This history is the bedrock of the argument: The fight against police harassment, the demand for public safety, and the assertion of the right to exist in public space—these were not "gay" issues first. They were trans issues. Over time, as the gay rights movement pivoted toward respectability politics (seeking to prove that gay people were "just like" straight people, except for their partners), the radical, anti-assimilationist flame was carried primarily by trans activists and queer people of color.

Remember, self-acceptance is a journey, not a destination. It's okay to take things one step at a time, to make mistakes, and to learn from them.