Fri. July 3, 2026
CHICAGO, ILL. -
By Michael Oboza, Special to GoPride.com
For Veronica "Ronnie" Drantz, defying expectations has been a lifelong practice. Born in 1943 during an era when gender roles were "extremely rigid," Drantz found herself at odds with societal expectations from an early age, as detailed in an interview.
Attending a Catholic school, she faced persecution from nuns for not behaving like a typical girl. Drantz responded by pulling stunts to mock her instructors and entertain her classmates.
"I became a 'discipline problem,'" Drantz recalled. "The left side of my report cards was filled with A grades for course work; but the right side of my report cards for deportment was always full of checkmarks."
As a teenager, Drantz knew she wanted a life beyond the traditional path of marriage and motherhood. Drawn to science, she set her sights on becoming a biologist, a goal that met immediate resistance at home. Her father flatly refused financial support, telling her, "If you want to go to college, you better get a job and save your money. I have your two brothers to think about. You're just a girl. You're not important."
Undeterred, Drantz worked her way through school despite systemic wage gaps, earning just 85 cents an hour at the Navy Pier campus of the University of Illinois while men in comparable roles earned $1.35. At the time, the Navy Pier location was the least expensive college option in Chicago, costing only $120 per semester. Her perseverance paid off, and she eventually transferred downstate to Urbana-Champaign to complete her bachelor's degree.
Breaking barriers in the lab and facing the realities of the 1960s
In college, women were rare in the sciences. "There were very few girls in college back then, and often I was the only girl in class," Drantz said. Her academic excellence earned her fellowships that funded her graduate education, culminating in a master's degree and a doctorate in animal physiology. She went on to spend most of her life teaching physiology and other sciences to medical professionals, noting, "I'm lucky—because I have been able to do what I love for a living!"
While Drantz successfully navigated the institutional sexism of academia, the social climate for queer individuals in the 1960s presented a much more dangerous hurdle. Though she had recognized her attraction to women from an early age, she did not officially come out until she was 24, after falling in love with a woman who was already out.
"I was ready for the sexism I confronted in college and graduate school, but dealing with being gay during the 60's was a nightmare," Drantz said. "Life was scary for queer people back then. Homophobia was rampant and brutal."
She noted that religious condemnation became the basis for persecution by the judicial system and stigmatization by medical professionals. The campus environment in Champaign-Urbana eventually grew too unsafe, prompting Drantz to flee to Chicago alongside a group of gay friends.
The summer of 1970 and the spark of Chicago gay liberation
While waiting to begin a new professional position as a chemist in Chicago, Drantz took a temporary job as a waitress at the Astro Restaurant, located at Clark Street and Diversey Parkway. It was during the summer of 1970 that a single workplace directive pushed her into the center of local civil rights history.
"The boss commanded me to overcharge two customers and told them to never come back because they were gay," Drantz said.
Rather than comply, Drantz took immediate action and reported the discrimination to Chicago Gay Liberation. The response was historic. Thirty-five members of the group organized a picket line, distributing leaflets outside the Astro Restaurant for nine consecutive days. The demonstration marked the first organized Chicago gay protest of its kind, cementing Drantz's legacy not only as a trailblazing scientist but also as a catalyst for local LGBTQ activism.
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