, we can transform our communities into spaces where everyone thrives.
: Specific gender roles such as the kathoey in Thailand, hijra in the Indian subcontinent, and two-spirit (2S) people in some Indigenous North American cultures have existed for centuries.
Their activism did not end that night. In 1970, they founded , a radical collective that provided housing and support for homeless transgender youth in Manhattan. At a time when mainstream gay organizations like the Gay Activists Alliance (GAA) wanted to distance themselves from "unseemly" trans women and drag queens to appear more palatable to straight society, Johnson and Rivera doubled down.