Just months after the Trump administration drew outrage for removing references to transgender individuals from the National Park Service’s website about the Stonewall National Monument, it appears the federal government is now erasing bisexual representation from the site.
Before the Trump administration started altering the website, the National Park Service’s website about the Stonewall National Monument originally acknowledged that “almost everything about living openly as a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ+) person was illegal” prior to the 1960s. The Trump administration subsequently erased the word “transgender” from that sentence, prompting furious advocates and elected officials to lead a large demonstration near the park earlier this year.
Most recently, the National Park Service also removed the word “bisexual” from that sentence, according to Erin Reed’s Substack, Erin In The Morning. By July 15 — five days after Reed reported on the omission — the word “bisexual” was back in the sentence.
However, bisexual representation continues to be omitted elsewhere on the site. The “History & Culture” page states that the Stonewall Uprising was “a milestone for gay and lesbian civil rights,” despite previously saying “gay, bisexual, and lesbian civil rights.”
It was not the first time that the National Park Service removed part of a page from the Stonewall National Monument and added it back later. Earlier this year, the National Park Service removed part of a web page about the former New York City home of the late out gay civil rights activist Bayard Rustin. The page was later restored.
The National Park Service claimed that the change to Rustin’s page was made by mistake, but the changes to pages featuring transgender individuals were intentional. A National Park Service spokesperson told Gay City News earlier this year that the removal of the letters “T” and “Q” from the Stonewall National Monument — as well as the removal of pages about the late trans activists Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera — was in accordance with two of President Donald Trump’s anti-trans executive orders. One of those orders denies the existence of transgender individuals, while another one disavows diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
When asked for comment on July 15, a National Parks Service spokesperson acknowledged to Gay City News that some parts about bisexual representation were mistakenly removed, but again cited the executive orders to justify changes.
“The updates to the Stonewall National Monument website were made to align with Executive Order 14168 and Secretary’s Order 3416,” the spokesperson said. “These directives focus on ensuring consistency with federal definitions and the implementation of policies. In response to feedback from the public, we realized that the word ‘bisexual’ had also been removed, so we corrected the issue.”
Former President Barack Obama in 2016 designated the Stonewall National Monument as the first federal monument dedicated to the LGBTQ community. Last year, former President Joe Biden visited New York City to mark the opening of the Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center, which is located next door to the Stonewall Inn.
