Transgender activist and author Leslie Feinberg spoke to a group of over 100 listeners in Pigott Hall last night about how LGBT struggles dovetail with the struggles against racism, poverty and imperialism.

Feinberg, who prefers the gender-neutral pronouns “ze” and “hir,” delivered a brief overview of LGBT history, starting with an account of how colonial oppression brought misery to LGBT individuals. Spanish imperialists castrated native men for homosexual activity; the British imposed anti-sodomy laws across Africa and Asia; and the French brought anti-gay legislation to Lebanon.

According to Feinberg, many of the conquered societies had previously been tolerant of LGBT expression. The histories of those cultures have been ignored by their conquerors, explained Feinberg, and it is easy to assume that LGBT communities have always been marginalized simply because they are now.

“Things have changed throughout history, and they can change again,” Feinberg said.

Feinberg also discussed the Stonewall Rebellion, a 1969 clash between patrons of a gay bar and the police arresting them. The Rebellion was a watershed event in the gay rights movement, and Feinberg explained that it was inextricably tied to issues of race and class struggle. The first person to fight back against her arresting officers was Silvia Rivera, a homeless transgendered Latina. Homeless youths living in a park across the street from the bar joined the riots and threw pocket change at the police.

It was the first time LGBT people fought back, said Feinberg, and their captors found out that “a stiletto high heel in the hands of an enraged transgender youth was a formidable weapon against police oppression.”

After Stonewall, gay rights advocates allied with groups fighting racism, poverty and war, Feinberg explained.

“Before there was a Pride flag, we carried the North Vietnamese flag,” Feinberg said, referring to protest against the Vietnam War.

Huey Newton, leader of the Black Panthers, famously stated that the black liberation movement should be allied with the women’s and gay liberation movements. Labor leader Cesar Chavez was often found marching in solidarity at gay pride rallies, waving the United Farm Workers flag.

Feinberg concluded the talk by decrying anti-immigrant laws, economic sanctions against Cuba and the war in Iraq, calling for “rainbow solidarity” in the struggle against oppression.

“Our LGBT movement has to be there,” Feinberg said. “We need to revive the spirit of Stonewall.”

Feinberg is the author of “Stone Butch Blues,” the story of a masculine girl coming of age in the gay community of the 1960s. Feinberg’s most recent novel is “Drag King Dreams,” about a group of political activists in post-9/11 New York.

Feinberg has also written two non-fiction books about transgender issues and is a high-ranking member of the communist Workers World Party.

After Feinberg’s talk, listeners lined up to get copied of their books signed, clutching copies of “Stone Butch Blues” and nearly shaking with excitement to meet the author of the landmark novel.

“I’m starstruck,” said Jenna Queenan ‘11. “I’ve been looking forward to this since August.”