RGV 1980 QUEENS !!!!!

The 1980s were the best time of everyone's life; well, they were mine. I remember listening to Madonna, Tiffany, Debbie Gibson, and Cindy Lauper. The 80s had a great choice of music, especially when it came down to 80s rock. But during the 1980s, a lot of other things were happening all over the world. The LGBTQ 80s riots were going on in New York City.

As you probably know, the Aids pandemic hit hard during the 1980s in the United States. All of society was blaming the LGBTQ community, saying that they were the ones caring for this disease. Everyone thought that they needed psychological help. People in the 1960s believed that being gay was curable. A lot of families, when they found out that their children were gay, had their parents see psychologists for help.

They ended up giving the children electric shock therapy, and they also locked them up, so the kids were afraid of coming out to society and the parents. But while that was happening in other states, like Mcallen, Texas, the "LGBTQ community" also fought their own fights. The LGBTQ community during the 1980s was not accepted and was targeted in so many hate crimes. What are hate crimes, you ask?

Hate crimes are crimes, typically ones involving violence, that are motivated by prejudice based on ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or similar grounds.

Times in the 1980s are not much different from the present time, "2024". There are still a lot of hate crimes in the whole world. While the LGBTQ community is still facing discrimination all over, In the 1980s, the LGBTQ community was facing so many hate crimes. While bars were limited in Mcallen, TX, the queens still found a place to call them home. "Bumpers, the Hidden Door" is where the bars are during this time.

While the queens were all having the time of their lives competing for Miss RGV, they were also facing hate crimes. They couldn't go to the park while being targeted with hate. One of my sources says that one sunny day a couple of the Queens went to a park called the "Circuit," which is still in McAllen, TX, and a car arrived, picking up a fight with the gays that were there. So, one of the gays grabbed a stop sign, threw it at the guy's car, and destroyed the whole car. The gays were not going to wait around to get arrested, so they all ran off.

The older generation, when they were kids, now says that they used to go to the LGBTQ hangout just to pick fights with them and that the LGBTQ used to fight back with bricks and rocks. The LGBTQ queens finally had enough of all the hate happening to them.

The queens would walk all over town, getting to their destination dressed up and representing themselves with pride, but society didn't like that. While they were walking, people would make hateful comments, but the girls from the 1980s didn't care. As time moved on, we didn't see the girls marching or walking like the girls from 1980.

While times have changed, some laws protect the LGBTQ community from hate crimes. But just remember that you're not alone. I leave you some links so the LGBTQ community can know the rights that they have. Just live and dance, and always remember to be nice to others. But it's very important to love yourself always too.

Story By: Britney J Torres

| National Center for Transgender Equality (transequality.org)

Home | U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (eeoc.gov)

prisoners' rights | Wex Legal Dictionary / Encyclopedia | LII / Legal Information Institute (cornell.edu)