Celebrating Gender Diversity in Song - Part One

In the introduction of the last episode, The Kinks Celebrate Gender Diversity, I said I would take a broader look at gender diversity in the following episode.

And with the help of billboard’s, 25 Songs About Gender Identity, I found roughly an equal number of twentieth and twenty-first century songs, therefore this episode will focus on the twentieth century.

However how far back to go, and after some thought, the fifties and the beginning of “Rock 'n' Roll”, seemed a good starting point, as the birth of Rock 'n' Roll is considered the starting point of pop music.

Welcome to “Trans Wise Trans Strong”, I am Carolyne O’Reilly.

Episode nineteen, “Celebrating Gender Diversity in Song - Part One”

As with The Kinks’ episode, the transcript page of this episode, found on my website supporting this podcast at www.twts.co.uk will have a link to the lyrics, and also as before, the song’s title is a hyperlink to Spotify, blue text is a webpage, and turquoise text, the lyrics.

Also if you wish to listen to all of the songs one after another, the transcript page has a link to a Spotify Playlist of all the songs.

So starting in the fifties, the first song is, He’d Rather Be A Girl by Ruth Wallis released in 1954, which describes a wife bemoaning that their husband is a trans woman, which is suggested in the first verse, Then, I discovered I'd married a boy, Who would rather be a girl.

And is emphasised in the forth verse, Who doesn't do what is on the grooves of gender? and the seventh verse, But in the boudoir, he don't attack like a boy, He'd rather do his hair.

And another line I would like to mention from the fourth verse and is, Oh, why did I wed a gay pretender, with gay used in its modern context, suggestive of an attitude, conflating gender identity and sexual orientation, whereas they are actually separate aspects of a person.

Ruth Wallis was born in 1920, in Brooklyn, USA, and was a novelty and cabaret singer who during the 40s and 50s wrote songs that were risqué and satirical, peppered with double entendres, on topics such as being gay and adultery, definitely verboten, in 1950’s America.

Ruth continued performing during the sixties but retired in the seventies, and lived until 2007, dying at the aged of 87.

With only one song from the fifties we come to the sixties and, I’m A Boy by “The Who”, written by Pete Townsend, released in August 1966, which was to be a track of Pete’s abandoned rock opera, “Quads”, set in what was then the fairly distant future of 1999.

The above Spotify link is to the Alternate Stereo Version, however this link is to I’m A Boy - Mono Version.

In this future, genetic engineering will enable parents to choose the sex of their children, and one couple wanted four daughters, but one of the children was a boy named Bill in the song, however their mother dressed them as a girl, much against their wishes, echoed in the refrain, I'm a boy, I'm a boy.

Before the final verse, Bill lists all the “boy” things they want to do, then the song ends, I'm a boy, I'm a boy, followed by But my ma won't admit it, and further repeats of I'm a boy.

Two years later in January 1968 comes, Lady Godiva’s Operation, the first of two songs by “The Velvet Underground”, from their second album, “White Light/White Heat”, the song written by Lou Reed describes a trans woman’s gender affirming surgery.

The song begins with them affirming their gender identity and culminates with the surgery in verse 5, Shaved and hairless what once was screaming!, referring to having shaved the pubic area, prior to the operation.

But the operation does not go according to plan, "The ether tube's leaking," says someone who's sloppy, made clear by, The patient, it seems, is not so well sleeping, The screams echo up the hall, and having had gender affirming surgery, the thought of this makes my eyes water!

But relief is at hand, Don't panic, someone give him Pentothol instantly, however the pronoun misgendering kind of jumps out given how progressive the song is about surgery which I suspect was not familiar to many people then, but then perhaps it is suggestive of an attitude then, even by some medical professionals.

The Pentothal mentioned, is the brand name of sodium thiopental, a rapid-onset general anaesthetic, expressed by, By my count of ten, The head won't move.

The following year in March 1969, is another Lou Reed penned Velvet Underground song, Candy Says, a track from their eponymous titled third album, and was inspired by transgender actress, Candy Darling.

The song explores gender dysphoria with the first line, Candy says, I've come to hate my body, followed by, And all that it requires in this world, which alludes to societies gender expectations, and Candy’s concern for societies attitude towards her, Candy says, I'd like to know completely, What others so discreetly talk about.

The second verse begins, I'm gonna watch the bluebirds fly, Over my shoulder, and with I'm gonna watch them pass me by, Maybe when I'm older, suggests Candy’s hesitancy to embrace her true gender, and ends with a question, What do you think I'd see, If I could walk away from me?

And the third verse considers the enormity of affirming her true gender, Candy says, I hate the big decisions, That cause endless revisions in my mind, then the second verse is repeated, and the song ends, Doo, doo, wah, and multiple repeats of Doo, doo, doo, wah.

Candy was one of several transgender actresses at Andy Warhol's Factory, and we will meet the others in another Lou Reed penned song.

Two years later and David Bowie’s first entry, Queen Bitch from “Hunky Dory”, released in December 1971, and is from the perspective of a jealous male narrator in an upper floor hotel room, observing their male lover on the street below, I'm up on the eleventh floor, And I'm watching the cruisers below, “cruisers” being slang for gay men looking for a romantic/sexual encounter.

The verse ends with their lover trying to seduce a woman, And he's trying hard to pull sister Flo, therefore we learn that the narrator’s lover is bisexual.

With verse 2 we learn that the narrator is broken hearted, Oh, my heart's in the basement, and their fear that they have lost their lover to sister Flo, So I can't see her letting him go.

Then with the chorus, She's so swishy in her satin and tat, the narrator highlights the contrasts in her clothing, satin, glamorous, tat, cheap, and with, In her frock coat and bipperty-bopperty hat, is somewhat mocking about her trendy possibly superficial styling.

And although it ends with a boast, Oh, God, I could do better than that, Oh, yeah, is the narrator perhaps being wishful, and decrying their lover’s choice.

The with verse 4, For pushing ahead of the dames, and verse 5, But she's a queen, and such are queens, suggests Flo is a trans woman.

Later in the second chorus, the narrator’s despair at their loss is expressed, But it could have been me.

Then in verse 8 they are thinking about their lover, And he's down on the street, then in anger, So I throw both his bags down the hall, and then in verse 9, finally accepting their loss, And I'm phoning a cab.

With the final chorus, voicing again their despair, It could have been me, and again decries Flo’s fashion sense, She's so swishy in her satin and tat.

A year later and another David Bowie song, Lady Stardust a track on, “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars”, released in June 1972, considered to be David’s best and most influential album, and a definite favourite of mine.

The song is about David’s friend Marc Bolan, who like David was a pioneer of glam rock, and the song explores androgyny, and peoples reactions as expressed in verse 1, People stared at the makeup on his face, Laughed at his long black hair, his animal grace.

So the song begins with people mocking Lady Stardust, but then in verse 2, Femme fatales emerged from shadows, To watch this creature fare, and then, Boys stood up on their chairs, To make their point of view, reveals they have won over the audience.

Then the fifth line, I smiled sadly for a love I could not obey, suggest the male narrator could not embrace being gay.

The song also explores gender fluidity, although the pronouns used through out are he/him.

And the song ends with a line, buried down in the mix, that is subject to some debate, as according to Shazam it ends, Get some pussy now, where as another interpretation is, C'mon, move closer now, having just listen to the end of the track several times, I’m inclined to the latter, what dear listeners do you think?

And also from 1972 is, Walk on the Wilde Side by Lou Reed released in November, which is also a track on their second album, “Transformer”, and with The Kinks’ “Lola”, is the other most well known song exploring gender diversity in the seventies.

It starts with one of the most famous bass lines, that has been sampled hundreds of times, created by Herbie Flowers, by overdubbing a Fender electric bass, onto a double bass.

The song was inspired by the 1956 novel, “A Walk on the Wild Side”, by Nelson Algren, is about five people at Andy Warhol’s Factory, starting with Holly Woodlawn’s journey across America and coming out as a trans woman, Plucked her eyebrows on the way, Shaved her legs, and then he was a she.

If we think of, “…and then he was a she”, in terms of gender identity, it feels a bit uncomfortable, but if we consider it in terms of gender expression, then yes it would be reasonable to say a trans woman’s gender expression would change from male presenting to female when they begin to transition.

We next meet Candy Darling, the subject of, “Candy Says”, whose story contains the line, But she never lost her head, Even when she was giving head, yet this line did not prompt the patriarchal BBC of the seventies to ban the song, presumably because the slang expression for oral sex was some what lost on them!

Next there is the verse containing a racial slur, that Lou Reed stopped singing when their were performing the song, it starts. And the…, and if you want to read the full line, you can do so via the lyrics page.

Far Out Magazine, has an article worth a read, The controversial line Lou Reed was forced to change, where they discuss how artists respond to language in their songs now considered unacceptable, even if ever it was.

The third person we meet is Joe D’Allesandro, a gay subculture icon and sex symbol, followed by Joe Campbell, who is reference by the line, Sugar Plum Fairy came and hit the streets.

Lastly we meet Jackie Curtis, Jackie is just speeding away, Thought she was James Dean for a day, and Then I guess she had to crash, which alludes to James Dean’s death in a car crash and the effect of withdrawal from amphetamine, speed being a euphemism for amphetamine.

The song was produced by David Bowie and Mick Ronson and ends with a sax solo by Ronnie Ross.

No look at twentieth century gender diversity songs, would be complete without a track from, “The Rocky Horror Show”, which opened on the 19th of June 1973, at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, London, England, as the whole show is a glam rock exploration of the diversity of gender and sexuality.

It would be filmed as, “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”, released in August 1975, which was previously discussed in the episode, Celebrating Trans Films - Part One.

And the track I am going to discuss is Sweet Transvestite from the Original Roxy Cast album, released in June 1973, written by Richard O'Brien and sung by Tim Curry.

The song introduces Tim Curry as Dr. Frank-N-Furter, singing to Susan Sarandon as Janet Weiss and Barry Bostwick as Brad Majors, and it is in verse 2, that Dr. Frank-N-Furter challenge Janet and Brad’s expectations, Don't get strung up by the way I look, Don't judge a book by its cover.

And the first line of the chorus echoes the song’s title, I'm just a sweet transvestite, and with line 2 where they come from, From Transsexual, Transylvania, ha, ha.

And the song continues with Dr. Frank-N-Furter drawing Janet and Brad further into their world.

Now two words from these lyrics jump out, “transvestite” and “transsexual”, now we would use crossdresser instead of transvestite which is now considered offensive and stigmatising.

Transsexual is also a contentious term, because of its historical use to categorize transgender people as mentally ill, thanks for that!

There is an interesting article by Healthline, titled, Is There a Difference Between Being Transgender and Transsexual?.

The following year is Rebel Rebel, the final song here by David Bowie released in February 1974, and found on the “Diamond Dogs” album, and from the first verse, it is clear that it is about gender non-conformity, She's not sure if you're a boy or a girl.

And continues with the narrator describing how much they have in common with the person the song is about, in terms of liking dancing and bands.

Then with the third verse, the rebellious and uncaring nature of the Rebel of the title is revealed, They put you down, they say I'm wrong, You tacky thing, you put them on, and is made more explicit with the chorus, Rebel, rebel, you've torn your dress, Rebel, rebel, your face is a mess.

And rebellion extends in verse 7 to drug taking, You got your cue line and a handful of ludes, ludes being Quaaludes the brand name of methaqualone, which when used recreationally can result in a really powerful high, according to Justin Gass, the author of a book about the drug.

In verse 8 we learn Rebel is young, You're a juvenile success, and the last verse expresses how out of touch the older generation is, Ooh, ooh, so how could they know?

Leaving behind the seventies, we come to 1984 and, I Want to Break Free by Queen, released in April, from the album “The Works”, it was written by John Deacon, and although it does not explicitly discuss gender diversity, its accompanying video is why it is included.

The video proposed by the group’s drummer Roger Taylor and his then girlfriend, Dominique, was a funny parody on the British soap opera, “Coronation Street”, with the group dressed in drag, and was totally lost upon the American’s, with MTV banning it.

The song’s video and its message of wanting to break free, is why it has been embraced by the trans, nonbinary and wider LGBTQIA+ communities, and the third line from the first verse I want to break free from your lies, could be interpreted, if trans, as breaking free from imposed gender identity.

Also from 1984 is Androgynous by The Replacements, from their album “Let It Be”, released in October, and obviously from the title alone we know it is about gender non-conformity, which is explored in the first verse, Here comes Dick, he's wearing a skirt, Here comes Jane, ya know she's sporting a chain.

And the song explores the love between Dick and Jane, and there similarity is revealed in verse 3, They both look the same, and how their gender roles are fluid, with in verse 4, And tomorrow Dick is wearing pants, tomorrow Janie's wearing a dress.

The final decade begins with As Girls Go, by Suzanne Vega released in September 1992, from her album “99.9F°”, where the cisgender woman narrator is flirting with a transgender woman, and explores gender identity and gender expression.

From the first verse, You make a really good girl, As girls go, Still kind of look like a guy, we learn they are flirting with a trans woman, whose stunning beauty subverts the origin of their birth.

And the verse ends, Would I know for certain, The real situation, Behind the curtain?, where they ask if they could see beyond the surface of the woman they are flirting with.

And with verse 2, Not exactly natural, Stunning nonetheless, What happened to you, To make you more girl than girls are?, it is clear that the flirting woman wants to learn about the trans woman’s past.

And they ask a direct question, Would you ever show or tell, which they justify by 'Cause you're so good so far.

The chorus begins, You make a really good girl, and then multiple repeats of the refrain, As girls go, the woman is being very complimentary about her appearance and presentation, whilst acknowledging her transition.

With the final verse 3, the lines, Did you ever keep the date, With the steel side of the knife?, given that the steel side of a knife is the blade, I wonder could the question be alluding to whether the trans woman has had gender affirming surgery?

Not that the woman cares, Doesn't matter to me, Which side of the line, You happen to be, and the song ends with the chorus, You make a really good girl, As girls go, said twice, followed by repeats of, As girls go.

Moving on five years and Mr. Lady, released February1997 by The Lunachicks from their album “Pretty Ugly”, and I absolutely love this song, from start to finish, and it is about trans feminine empowerment.

From the first verse we learn that the song is from the perspective of a trans woman, The woman trapped so long inside, and in verse 2 they detail their physical changes, My body hair has been removed, The hormones soften up my voice.

I know it is a song but whilst hormones help to develop breasts, widen hips, soften skin and facial features, they do not unfortunately soften your voice, that requires speech therapy.

Verse 3 acknowledges one benefit of being a trans woman, And even though I'll never bleed that's o.k. with me, and verse 4 ends with them expressing how happy they are and that their transition journey was financially expensive, I feel alive, a new rebirth, it cost a lot but I think it's worth it, which I can testify to.

And with verse 5 we learn how long their transition has taken, Took many years to have this done, now once a day, I touch my breast, put on a bra, daytime lingerie, and that they have had gender affirming surgery, I'm in a dress, no need to tuck, I'm finally free.

The song ends triumphantly, but also with awareness of possible dangers that both transgender and cisgender women face, I strut my stuff all down the street, now I'm truly me, I check my face I grip my mace, they won't dare hurt me.

In later the same year is King for a Day by Green Day released in October 1997, which is about crossdressing from a young age, which is explored from the first chorus, Went sneaking through her bedroom door, To find something in a size four, and with the next verse the child questions gender stereotyping, Sugar and spice and everything nice wasn't made for only girls.

However parental acceptance is sadly lacking, as revealed by verse 4, My daddy threw me in therapy, the last two lines of the verse, Who put the drag in the drag queen?, Don't knock it until you've tried it, shows the person the song is about is undaunted.

And perhaps has affirmed their gender identity by the last line, Just wait 'til all the guys get a load of me.

A year later, Born A Girl is released on the 14th of September 1998 by the Manic Street Preachers, and is sung very sensitively by James Dean Bradfield, embodying a trans woman.

In verse 1 they express how they feel they have had to hide their true self, Will you accuse me as I hide, Behind these layers of disguise, and in verse 2 they reveal their desire to embrace their authentic self, Something grows in the space between me, and in the chorus express her wish that she had been born female, And I wish I had been born a girl.

In verse 3 it is clear the stress they feel hiding their true self, Is screaming inside and from within, and the possibility of embracing her true gender seems not possible, There's no room in this world for a girl like me, a sentiment I had for far too long before I came out as a trans woman.

And the song ends with the chorus, And I wish I had been born a girl, Instead of what I am, and the despair at living an unauthentic self with multiple repeats of, And not this mess of a man, with the last two lines, sung falsetto, perhaps suggesting they will begin to transition?

A week later is Josephine by Terrorvision, is released on the 21st of September 1998, which is from the perspective of a friend of a trans woman.

The song opens with the narrator, describing their best friend Joe, now using a trans person’s previous name is called deadnaming, however in the context of the first verse it is not, as they were unaware of their friend’s transition, and therefore neither is their use of the “He” pronoun misgendering.

They describe their friend as, He had a restless soul, With something on his mind, and the verse ends Not to find restless Joe, no, But to find Josephine.

The chorus describes the narrator talking to Josephine unaware they are their best friend, although Josephine gives a hint, She said Joe had left the scene, and when they ask their name, She said, they call me Josephine.

But in verse 2 they begin to realise who they are speaking to, It took a while to click, But then I got the gist, and ends By my side, Was the guy I'd missed, Was the guy I'd missed.

The use of “guy” is interesting, is it a gender neutral word, or masculine, in the song’s context, the narrator is referencing their friend’s old life, however throughout the song Josephine is never misgendered.

In verse 3 they discuss both their pasts, To talk about old times, and the final verse 4 has a positive outcome, which is not always the experience trans people have with all their friends, Although I lost old Joe, I've got a new girlfriend, I've got a new girlfriend.

And we end with a song from the last year of the decade, Reflection by Christina Aguilera, released in June 1999, from her debut album, which is from the perspective of a trans woman wishing they could transition, and live their authentic life.

In verse 1 they express that people are not seeing her true self, You may think you see who I really am, and ends with a sentiment I had before I transitioned, It's as if I play a part.

In verse 2 they know that the person the world sees is not the real person, If I wear a mask, I can fool the world, but ends with regret, But I cannot fool my heart.

And with the chorus, When will my reflection show who I am inside?, is a wish that they could become the woman they know themselves to be, and in verse 3 they relate the world’s lack of acceptance, In a world where I have to hide my heart.

But with verse 4 she decides to affirm her gender identity, I will show the world what's inside my heart, but with the chorus Why is my reflection someone I don't know?, they bemoan that the face they see is not who they know themself to be, and is further expressed in verse 5, When will my reflection show who I am inside?.

And the last chorus reveals that they will transition, I won't pretend that I'm, Someone else for all time, and the song ends with a question, When will my reflection show who I am inside?.

And with the last song we come to the end of the first part of this celebration of gender diversity in song, and I hope you have enjoyed as much as I did, listening to all the songs I discussed, and please don’t forget you can leave a comment, totally anonymously if you wish, on my website supporting the podcast at www.twts.co.uk.

This episode was written and presented by me, Carolyne O’Reilly, thank you for listening.

Next time, “Celebrating Gender Diversity in Song - Part Two”