Leslie Feinberg, American LGBT rights and Marxist activist with a vision ahead of her time, passed away on November 15th. Photo: Taken in 1997 by Ulrike Anhamm.
Leslie Feinberg was ahead of her time, as many have stated in the past. Not only was she a transgender rights advocate, she was involved in causes that had to do with lesbian issues, worker rights, and intersectionality, as The Advocate states way “before anyone could define the phrase.”
Her first novel “Stone Butch Blues” was such a hit that it was translated into many languages and widely used in academic circles. It was through this first novel that she caused much impact on mass culture because of the life it portrayed through its lesbian butch character’s tribulations before the Stonewall movement. Her work on it won her the 1994 Stonewall Book Award. The 20th anniversary of its publishing will be available free online and will include a special online slideshow dedicated to the liberation of Cece McDonald.
A story by The Seattle Lesbian stated that “her partner of 22 years best described Feinberg in an obituary that was released to the public:” [pullquote]”Leslie Feinberg, who identified as an anti-racist white, working-class, secular Jewish, transgender, lesbian, female, revolutionary communist, died on November 15. She succumbed to complications from multiple tick-borne co-infections, including Lyme disease, babeisiosis, and protomyxzoa rheumatica, after decades of illness.”[/pullquote]
“Leslie Feinberg, who identified as an anti-racist white, working-class, secular Jewish, transgender, lesbian, female, revolutionary communist, died on November 15. She succumbed to complications from multiple tick-borne co-infections, including Lyme disease, babeisiosis, and protomyxzoa rheumatica, after decades of illness.”
This American activist and hero, who considered herself an anti-white racist, died on November 15th.She died at home in Syracuse, New York with her partner and spouse Minnie Bruce Pratt by her side. A family obituary that delves into Feinberg’s life, from birth to death, can be found here.
[NOTE: The pronouns used here are the same pronouns used by Feinberg’s wife in the obituary. Out of respect, we used them as they did.]
