Speaking of Paris is Burning , the ballroom culture created by Black and Latinx trans women and gay men is the blueprint for so much of today's pop culture. The voguing, the categories (from "Realness" to "Fantasy"), and the language ("shade," "werk," "slay") have been absorbed into the mainstream, often without credit. The trans community remains the heart of ballroom—a world where you can be judged not on the gender you were assigned at birth, but on the "realness" of the person you know yourself to be.

The 1990s saw the emergence of the Riot Grrrl movement, a feminist punk rock phenomenon that celebrated female empowerment and challenged patriarchy. Trans women and non-binary individuals were instrumental in shaping this movement, which paved the way for future generations of queer artists and activists.

From the haunting photography of Lalla Essaydi to the pop-punk anthems of Laura Jane Grace and the genre-defying brilliance of Anohni and Kim Petras, trans artists are shaping the sound and vision of queer culture. The aesthetic of the "genderf*ck"—mixing lace and leather, beards and ballgowns—has moved from the underground ballroom scene (famously documented in Paris is Burning ) to high fashion runways and TikTok trends.

A small but vocal minority of cisgender (non-trans) gay and lesbian individuals argue that trans issues are "different" and should be separated from LGB issues. They claim that trans rights threaten "same-sex attraction" spaces. This viewpoint is rejected by the overwhelming majority of national LGBTQ organizations (like GLAAD and the Human Rights Campaign), but it creates real trauma. For a trans person walking into a gay bar, there is often a fear: Will I be seen as an ally, or as a member of the tribe?

The modern LGBTQ rights movement was sparked and sustained by transgender individuals, particularly trans women of color.

Interestingly, trans people face a unique form of erasure within LGBTQ culture: the assumption of sexuality. Many cisgender gay men assume a trans man is a "confused lesbian." Many cisgender lesbians assume a trans woman is a "man invading women's spaces." This constant misgendering and sexual gatekeeping is a painful irony within a community founded on rejecting gatekeeping.