Diana Hemingway

Last updated

Diana Hemingway (1970-December 20, 2016) was an activist for "trans/queer issues, sex worker rights, disability rights, economic justice, racism, and issues impacting the kink community." [1]

Contents

Biography

Hemingway's family were Irish Gypsies working the carnival circuit, traveling around the US, eventually settling in Fort Lauderdale. She went to college to study photography after having worked for Greenpeace. [1] She also worked briefly as an auto tech and code enforcer. [2]

After a period of self discovery, Hemingway identified as a "genderqueer transfeminine person" and that alienated many. [1] She began working for various non-profits, promoting AIDS and HIV testing for trans and nonbinary people, and worked to improve inclusiveness in the LGBT community for people of color and the disabled. She met her partner, Landon Woolston, while performing a home HIV test. [2]

After losing her position with a non-profit, Hemingway started working as a dominatrix and ultimately an escort. She was raped twice and saw her mental health spiral. Woolston later claimed Hemingway had undiagnosed Bipolar Disorder and felt she was becoming a burden to people around her. [2] Facing homelessness, Hemingway committed suicide. [1] Her final note to Woolston was signed, “Yours forever, in love that never dies.” [3]

Activism

Hemingway founded the first South Florida chapter of SWOP. [4]

In 2014, Hemingway criticized an op-ed by New York Times journalist Nicholas Kristof on the website Backpage, claiming that "Kristof has been attacking Backpage.com for years. What he wants is to play God with the lives of hundreds of thousands of sex workers, while holding himself out as a hero/advocate for underage victims of trafficking.” [5] The same Daily Dot article claimed that Kristof's reporting was biased and inaccurate. Backpage would ultimately be seized by the FBI in 2018.

Awards and honors

She was part of the first group of honorees on the National LGBTQ Wall of Honor. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicholas Kristof</span> American journalist and political commentator (born 1959)

Nicholas Donabet Kristof is an American journalist and political commentator. A winner of two Pulitzer Prizes, he is a regular CNN contributor and an op-ed columnist for The New York Times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Urvashi Vaid</span> Indian-American LGBT rights activist, lawyer and writer (1958–2022)

Urvashi Vaid was an Indian-born American LGBT rights activist, lawyer, and writer. An expert in gender and sexuality law, she was a consultant in attaining specific goals of social justice. She held a series of roles at the National LGBTQ Task Force, serving as executive director from 1989-1992 — the first woman of color to lead a national gay-and-lesbian organization. She is the author of Virtual Equality: The Mainstreaming of Gay and Lesbian Liberation (1995) and Irresistible Revolution: Confronting Race, Class and the Assumptions of LGBT Politics (2012).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBTQ history in Singapore</span>

There is a long history of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender activity in Singapore. Male homosexuality was outlawed under British rule, despite being acknowledged among the local population. Following Japanese occupation during World War II and the country gaining independence, homosexuality and transvestism were visible as a street scene, and from the 1970s were catered for in some nightclubs. In that decade also, Singapore became a centre of gender-reassignment surgery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBTQ rights in the United States</span>

The rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in the United States are among the most advanced in the world, with public opinion and jurisprudence changing significantly since the late 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gloria Hemingway</span> American physician (1931–2001)

Gloria Hemingway was an American physician and writer who was the third and youngest child of author Ernest Hemingway. Although she was born a male and lived most of her life publicly as a man, she struggled with her gender identity from a young age. In her 60s, she underwent gender transition surgery, and preferred the name Gloria when possible.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sex Workers Outreach Project USA</span>

Sex Workers Outreach Project-USA (SWOP-USA) is a national social justice network dedicated to the fundamental human rights of sex workers and their communities, focusing on ending violence and stigma through education and advocacy. SWOP might be considered a constructive program by nonviolent scholars and activists, as it attempts to create more imaginative and just communities, especially considering its focus on equality and education through advocacy. The organization was founded by Robyn Few on August 13, 2003, and their first major action was to organize the first annual International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers with the Green River Memorial for the victims of Gary Ridgway, the "Green River Killer".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBTQ people in prison</span> Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people in prison

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people face difficulties in prison such as increased vulnerability to sexual assault, other kinds of violence, and trouble accessing necessary medical care. While much of the available data on LGBTQ inmates comes from the United States, Amnesty International maintains records of known incidents internationally in which LGBTQ prisoners and those perceived to be lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender have suffered torture, ill-treatment and violence See Homelessness among LGBT youth in the United States, and LGBT youth vulnerability.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of violence against LGBTQ people in the United States</span>

The history of violence against LGBTQ people in the United States is made up of assaults on gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender individuals, legal responses to such violence, and hate crime statistics in the United States of America. The people who are the targets of such violence are believed to violate heteronormative standards and they are also believed to contravene perceived protocols of gender and sexual roles. People who are perceived to be LGBTQ may also be targeted for violence. Violence can also occur between couples who are of the same sex, with statistics showing that violence among female same-sex couples is more common than it is among couples of the opposite sex, but male same-sex violence is less common.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Backpage</span> Defunct classified advertising website

Backpage was a classified advertising website founded in 2004 by the alternative newspaper chain New Times Inc./New Times Media as a rival to Craigslist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FOSTA-SESTA</span> US communications/sex trafficking bills

FOSTA and SESTA are U.S. Senate and House bills which became law on April 11, 2018. They clarify the country's sex trafficking law to make it illegal to knowingly assist, facilitate, or support sex trafficking, and amend the Section 230 safe harbors of the Communications Decency Act to exclude enforcement of federal or state sex trafficking laws from its immunity. Senate sponsor Rob Portman had previously led an investigation into the online classifieds service Backpage, and argued that Section 230 was protecting its "unscrupulous business practices" and was not designed to provide immunity to websites that facilitate sex trafficking.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Larkin (publisher)</span> Arizona journalist and publisher (1949–2023)

James Anthony Larkin was an American publisher and journalist in Phoenix, Arizona, known for his influence in the alternative newspaper industry. He was largely responsible, along with business partner Michael Lacey, for his work with the Phoenix New Times, also known as New Times Inc.

Sharmus Outlaw was an American advocate for transgender rights, sex workers' rights, and HIV patient rights.

The National LGBTQ Wall of Honor is a memorial wall in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City, dedicated to LGBTQ "pioneers, trailblazers, and heroes". Located inside the Stonewall Inn, the wall is part of the Stonewall National Monument, the first U.S. National Monument dedicated to the country's LGBTQ rights and history. The first fifty inductees were unveiled June 27, 2019, as a part of events marking the 50th anniversary of Stonewall. Five honorees are added annually.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lorena Borjas</span> Mexican-American activist (1960–2020)

Lorena Borjas was a Mexican-American transgender and immigrant rights activist, known as the mother of the transgender Latinx community in Queens, New York. Her work on behalf of immigrant and transgender communities garnered recognition throughout New York City and the United States. She lived for many years in the Jackson Heights neighborhood of Queens, where she was a community figure and leader.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angela Stanton-King</span> American media personality and politician

Angela Stanton-King is an American author, television personality and conservative speaker based in Atlanta, Georgia. She spent two years in prison for conspiracy and was later pardoned by President Donald Trump a decade after serving her sentence. She subsequently became a media personality and was a main cast member on the third season of the BET docuseries From the Bottom Up. She was the Republican candidate for Georgia's 5th congressional district in the 2020 election, losing to Democrat Nikema Williams. Stanton-King has shown support for QAnon, which espouses a number of far-right conspiracy theories.

Lauren Elena Witzke is an American far-right political activist known for her anti-LGBT views and promotion of QAnon. Witzke was the Republican nominee in the 2020 United States Senate election in Delaware, which she lost to incumbent Democrat Chris Coons. She is a former TV show host for TruNews.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Libs of TikTok</span> Far-right and anti-LGBT Twitter account

Libs of TikTok is a handle for various far-right and anti-LGBT social-media accounts operated by Chaya Raichik, a former real estate agent. Raichik uses the accounts to repost content created by left-wing and LGBT people on TikTok, and on other social-media platforms, often with hostile, mocking, or derogatory commentary. The accounts promote hate speech and transphobia, and spread false claims, especially relating to medical care of transgender children. The Twitter account, also known by the handle @LibsofTikTok, has over 3.5 million followers as of September 2024 and has become influential among American conservatives and the political right. Libs of TikTok's social-media accounts have received several temporary suspensions and a permanent suspension from TikTok.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenya Cuevas Fuentes</span> Mexican activist

Kenya Cytlaly Cuevas Fuentes is a Mexican activist who works to assist trans people and sex workers. She established the first shelter in Mexico for trans women and continues to fight for recognition of the violence committed against them. She is the general director of Casa de Las Muñecas Tiresias, which supports vulnerable people, including trans sex workers.

Bryn Kelly (1980–2016) was an American writer, artist, performer, and community organizer. Kelly has shown work at New Museum and performed in conjunction with Visual AIDS and in Art in the Age of Aquarius at the Whitney Museum of American Art. She was a member of the Femme Collective, participated in Baltimore's 2012 Femme Conference, and was a cofounder of Theater Transgression, a transgender multimedia performance collective. Her writing and writing performances have appeared in Original Plumbing, Manic D Press, the National Queer Arts Festival, PrettyQueer.com, and EOAGH, A Journal of the Arts, amongst others.

Cecilia Gentili was an American advocate for the rights of transgender people and sex workers.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Lies, Brendon; Woolston, Landon (LJ) (December 29, 2016). "In Love That Never Dies: Remembering the Legacy of Diana Hemingway". South Florida Gay News. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 "Remembering Diana Hemingway". SWOP Behind Bars. 13 December 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  3. "About "In Love that Never Dies"". In Love that Never Dies. 23 December 2016. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  4. "Remembering Diana Hemingway, SWOP-South Florida Founder". SWOP USA. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  5. "The problem with the New York Times's war on Internet sex trafficking". Daily Dot. 5 November 2014. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  6. "NATIONAL LGBTQ WALL OF HONOR UNVEILED AT HISTORIC STONEWALL INN". National LGBTQ Task Force. 20 June 2019. Retrieved 31 October 2022.