J is for Janet Mock, Marsha P. Johnson, José Esteban Muñoz, Josephine Baker, Judith Butler and Julio Salgado !

Janet Mock is a writer, TV host, and transgender rights advocate.

A popular quote from her is:

“I believe that telling our stories, first to ourselves and then to one another and the world, is a revolutionary act. It is an act that can be met with hostility, exclusion, and violence. It can also lead to love, understanding, transcendence, and community. I hope that my being real with you will help empower you to step into who you are and encourage you to share yourself with those around you.” –janetmock.com

Marsha P. Johnson (1945-1992)  was a trans woman and gay liberation activist who was active in the Stonewall Riots. She also co-founded Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR) with Sylvia Rivera.(outhistory.org)

José Esteban Muñoz (1967-2013) was a queer theorist who wrote Disidentifications: Queers of Color and the Performance of Politics and Cruising Utopia: The Then and There of Queer Futurity.

“In a startling repudiation of what the LGBT movement has held dear, Muñoz contends that queerness is instead a futurity bound phenomenon, a ‘not yet here’ that critically engages pragmatic presentism. Part manifesto, part love-letter to the past and the future, Cruising Utopia argues that the here and now are not enough and issues an urgent call for the revivification of the queer political imagination.” (x)

Josephine Baker (1906-1975) was a bisexual dancer, singer, and actress. She was the first black woman to star in a major motion picture, Zouzou (1934), or to become a world-famous entertainer (x). She also had many “lady lovers,” including Frida Kahlo. (x)

Judith Butler is a gender theorist (whose partner is Wendy Brown) who is most well-known for her book Gender Troubles, in which she argues that gender is performative.

Julio Salgado “is the co-founder of DreamersAdrift.com. His status as an undocumented, queer artivist has fueled the contents of his visual art, which depict key individuals and moments of the DREAM Act movement.” –juliosalgadoart.com