Feminist to Know: Stormé DeLarverie
Stormé DeLarverie, a drag king known as the butch lesbian who started the Stonewall riots, was an influential fixture of the gay community in New York from the 1950s through her death in 2014. Born in New Orleans in 1920 to a Black mother and white father, DeLarverie found herself able to pass as both Black and white Noted for her incredible singing voice, DeLarverie traveled to New York and joined the Jewel Box Revue, a touring company of drag performers. She was the only woman in the Revue and also dressed in men’s clothing in her daily life, inspiring other lesbians to follow suit.
DeLarverie is also well known for her participation in the Stonewall riots. According to her own account as well as that of many eyewitnesses, DeLarverie was the butch lesbian whose violent encounter with the police on June 28, 1969 incited the initial riot. She remained a crucial member of the downtown Manhattan gay scene for the rest of her life, working as an MC, singer, and bouncer. However, DeLarverie always saw her calling as patrolling the streets, keeping an eye out for what she called “ugliness” (i.e. rampant homophobic violence) against her gay and lesbian brothers and sisters.
Stormé DeLarverie was an important member of the gay rights movement in the U.S., whose approach to the performance of her gender is understood to have been an early influence upon lesbian fashion and self-presentation. DeLarverie remained a bouncer at Henrietta Hudson, a famous lesbian bar in Manhattan until she was 85.
