Ma rainey gay

We pored through the lyrics of Ma’s numerous recordings in search of most ground-breaking gay lyrics. Although direct references to homosexuality can be counted on one hand, more obscure nods. Ma Rainey was nothing if not a pioneer, especially for the s. The black woman faced not only racist and sexist hindrances over the course of her career, but it is also widely believed that she was bisexual.

When she was 18, she married William “Pa” Rainey, but the two later split. She had at least two brothers and a sister, Malissa Pridgett Nix. [7] In February , Ma Rainey married William "Pa" Rainey. [10] She took on the stage name "Ma Rainey", which was "a play on her husband's nickname, 'Pa ' ". [11]. Cited as one of the first representations of black queer popular culture, Ma Rainey's sensational Prove It on Me Blues is a landmark song that had a profound and lasting effect.

The path to Queer representation in music was certainly not an easy one. Still, those few defiant musicians, like Ma Rainey, paved the way for modern artists to be fearlessly open about their sexuality and the issues that still face the LGBTQ+ community to this day. Trending on Billboard. Needless to say, she was way ahead of her time. Although direct references to homosexuality can be counted on one hand, more obscure nods can be found as she sings lines that indicate her disdain for the abusive men in her life.

As opposed to her other nods to homosexuality, which were often sprinkled sparingly within a line or two of a stanza, it seems Ma wrote this particular tune explicitly from the viewpoint of a lesbian woman. Wear my clothes just like a fan, Talk to the gals just like any old man. In a variation on that same line, Ma makes the most obvious lesbian lyrical reference of the tune.

The reference here is implicit. Nancy and her man just had a fight.

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