Y’all Better Quiet Down: Sylvia Rivera and Edmund Burke’s Pentad

Student Author Information

Caleb Adams, University of LynchburgFollow

Location

Room 217, Schewel Hall

Access Type

Campus Access Only

Entry Number

90

Start Date

4-5-2023 2:45 PM

End Date

4-5-2023 3:00 PM

College

Lynchburg College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Communication Studies

Keywords

Sylvia Rivera, Edmund Burke, Communication Theory, transgender, gay rights, Christopher Street Liberation Day March, the pentad, Street Transvestites Action Revolutionaries, Jean O'Leary, Stonewall

Abstract

In 1973, a seminal moment in the transgender rights movement occurred at the Christopher Street Liberation Day Rally (Stonewall Forever). Sylvia Rivera took the stage away from Jean O’Leary, an anti-transgender lesbian activist, and addressed a hostile audience. This speech is known as her “Y'all Better Quiet Down” speech. The inner politics of the LGBTQ community at the time were very complicated, many places that were safe havens for gay and lesbian individuals were not welcoming of transgender and gender non-conforming individuals (Nkiri). Sylvia Rivera was aware of this and remained critical of this phenomenon throughout her life. In her “Bitch on Wheels” speech at New York City Pride, Rivera says “Gay liberation but transgender nothing!” (Abi-Karam) which demonstrates the main point of her speech: that the gay liberation movement needs to offer more support to the transgender community.

This paper explores Rivera’s persuasive strategy through the application of the rhetorical methodology in Kenneth Burke’s theory of dramatism. This pentadic analysis reveals that Rivera successfully transforms herself as agent of the scene to convince the Gay Liberation movement to include their trans comrades in the fight for justice and liberation.

Faculty Mentor(s)

Dr. Paula Youra

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Apr 5th, 2:45 PM Apr 5th, 3:00 PM

Y’all Better Quiet Down: Sylvia Rivera and Edmund Burke’s Pentad

Room 217, Schewel Hall

In 1973, a seminal moment in the transgender rights movement occurred at the Christopher Street Liberation Day Rally (Stonewall Forever). Sylvia Rivera took the stage away from Jean O’Leary, an anti-transgender lesbian activist, and addressed a hostile audience. This speech is known as her “Y'all Better Quiet Down” speech. The inner politics of the LGBTQ community at the time were very complicated, many places that were safe havens for gay and lesbian individuals were not welcoming of transgender and gender non-conforming individuals (Nkiri). Sylvia Rivera was aware of this and remained critical of this phenomenon throughout her life. In her “Bitch on Wheels” speech at New York City Pride, Rivera says “Gay liberation but transgender nothing!” (Abi-Karam) which demonstrates the main point of her speech: that the gay liberation movement needs to offer more support to the transgender community.

This paper explores Rivera’s persuasive strategy through the application of the rhetorical methodology in Kenneth Burke’s theory of dramatism. This pentadic analysis reveals that Rivera successfully transforms herself as agent of the scene to convince the Gay Liberation movement to include their trans comrades in the fight for justice and liberation.