Zazu Nova gave herself the title, the “Queen of Sex” and was a trans woman, sex worker, and political activist in Greenwich Village in 1969.

She is purported to possibly be the first to throw the “first brick” at the Stonewall Uprising, according to eyewitness accounts, she was with Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera at the time. No one is certain who threw the first brick. After the Uprising she joined with the Gay Liberation Front and once at one of their gatherings, which was a dance, she participated in celebration by flinging off her bra into the crowd.

She is known to have been raised religious and was proud of her faith, as a Unitarian. One story told by someone who knew her was that one night, as a friend of hers and herself were walking, they were attacked by five cisgender men, she pulled out a large chain and chased them all away. There are no known interviews with Zazu Nova, but she is remembered as one of the most impactful activists of her time.