The modern LGBTQ+ rights movement didn’t start in boardrooms; it started in the streets, led largely by transgender women of color. Figures like and Sylvia Rivera were at the forefront of the 1969 Stonewall Uprising. At the time, the distinction between "gay" and "transgender" was less rigid in the public eye—everyone who defied traditional gender and sexual norms was grouped together.
: Some transgender individuals report feeling unwelcome or excluded within cisgender-dominant LGBTQ spaces, highlighting a need for greater internal inclusivity .
: The term "transgender" only emerged in the 1960s and was not widely integrated into the "LGBT" acronym until the 2000s .