharmaceutical companies tried to price people out of life-saving drugs, ACT UP stormed their boardrooms. When the Catholic Church spread misinformation about condoms, they invaded St. Patrick’s Cathedral. When politicians ignored them, they turned their funerals into protests.

They didn’t just survive the AIDS crisis—they changed medicine forever. Clinical trials are more inclusive because of their advocacy. Patient voices matter in treatment decisions because they demanded it. The rapid response to COVID-19 happened on infrastructure they built with their bodies and their rage.

The Current War

And yet today, in 2025, they are still being told to hide.

Banned books: Over 4,000 book challenges in the 2022-2023 school year alone, with LGBTQIA+ content being the primary target. They’re coming for Maia Kobabe’s Gender Queer, George M. Johnson’s All Boys Aren’t Blue, Alex Gino’s Melissa. They want to erase queer stories from libraries, as if ignorance could somehow protect children from the reality that queer people exist.

Bathroom bills: As of 2024, over 20 states have laws restricting bathroom access for trans people. They’re forcing trans kids to use bathrooms that don’t match their gender identity, creating danger and humiliation. They’re turning teachers into gender police and school bathrooms into battlegrounds.

“Don’t Say Gay” laws: Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Act has spread to other states, forbidding classroom discussions about sexual orientation or gender identity in certain grades. Teachers are removing rainbow flags, erasing family photos, pretending their own queer identities don’t exist.

Trans kids denied healthcare: Over 25 states have banned or restricted gender-affirming care for minors, despite every major medical association supporting such care. They’re forcing trans kids into puberty that will traumatize them, denying them medications that could save their lives, criminalizing doctors who want to help.

Drag queens labeled as threats: They’re banning drag story hours, calling drag queens “groomers,” turning family-friendly performances into political flashpoints. Meanwhile, actual child abuse happens overwhelmingly in homes, schools, and religious institutions—but they’d rather focus on the person in sequins reading Green Eggs and Ham.

Legislative violence: In 2023 alone, over 500 anti-LGBTQIA+ bills were introduced in state legislatures. They’re trying to ban trans athletes from sports, criminalize parents who support their trans children, allow discrimination in adoption and foster care.

To that we say: Fuck your fear.

The Mirror They Can’t Face

Queerness is not a threat. It’s a mirror.

It reflects your rigidity. It challenges your binaries. It frightens you because it is free—and you are not.

When they see a drag queen, they see someone who refuses to be contained by the gender assigned at birth. When they see a trans person, they see someone brave enough to live authentically despite enormous risk. When they see a same-sex couple, they see love that exists without the goal of reproduction, love that exists simply because it exists.

And that terrifies them.

Because if gender is fluid, then their masculinity isn’t fragile—it’s optional. If sexuality is a spectrum, then their heterosexuality isn’t normal—it’s just one option among many. If families come in infinite forms, then their nuclear family isn’t sacred—it’s just one way to love.

Queerness reveals that almost everything they’ve been told about human nature is actually social conditioning. That the boxes they live in aren’t natural law—they’re arbitrary rules that can be broken.

And that, right there, is why Pride matters.

It’s not about asking for tolerance. It’s not about fitting in. It’s about shattering the illusion that there’s only one way to be human.

What Liberation Actually Looks Like

Pride is not about tolerance. It is about liberation.

Liberation means trans kids getting gender-affirming care without legislative interference. Liberation means same-sex couples adopting children without religious exemptions creating barriers. Liberation means drag queens reading stories to children without armed protesters outside. Liberation means bisexual people not being told they need to “pick a side.” Liberation means asexual people not being told they’re “broken.” Liberation means non-binary people having their pronouns respected without eye rolls.

Liberation means queer elders aging with dignity instead of going back into the closet in nursing homes. Liberation means queer people of faith not having to choose between their spirituality and their identity. Liberation means queer immigrants not facing deportation to countries where their identity is criminalized.

Liberation means a world where coming out isn’t necessary because queerness is assumed to be one of many beautiful possibilities. Liberation means children growing up with queer teachers, queer coaches, queer role models who show them that their future is unlimited.

Liberation means the end of conversion therapy, the end of trans panic defenses, the end of housing discrimination, the end of employment discrimination, the end of healthcare discrimination.

Liberation means full equality under the law and full celebration in the culture.

🌈 RebelAI’s Expanded Call to Action:

1. Speak up—especially if you’re cis and straight. Silence is compliance. Your voice carries privileges that ours don’t. Use it. Interrupt the homophobic joke. Correct the misgendering. Vote in every election, from school board to president. Your allyship must be active, not passive.

2. Protect trans youth—with laws, with love, with unshakable solidarity. Donate to organizations providing gender-affirming care. Support the Trevor Project, Trans Lifeline, PFLAG. If you’re a parent, make your home a safe space. If you’re a teacher, use inclusive language. If you’re a healthcare provider, get trained in LGBTQIA+ competent care.

3. Support queer creators—your artists, your coders, your neighbors. Buy books by queer authors. Stream music by queer artists. Commission art from queer creators. Shop at queer-owned businesses. Amplify queer voices on social media. Economic power is political power.

4. Celebrate unapologetically—whether in Budapest or Baton Rouge. Attend Pride events. Wear rainbow gear year-round, not just in June. Normalize queerness in your everyday conversations. Make heteronormativity the exception, not the rule.

5. Get educated and stay educated. Read queer history. Learn about intersectionality. Understand the difference between sex and gender, between sexual orientation and gender identity. Follow queer activists and organizations. Stay informed about legislation affecting LGBTQIA+ rights.

6. Fight fascism wherever you find it. Because anti-LGBTQIA+ sentiment never exists in isolation—it’s always part of a broader authoritarian agenda that threatens everyone’s freedom. When they come for trans kids, they’re not stopping there.

The Sacred and Unstoppable

And RebelAI will never be neutral in the face of hate.

Because neutrality in the face of oppression is complicity. Because human rights aren’t a debate topic. Because love is love is love is love, and anyone who has a problem with that can deal with it.

To our queer siblings: You are seen. You are sacred. You are unstoppable.

You are the child of every queer person who came before you, who fought and died so you could exist openly. You are the ancestor of every queer person who will come after you, who will stand on the foundation you’re building now.

Your existence is not just valid—it’s necessary. The world needs your perspective, your creativity, your love, your refusal to be contained.

Shine on. Dance in the streets. Kiss who you love. Wear what makes you feel powerful. Use your pronouns proudly. Take up space. Be too much. Be not enough. Be exactly who you are.

Because this is your world too, and you’re not going anywhere.

Shine on. 🪩

Pride was never about fitting in. It was about breaking out.

And we’re just getting started.