“Lesbians! Dykes! Gay Women! We want revenge and we want it now!”
In 1992, six activists showed up to NYC’s Gay Pride March and began handing out cards with this exact slogan. Their goal: to recruit members to a newly formed political direct action group, the LESBIAN AVENGERS, that would “champion the fight for lesbian survival and visibility…while empowering lesbians to become experienced organizers who can participate in political rebellion.”
The Avengers protest movement spread like wildfire, opening 60+ chapters in cities across the US and coalition building with organizations like ACT-UP (AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power), African Ancestral Lesbians United for Societal Change, and Las Buenas Amigas. This surge of participation attracted a great deal of controversy, not simply because the Avengers rejected conventional forms of resistance in favor of catchy calls-to-action and irreverent, grassroots tactics, but also because of the mission itself. What began as a bold attempt to decenter cis, white, gay men from the queer liberation movement and make lesbian relationships a normalized part of public life soon evolved into recognition and explicit opposition of anyone who impeded marginalized people’s ability to survive and thrive: fascists, capitalists, white nationalists, police, the Christian right, etc.
