These events are crucial to the understanding of the image. While the photograph is powerful on its own with its connection to religious imagery, the audience is aided when given the context. Knowing that Diana Davies, the photographer, supported various human rights causes and built a career in photographing these events gives her a sense of authority and credibility. She isn't just photographing a naked person on the cross because she thinks it'll look good at her next exhibition. Davies' work is calculated and displays real people with real struggles. The Homosexual's religious imagery is meant to reflect what happened to Jesus. He was different from everyone else and was crucified for it. In this image, a queer person, who appears to be Sylvia Rivera, is also being "crucified". Rivera was turned away by her family and had to face the worst of the worst, but came back stronger and provided what those in need desired. Much like Jesus, she was the savior to many. This religious imagery makes more sense when we make that connection, as it solidifies Rivera's contributions to the movement. This image was taken just one year after the riots, so STAR was near its formation if it hadn't been formed already.

*All photographs, other than the one of Sylvia Rivera, were taken by Diana Davies around 1969-1970.

“Diana Davies Photographs.” Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, 2024, folklife.si.edu/archives-and-resources/diana-davies-photographs. 

“Through Diana Davies’ Lens: Capturing 1970s Radicalism | New-York Historical Society.” Www.nyhistory.org, www.nyhistory.org/blogs/through-diana-davies-lens-capturing-1970s-radicalism.

Kadlec, Jeanna. “How Stonewall Broke through Barriers with Love and Resistance.” Hyperallergic, 15 Mar. 2019, hyperallergic.com/487891/love-resistance-stonewall-50-at-the-new-york-public-library/?utm_source=mutualart&utm_medium=referral. Accessed 25 Mar. 2025.

“Sylvia Rivera | Biography, Speech, Stonewall, STAR, & Facts.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 9 Dec. 2024, www.britannica.com/biography/Sylvia-Rivera. Accessed 25 Mar. 2025.

Rothberg, Emma. “Sylvia Rivera.” National Women’s History Museum, www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/sylvia-rivera. Accessed 9 Apr. 2025.