Queer Blues Queens of the Early 20th Century
The blues isn’t exactly the genre of the moment, but it sure feels apt for the times. It’s also a style that owes a lot to queer black women. The first blues queen to reach celebrity status, a business woman who marketed herself and organized her own tours throughout the 1920’s and ‘30s, was named Ma Rainey. In addition to possessing a powerful voice, she was a born performer–Charming, funny, and audacious. She was once arrested in Chicago for holding a lesbian orgy in her hotel room. A few years later, she wrote a song called “Prove it On Me…
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