A review by james1star
We Are Everywhere: Protest, Power, and Pride in the History of Queer Liberation by Matthew Riemer, Leighton Brown

challenging emotional hopeful informative sad medium-paced

4.75

TW: there are multiple references to explicit homophobia, transphobia, lesbophobia, biphobia, hate crime, murder, police brutality and many more like misogyny, racism. But this is our history and we have to acknowledge it, it wasn’t great with queer people suddenly realising they’re queer and being like ‘rights… yay!’ Come on. It’s a horrible history but also hopeful and one we must come to terms with to honour those before us and look forward to what we have to do next. 

This book was exceptionally well put together with a clear intention of portraying the real history of the LGBTQIA+ rights and liberation movement. Unlike previous notions of queer history starting with the 69’ Stonewall Riots, centred on the actions of middle class, white, cis, gay men, We Are Everywhere refocuses our history, bringing attention to the true trailblazers to whom we might not have our rights today. The book sophistically tells how the queer liberation and rights movement started, highlighting key moments, figures, groups and ideologies across the 21st C. It deals with the documented history as well as more private acts, the moderates, radicals and the down right pissed off. So many events, organisations and key people I hadn’t heard of (granted my knowledge of queer history is rather limited not being taught it in school - something we really need to address) and this book really makes you appreciate the work of these people. It’s a shame that so much of queer history was riddled with infighting, racism, lesbophobia, biphobia, transphobia and ridicule of ‘freaks’ to whom actually did the majority of on the ground fighting. How far ahead would we be if the infighting was addressed earlier on? We’ll never know but I’m guessing much better. 

The format is well executed, split into five sections focused on different time frames and ideologies. There is some disjointedness in terms of telling the tale but overall I think it’s well put together and makes sense. It was not a linear path - history is a very messy field and I feel the authors did a great job at compiling the story into a succinct chronology. There are large sections of knowledge broken up by stunningly rendered photographs, it’s externally readable. I read this whilst listening to dark academia / piano / rain music and it paired so well with a book like this so I would totally recommend, it’s solemn, melancholy and really refocused my attention on what I was reading and seeing. It was only a recollection of USA’s queer history, so something like that based on British queer history would be something I’d be interested in - any recommendations greatly appreciated. 

These are some quotes that stood out to me: 

‘We stand on the shoulders of those who’ve demanded our community look beyond dominant narratives in search not for the stories we want but instead for the history we have’ 

‘[the evidence]… point to a truth that members of the dominant culture take for granted: you've always been here, you always will be here, and you are everywhere.’

‘You can "never be like them," Sylvia Rivera said, and, by longing for normality, "you are forgetting your own individual identity." The very source of queer power, Nestle wrote, is that our "roots lie in the history of a people who were called freaks."’ 

‘There is no such thing as a single-issue struggle, because we do not live single-issue lives’ 
‘For not one of us will ever be free until we are all free’ - Audre Lorde 

‘…the [Stonewall] riots must therefore be "viewed as an achievement of gay liberation rather than as a literal account of its origins."’

‘We need to know the ones who went before us’ - Leonard Matlovich 

‘Remember, assimilation is a lie. It is spiritual erasure. Our visibility is a sign of revolt. We cannot be stopped. We are everywhere. We are bisexual, lesbian, gay, and transgender people.’ - Lani Ka’ahumanu 

‘The only way we can build real solidarity in our movements is to be the best fighters of each other's oppressions. It's the kind of solidarity that's forged in the heat of struggle that makes lasting bonds.’ - Leslie Feinberg

‘To Queer Nationalists, "using 'queer' is a way of reminding us how we are perceived by the rest of the world... a way of telling ourselves we don't have to be witty and charming people who keep our lives discreet and marginalized in the straight world."’

‘…everyday you wake up alive, relatively happy, and as a functioning human being, you are committing a rebellious act. You as an alive and functioning queer are a revolutionary.’ 

‘Being queer means leading a different sort of life. It's not about the mainstream, profit-margins, patriotism, patriarchy or being assimilated... It's about being on the margins, defining ourselves; it's about gender-fuck and secrets, what's beneath the belt and deep inside the heart; it's about the night.’ 

‘When the history of this epidemic is told, let it be known that gay men, lesbians, and women were our warriors; that we took care of our sick and we fought a government that seemed not to care. And we did it with integrity, compassion, and love. Be well everyone, I love you.’ - Terry Sutton’s outgoing message on his answering machine before he died 

"We condemn attempts to label us as 'victims’, a term which implies defeat. And we are only occasionally 'patients’, a term which implies passivity, helplessness, and dependence upon the care of others. We are People With AIDS’.” - Denver Principles  
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