Good shout. I’d also argue there’s basically no way to read Bowie’s Rebel Rebel that isn’t about gender fuckery of some kind. I’d argue very strongly that it’s an AMAB character presenting femme.
Ray doesn’t really cuss Lola - he’s just a bit surprised / disappointed that the pretty girl is… not physically a girl. It was probably a bit of an eye opener for a dude that only left home a week before. That’s how I’ve always understood it…
Not sure if the point is positive representation so much as representation, since in the original image the guy seems to be saying trans people simply didn’t exist in the 80s
The Kinks released Lola, a song about a trans woman, in 1970
Swiftly followed by Bowie releasing Queen Bitch in 1971 and Lou Reed releasing Take A Walk on The Wild Side in 1972.
Bowie and Reed were both heavily involved in the New York drag scene at the time.
Lou Reed also wrote Candy Says with the Velvet Underground about Candy Darling’s desire to escape her gender assigned at birth.
Good shout. I’d also argue there’s basically no way to read Bowie’s Rebel Rebel that isn’t about gender fuckery of some kind. I’d argue very strongly that it’s an AMAB character presenting femme.
The cover by the band Ripe is absolutely amazing.
I just read the lyrics and it doesn’t seem that positive. Am I wrong? It contains for example this line:
Well, I’m not the world’s most masculine man
But I know what I am and I’m glad I’m a man
And so is Lola
La-la-la-la Lola
La-la-la-la Lola
It’s just because the way we understand transgender people has changed a lot in the last 50 years. Ultimately the guy accepts Lola for who she is, so I don’t see how that can be considered bad, especially when the band has said for decades that they wrote the song to give trans people perception in the public eye.
Ray doesn’t really cuss Lola - he’s just a bit surprised / disappointed that the pretty girl is… not physically a girl. It was probably a bit of an eye opener for a dude that only left home a week before. That’s how I’ve always understood it…
For a guy in 1970 it’s pretty accepting I reckon.
Not sure if the point is positive representation so much as representation, since in the original image the guy seems to be saying trans people simply didn’t exist in the 80s
It isn’t very positive, that’s for sure. But it is historical evidence that trans people have existed before 2020