GAY PRIDE-AMANDA LEPORE

We always hear of our brave trans brothers and sisters of yore, and how trailblazing they were and what they did to get where they were. But what of the current trailblazers? Amanda Lepore for me is definitely a trailblazer, and one it seems I have seen many times over the years and into the carnation she is now. No way could you go out in NYC clubbing in the late 80's and 90's and beyond and not seen or met Amanda Lepore. You would not forget her eye-popping looks and style. To me she was brave. She made and set her mind to be who she wanted and no denying she forged her own signature style. Growing up in suburban NJ during the 70's while often being bullied at school for being different, Amanda left home, and at 17 she used a legal loophole to marry a male bookstore owner who helped her get and pay for her early gender-affirming surgeries. However, the relationship, was unhappy and turned abusive, as her husband wanted to keep her locked away. Over time she would stash grocery money to escape and eventually did and move to NYC. By the early 90's she was swiftly embraced by the city's most out there nightlife and fashion scenes. She freaked out America on the talk show circuit when many trans would not even still come out in the light so to speak. Proving she is not just a Warholian embodiment of famous for being famous, hard-grafting Amanda started getting paid to just show up at clubs and parties, and appeared in the music videos of other artist, while breaking into a spokes model position with MAC and the Heatherettes, not to mention became a huge muse for David Lachapple. It was soon after her appearance with surgical enhancements would eventually morph into a more extreme vision of an old Hollywood, high glamour prototype. And a body akin to a work of art. But it works.

Spending the past 28 years gracing or performing her own music and cabaret routines at just about every notable niterie in NYC and beyond, she also found time to write a bestselling autobiography in 2017, entitled Doll Parts, and launched her own line of infamous lipsticks. I have the upmost respect for her and admiration for being that brave, leaving home with almost nothing, and NOT HIDING she was trans. Normally I'm also not into plastic surgery on people, but for some reason her Marilyn Monroe meets Jessica Rabbit works, I mean, only Amanda can pull this off. Such dedication to style and image...I mean her wigs are absolutely stunning and she always does her own make up btw. I had the pleasure to meeting her in NYC and New Hope on several occasion and she is about the most approachable, gentle and good-humored natured person you'll meet. Our clan's own Preston was even in the same yoga classes as her and said you wouldn't believe it...Amanda was there in sweats and her own hair and still looked glam! Not bad for a scared, picked on trans sister with a few bucks starting out huh? Think of the roads and inspiration she gave to future scared trans people and youth.

That is all to say, Amanda is such a fabulous one -off.

HARLOW

Children, if you're in the LGBTQ community, unless you lived under a rock, or very young, then you most likely know who Rachel Harlow is. This legendary drag queen and tran woman, originally from South Philly, first appeared in the 1969 documentary The Queen, which I highly recommend viewing, especially if you want to see a drag show and competition like no other, where many legends started and many taglines and manners were born... and one where she got read for filth by co-legend queen Crystal LaBeija, when Rachel Harlow won the show and many thought it was because of her being white...of course Crystal left the system and started her own shows, which was the start of ballroom. But unlike the short life Crystal had, Rachel Harlow...better known as just Harlow the world over went on to have a glorious life.

After a brief stint in Hollywood where she made one movie with Jack Nicholson, she returned to her hometown, opened Philly's first and greatest Disco of the city Harlow's and was feted by the local press and treated like one of the city's most exciting citizens. She appeared on talk shows and did modeling. Her gender confirmation surgery made huge headlines. Then she made even bigger headlines again when she entered a very public relationship with Princess Grace of Monaco's brother Jack Kelly,, who was a local golden boy and a city councilman. His political opponents, his mother and Princess Grace all threatened to make a big stink about the relationship and after time they split up. They were quite the couple from recounts

There's much more to her story. After the relationship feel apart with Jack Kelly, Harlow fell mostly out of the public eye after that or rather walked away from it. Eventually Harlow's closed, and she took a job at the perfume counters of the legendary John Wanamaker's. It wasn't till 1989, a Philadelphia Inquirer article popped up, of an update she had married chef/baker Gerard Billebault in 1980 and took his name, opening a restaurant, again called Harlow's, with him in 1988. However, the restaurant closed in 1993, and their marriage ended alongside it. 

Who knows all the intricacies of what she experienced in the gay world, in the gay bars, in the straight bars, in the drag contest green rooms and hotels, in the banquettes at Harlow's or at the parfumerie...but finally... the Philadelphia Inquirer has said a memoir might be finally coming and is only in the proposal stage. It will be the first time she's spoken about her life in over thirty years. The memoir would promise the ups and downs of living a public life as a trans woman over fifty years ago, and will no doubt spills some beans and backstory of all the exciting things she experienced. She seems ready to tell her story finally at almost 80. I saw where she recently commented she quite rightly feels there's power in reminding people that a city like Philadelphia embraces and continues to embrace trans women and the trans community for over a half century and they elevated her as one of its leading citizens, in a time when it wasn't acceptable. Sometimes a trailblazer is a trailblazer simply because she was brave enough to demand a life on her own terms. It's bound to be an excellent page turner.

PRIDE INTERTUDE- IM SO GAY!

 

Now... how about another Pride Interlude from trans artist Trisha Paytas with her homage to Too Wong Foo!!! With a bevy of familiar queen faces!

Happy Gay Pride!

CATEGORY IS.....

.... Legendary, Icon, Glam Fashionista

Amanda Lepore

NORI

The Bay Area comedy scene can be an unforgiving place to get a start in comedy, and especially for a trans woman. I recently became familiar with Nori Reed and I'm here for her, her style of comedy and her storytelling and delivery. I have been howling. For her first show, Nori preformed in a church for a crowd of 600 people. Most people would probably prefer six or seven generously intoxicated souls for their first set, but nothing about Nori's career thus far has been by the book. Since then, her sets are fast becoming a standing room only affair. 

As a trans woman she found her footing with Peacock rebellion, an Oakland organization for queer and trans artist, activists and healers of color. It was there she found her funny side and decided to take the dive into comedy. And I'm glad she did. While Reed will occasionally draw on her identity as a trans woman for material, she wants to be known as a comic that is trans, not the other way around. In 2019, she got an email from Amy Poehler to open a set for her and she thought it was a joke, but it turned out no joke, and she ended up as a guest headliner for Poehler. As she's worked her way up since 2019 from open mics to sets like Comedy Oakland, Reed had continued to experiment with her audiences when it comes to the necessity and methods of disclosure. I have been laughing daily watching her clips on Instagram! Lately she is my go too for hilarity. 

XTRAVAGANZA

 

The exquisite Carmen Etravaganza, Mother of the House of Xtravaganza, several times... and who never needed anything but a hint of make-up to look like she'd stepped out of a fashion magazine. Her extreme beauty, flair for fashion and fun personality didn't just inspire Paris is Buring, she cemented her House's excellence, inspired countless ballroom participants, snatched dozens of trophies and even at times inspired this queen! Sadly, we lost Carmen over the weekend of lung cancer at the age of 62. She of course, like voguer Willie Ninja, Madonna's dancers, Jose and Luis Xtravaganza, Dorian Corey, and Crystal LaBeija, helped bring ballroom culture into the mainstream. Without legends like Carmen, there might not be a Pose, inspiration for the video Vogue, HBO'S Legendary, or the catch phrases of RuPaul's Drag Race... or even a Drag Race.

Throughout the 80's Carmen reigned on the runway of the most legendary house on the Ballroom scene... House of Xtravaganza and its lineup of "impossible beauties. Carmen was always very vocal about being trans and talking publicly about her transition. Her openness and bravery helped pave the way for others in the ball scene, not to mention from outside the ballroom scene. Carmen was born in Spain in 1961 and moved to New York in the very late 1970s. She began transitioning when she was only 16 and living in Washington DC. Carmen eventually moved back to Spain for a short time and worked in the fashion and nightlife industries before returning to the US and cementing herself in the New York City ballroom and nightlife scene for the next 30 years.

I remember well when I'd go up to the city to hang on weekends with my good friend and sister Mame, AKA David Dust, and others of our clan...and hit the clubs. We caught Carmen once- I was totally star stuck when I saw her perform one night at La Escuelita in Time Square along with another legend, the Lady Catira. Too see them runway and vogue was fucking spine tingling kids. I despise the word icon...it is sooooo overused, but NOT when it is used on Carmen. 10s-10s-10s, 10s across the board henny, and Xtrava Power Foreva! 

RIP Goddess.

TRAILBLAZERS

 

The LGBTQ community is one of strength, resilience and beauty. As we celebrate Pride this month and always in June it's important to remember those of the Stonewall Uprising among many others who were brave enough to be outspoken, and brave enough to live their lives and not be hushed. Today, as we celebrate Pride, we know that recognizing a community so beautiful, diverse, and resilient isn't just reserved for one month of the year, because a community isn't reserved for a moment in time because creating an inclusive and equitable society is not reserved for a moment in time. It's an ongoing fight for a world where all people-are valued and treated with respect. In celebration of the month, here is some of my list of trailblazers we should know, who came before us, and helped pave the way for getting us today a better life, acceptance, and civil rights in some form or other, and refused to run and hide. You can also check out this month's In Three Words too.

Marsha P Johnson

Miss Marsha was right on the frontline of the Stonewall Uprising and was one of the most vocal that night when the raid took place. She took no shit. Though she was practically one step from a street person, she was always very vocal and involved in civil rights and formed the Gay Liberation Front. Marsha was extremely frustrated with the absence of the trans community's rights in the conversation. Her and good friend Slyvia Rivera were both the founders of the Street Transvestite Activists Revolutionaries, a safe place and home for young trans who lived on the street.

Slyvia Rivera

I'm amazed at how many don't know who she is. She has a unique place in LGBT history as not only a trans woman but also a Latina who helped lead the charge on the night of the Stonewall riots in NYC. While Rivera had a very turbulent life, she always led charges, protests, would never back down and was quoted as saying "I'm not missing a moment of this-it's the revolution!" Yet she remains little known even in our community, and at one point was even whitewashed out of a recent movie about Stonewall in favor of a fictional white character. Mind you she was only 19 when she and Marsha founded the STAR home.

Bayard Rustin

Bayard was an openly gay Black man, and first worked alongside Martin Luther King Jr in the civils rights movement before turning his attention to LGBT rights. In fact, he was a key player in organizing the March on Washington. As with most societal issues, he brought to light the intersectionality of economic equality within the civil rights movement and the need for social rights for the LGBT.

Harvey Milk

Harvey Milk finally proved a gay man could get elected...and made history when he became one of the first openly gay officials in the US in 1977 when he was elected to San Francisco's Board of Supervisors...and went to do a lot of good things for the community till his assassination.

Barbara Gittings

Hailed as being one of the longest-serving and the most fearless activists in the lesbian community, Gittings founded the New York chapter of The Daughters of Bilitis, picketed the White House in the 60's numerous times, and set up and helped counsel gay people who were discriminated by the government.

Jewel Box Revue

WAY before Drag Race there was the spectacular Jewel Box Revue. In 1939, during a time when gay people were viewed as abhorrent subversive and a threat to society, two gay lovers, Danny Brown and Doc Benner created and produced America's first racially and in your face inclusive traveling revue of all female impersonators and drag queens. Surprisingly it was a hit, and tickets were often hard to get and sold out. Many famous people were often seen in its audiences. The revue launched and made nationally famous the careers of Laverne Cummings, Lynne Carter, Mr. Titanic, Jan Britton, and the fabulous Guilda, who later took Paris by storm. Not to mention Storme De Laviere, the only female who was a drag king with the revue. I've done to many posts to mention about the Jewel Box.

Larry Kramer

Larry Kramer was a high-profile, high-volume, one-man crusade against the AIDS disease and a titan of activism and protest. Kramer was known as the founder of Act-Up, whose collective organizing pushed for more AIDS drugs research and an end to discrimination against the gay community. When he founded the organization in 1987, the AIDS epidemic was devasting the gay community.

Gladys Bentley

Gladys was a wildly popular singer, pianist and entertainer during the Harlem Renaissance and her career skyrocketed at Harry Hansberry's Clam House, a speak easy in the 1920's. But this Blues singers, who often sang her own raunchy lyrics to popular songs, was also black, lesbian, tough, and one of the very first drag kings around, dressing as a man 24/7 and reportedly married her lover publicly in 1931. Enough said.

Barbara Jordan

In 1972, Jordan became the first southern black female, and closeted Lesbian elected to the US House of Representatives. Although she never came out publicly, those she knew and worked , and friends and family, were aware, and she was with her partner Nancy Earl for 20 years. Yet we don't hear of her extraordinary accomplishment.

April Ashley

April Ashley was a pioneering model, socialite and a major key figure in trans history. She is well known for being outed in the press in the early 60's for her divorce case, and her work towards transgender equality when little was even known about it. In the 30's she was among one of the earliest people known to have had sex reassignment surgery. Now that is making new territory not to mention brave.

Allan Horsfall

These days he's often called the grandfather of the gay rights movement, for openly campaigning as a gay man when homosexuality was still extremely illegal. In 1964 he and a group of friends set up the North West Homosexual Law Reform Committee, even giving out his home address as the base for the organization. To be SO open at that time was very brave.

We must always remember them and their work and bravery.

Happy Pride!!!!!