Organizers Flocked to the Streets For 32nd Annual NYC Dyke March
This year’s protest marked the intersection of queer rights and anti-genocide rhetoric.
By Carolyn Gevinski
Queer activists showed solidarity for those affected by mass violence.
“The fire will not consume us. We take it and make it our own.”
The Lesbian Avengers, an activist group established in New York City in 1992, was once known for eating fire. You read that right. In response to the murders of Hattie Mae Cohens, a lesbian, and Brian Mock, a gay man, who were burned to death in Salem, Oregon after a Molotov cocktail was tossed into the apartment they shared, the Avengers demonstrated by eating fire in the streets of the West Village in October 1993.
The first New York City Dyke March was organized by the fire-eating Lesbian Avengers the following June.
Now, each year, thousands of self-identifying dykes march down 5th Avenue to Washington Square Park on the Saturday before the NYC Pride Parade.
This year's Dyke March on June 29, 2024, now organized by the entity “NYC Dyke March,” mirrored the Avenger’s mission of being deliberately unsettling—and being remembered—set forth in The Lesbian Avenger Handbook.
From the Lesbian Avenger archives: Activists eating fire at the first-ever Dyke March in Washington D.C. in 1993 on the cover of The Lesbian Avenger Handbook.
From The Lesbian Avenger Handbook: “If you want revenge, call a meeting.”
The 2024 Dyke March began the same way it always has—with a banner at Bryant Park. In light of Israel’s violent military campaign in Gaza which has left more than 35,000 Palestinians dead, the banner read, “Dyke’s Against Genocide: 32nd Annual NYC Dyke March.”
Organizers gathered in front of the New York Public Library in Bryant Park.
The organizers gathered in front of the New York Public Library presented in all shades of rainbow—from the flaming sunset-colored lesbian flag to the cool blues, purples, and hot pinks of the bisexual flag, to the pastels of the transgender flag. This year, streaks of black, green, and red and posters of watermelons, a symbol of Palestinian expression, could be spotted among the crowd.
The 2024 NYC Dyke March began with a “Dyke’s Against Genocide” banner.
From The Lesbian Avenger Handbook: “The purpose of an action is to make our demands known, win change, and involve as many lesbians as possible in all aspects of organizing.”
Prior to this year’s march, NYC Dyke March came out with a statement that the theme would be “Dykes Against Genocide,” to “shed light on the multiple atrocities that are happening concurrently.” The statement highlighted mass violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Haiti, Myanmar, Palestine, specifically in the Gaza Strip, Sudan, and Ukraine.
Protester holding a gender and abortion care sign.
Dykes also held signs with sayings like, “Gender care, abortion Care, safe and legal everywhere,” to highlight ongoing attacks on reproductive rights in the United States following the 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade, and “Trans is Beautiful,” to shed light on the trans rights movement.
In 2023, the Dyke March theme was “Not Your Body, Not Your Business,” and in 2022 the theme was “Trans Liberation.”
From The Lesbian Avenger Handbook: “Chants sometimes aren't enough. A marching band, drum corps, rhythm section, etc. can really aid all actions.”
“Oh when the Dykes, go marching in, oh when the Dykes go marching in!” the protesters sang to the melody of “When The Saints Go Marching In.”
Queer Big Apple Corps Colorguard.
When the organizers reached 22nd Street, the Queer Big Apple Corps with their colorful queer flag corps in toe, caroled and roared in support of the Dyke March.
Carolyn Gevinski is a co-founder and co-editor-in-chief at Grassroots. She can be reached at carolyn@grassrootsmagazinenyc.com