The Kinks Celebrate Gender Diversity

At the end of the last episode, A Year of Trans Wise Trans Strong, I concluded, “Next time, Is yet to be decided!”, as at the time of recording, I wasn’t sure what this episode would be about.

However when reviewing the previous episodes for “A Year of…”, I came across an idea I had to explore gender diversity in song, but was not sure if I would find a sufficient number of songs.

However a quick search online provided ample choice, with one group prominent, “The Kinks”, and therefore I decided to first, take a deep dive into their songs, with a broader look at gender diversity in song, to follow in the next episode.

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

Episode eighteen “The Kinks Celebrate Gender Diversity”

On my website at www.twts.co.uk, the transcript page of this episode, will have a link to a page with the lyrics of all the songs I will discuss.

And I would really love to hear from you, which you can also do so on my website, totally anonymously if you wish, on the Have Your Say page, and I have an idea for a future episode which would be a Q & A, but of course I will need some Qs, so I can provide the As.

If you are listening to this episode via my website on the transcription page, you might want to pause, when a song title is mentioned and listen to it, as its green text is a hyperlink to Spotify, although one song is red texted, and this is a link to YouTube, and perhaps after hearing my thoughts, listen to the song again.

The text in blue, links to a webpage, and turquoise, text are the lyrics, but before I climb to the top diving board, who are The Kinks?

The Kinks began as part of the British Beat movement, and before I go any further, I would like to acknowledge The Kinks’ official website.

The group was formed by two brothers, Ray and Dave Davies, in Muswell Hill, North London, although initially they were called “The Ravens”, playing a mixture of R&B and rock ‘n’ roll with their friend Peter Quaife on bass.

Then in 1964, a self-produced demo tape gained them a contract with Pye Records, however before signing, Mick Avory replaced their original drummer Micky Willet, and they changed their name, and classic line-up of “The Kinks” was born.

And it was with their third single, released in October 1964, You Really Got Me, a UK number one, that their career took off, written by Ray the group’s lead singer, and principle song writer, and propelled by Dave’s unique guitar sound, achieved by slashing the speaker cone of his guitar amp.

Although not about gender diversity, it is well worth a listen, hence the Spotify link, as it has been cited as the inspiration for garage rock, punk and heavy metal, and Blur’s Damon Albarn and Noel and Liam Gallagher from Oasis, acknowledged the band’s influence, earning Ray Davies the title, “Godfather of Britpop”.

And so one year on from “You Really Got Me”, from November 1965, we come to the first song, Dedicated Follower of Fashion, written by Ray.

The song centres around a person who is pretty vain, and always wants to be seen wearing the height of sixties fashion, and is sung by Davies with a degree of amusement at this modern day Beau Brummell, who in the early nineteenth century, could also have been described as a dedicated follower of fashion.

So lets start with the first verse and, His clothes are loud, but never square, square was a slang term for someone who was conventional, and perhaps old-fashioned, and originated with American Jazz musicians of the 1940’s for people who preferred classical or traditional music, and where not, to use another couple of 40’s slang words, “cool” or “hip”.

Then in the chorus after the second verse, there is, And when he pulls his frilly nylon panties right up tight, which suggests cross-dressing, as using panties, indicates they were pulling on female underwear.

And the next chorus, reveals that the person being sung about was very vain, There's one thing that he loves, and that is flattery.

With verse 3 there is Everywhere the Carnabetian army marches on, followed by Each one a dedicated follower of fashion, indicates that the subject of the song is not the only follower of fashion, and Carnabetian, is an allusion to Carnaby Street, London, which in the sixties was the centre of the latest fashions, with many independent fashion designers, such as Mary Quant having an establishment there.

Then in the second chorus, He flits from shop to shop just like a butterfly, and interestingly a butterfly has a strong association with the trans community, particularly trans women, because of its metamorphosis into a beautiful being, although perhaps in this context, it is more a allusion to a butterflies flight.

And then the next line, In matters of the cloth he is as fickle as can be, shows how fussy he is about his dress, and the song ends with an outro, He's a dedicated follower of fashion, sung twice.

And leaving the sixties behind, the seventies would see three songs that explored gender diversity and the most well known is, Lola, released in June 1970.

I’ve been on quite a journey with this song, when I first heard it in the early seventies, when I was around seven or eight, I liked it, but I think it would be fair to say my understanding of its lyrics was superficial.

However, coming back to the song in my teens, it felt like a revelation, with its exploration of gender diversity, as at that time I was questioning, but not knowing why, I felt drawn to a feminine identity, and I would grasp at anything that seemed to justify how I felt.

Such as the Bugs Bunny Merrie Melody cartoon I saw in the 70’s called, “What’s Opera, Doc?”, that I mention in the introduction to, I Am Not A Disorder, which was a parody of Richard Wagner's Ring Cycle.

In the cartoon, Bugs was dressed en femme, and treated respectfully, as if they were a female bunny, which given it was made in 1957, was amazing, and I appreciate sighting a cartoon bunny might seem somewhat surreal, but I hope it illustrates how few and far between, were positive affirmations of who I now know I am, a trans woman.

However a year or so after I came out as a trans woman in January 2019, I had become somewhat sensitive to anything that I felt was gender critical, and it was around this time I saw a BBC programme that was about BBC banned records, one of which was Lola.

My response then was negative, because I listened to just the surface of the song, but before revealing which lyrics provoked this response, why was it banned, and was the song inspired by a real event?

Well it seems it may have been inspired by an encounter by the band’s manager, Robert Wace, in Paris, and an aspect worth highlighting is throughout the song, told from the perspective of a narrator, Lola is never misgendered in respect of pronouns, and is always referred to as she or her.

So lets look deep into the groove of the song, which starts, I met her in a club down in old Soho, Where you drink champagne and it tastes just like, Coca-Cola, and that was the cause of the ban,or possibly more accurately, the threat of a ban, product placement, not the exploration of gender diversity.

And not being able to distinguish between the taste of champagne, which can be sweet tasting and Coca-Cola, might suggest that the narrator was not that sophisticated.

So to gain airplay on the BBC, Ray Davies had to fly back to London from the USA, where “The Kinks” where touring, to replace Coca Cola with Cherry Cola, I kid you not.

Then the first verse continues, She walked up to me and she asked me to dance, which subverts the then traditional, old fashioned, if you will, expectation of female/male roles, and was the first hint at the power dynamic between the two.

Followed by, I asked her her name and in a dark brown voice she said, "Lola", that suggest Lola’s voice has a lower octave range than the somewhat unworldly narrator expects.

Then in the first chorus there is, Well, I'm not the world's most physical guy, But when she squeezed me tight, she nearly broke my spine, which illustrates the physical differences between the narrator and Lola.

And also challenged the sexist stereotypical notion that only men are strong and powerful.

Then continues, Well, I'm not dumb, but I can't understand, Why she walked like a woman but talked like a man, is the line why I had an issue with this song, as I am somewhat sensitive about my voice.

Which although after voice feminising speech therapy is more feminine, I am guilty of not practicing regularly, if you think of the voice like an instrument, practice makes perfect.

Those two lines express the narrator’s confusion that Lola’s voice was lower than they expected a woman to sound, and was not a criticism of Lola, and whilst generally the female octal range is higher than a man’s, it can be lower.

In verse 2 there is, She picked me up and sat me on her knee, which continues the subversion of gender roles, with Lola taking the lead.

In the second chorus the narrator reveals they are not comfortable at expressing their emotions, Well, I'm not the world's most passionate guy, and is hesitant to fall in love with Lola, But when I looked in her eyes, well I almost fell for my Lola.

And the bridge begins with the narrator initially being assertive, I pushed her away, I walked to the door, then their resolve fails, I fell to the floor, I got down on my knees, and concludes, Then I looked at her and she at me, hints at an emotional connection between the narrator and Lola.

Which is clarified in the final verse 3, Well, that's the way that I want it to stay, And I always want it to be that way for my Lola, that they have fallen in love with Lola.

Then, Girls will be boys and boys will be girls, alludes to gender ambiguity and androgyny, and the fashion that men had long hair and some women had short hair, a fashion pioneered by Twiggy.

And the verse concludes by further expressing the narrator’s confusion at the diversity of gender expression, It's a mixed up, muddled up, shook up world, except for Lola, but that they have no doubts about Lola.

In the last chorus they reveal they have no experience with women, And I'd never, ever kissed a woman before, and then with But Lola smiled and took me by the hand, And said, "Dear boy, I'm gonna make you a man”, Lola takes the lead and initiates making love to them.

Finally with, Well, I'm not the world's most masculine man, the narrator is making a thoughtful witty comment about their physicality, and with, But, I know what I am and I'm glad I'm a man, they reveal they’re happy with their physicality, and ends with And so is Lola, before the outro, and multiple repeats of La-la-la-la-Lola.

Next we come to On the Outside released in February 1977, where we learn in the first verse that the person the song is about, is somewhat agoraphobic, You stay at home, and this is reinforced by the third line, You never go anywhere, you say you've nothing to wear.

And the second half of that line, you say you've nothing to wear, is a phrase one might use about female dress and is a hint about the person.

Then in verse 2 the narrator lets the person know, that they are aware they are supressing something about themself, There's something hidden in you, And you keep it out of view, and then reassures with, You shouldn't feel any guilt, or have any doubts.

And the verse ends with the narrator telling the person that they must embraced their authentic self, You gotta let yourself out whilst there's something left of you.

And with the first chorus, Hey baby blue, suggests that the person the narrator is talking to is sad, and continues that they should embrace their true self, Don't hide your troubles inside, and that they want to meet this person, I'd sure like to know you, and ends with an invitation, And there's so much to show you on the outside.

Then the second chorus starts with further reassurance, Somehow I know that we are gonna get by, and with, So stop acting like a lady, come and cry like a baby on the outside, they asked them to stop repressing their emotions, and we learn that the person the song is about is a trans woman.

And the last line of the chorus is further reassurance, I know we're gonna be alright.

Verse 3 further reassures and repeats the line, So stop acting like a lady,...

Verse 4 reveals that the person the song is about, believes their feeling that they are a woman is wrong, You think you're a freak, which is possible how some trans people initially feel, and that they would not be accepted as a woman, And you're afraid to compete.

And with, You're a closet queen, we learn that they are feminine at home, but not outside, and that they feel guilty, You think it's obscene, To let the people see what's deep inside of you, but of course this guilt has been fostered on them by society.

With verse 5, the narrator tells them that they know how they are feeling, and that they know there have always been trans people, and not to feel guilty, I know what you're going through, But what you are is nothing new, So don't feel ashamed.

And ends with a command to come out, Role up the blinds and let the sun come shining through.

Then the two choruses are repeated, except for the third line of the first chorus, which is now, You should be glad in the gay, which is used in its old sense of joyful,

and the forth line, now tells the person that no one cares if they are open about being transgender, Nobody cares anyway on the outside.

Finally the song ends with a repeat of the first 2 lines of the second chorus, and concludes, On the outside, On the outside, Of night.

Before you listen to this, penultimate song, you should be aware that it contains two derogatory homophobic words, and if you do not want to listen to it, when I discussed the song,

I will not use the words, but say f-word and p-word.

And so to May 1978, and the release of Out of the Wardrobe.

I was in two minds about including this song, for the reasons just mentioned, but its positivity about accepting gender-nonconformity, just won out, just!

Those two words were used to say that the person the song is about is not a gay man but someone who cross dresses, but even in 1978 I am sure some people would have found them offensive, let alone today, and even in the context of the song; cannot see a justification for using them.

From the first verse, we learn the song is about a person called Dick, and the first line, Has anybody here seen a chick called Dick?, raises a question about their gender identity, but proceeds to describe them in masculine terms, with phrases such as “…real burly..” “…and his arms are all brown and hairy”.

But with, He married Betty Lou back in '65 when you had to be butch to survive, and But lately he's been looking at his wife with mixed emotions, suggests they felt they had to adopt a gender expression which was not reflective of their true gender identity.

Then with verse 2, You see, he's not a commonplace closet queen, we learn that the person the song is about is more complex, however closet queen, would be a derogatory term if about a gay man who is not open about their sexuality, but here it alludes to cross dressing.

Which is confirmed by the last two lines of the verse, 'Cause when he puts on that dress, and He looks like a princess, and the proceeding line 2 suggests that, He shouldn't be hidden, he should be seen.

But as verse 3 reveals, their wife was not aware of their true gender identity, Well, the day he came out of the wardrobe and Betty Lou got quite a surprise.

And continues by describing her indecision, She didn't know whether she should get angry or not bat an eye, Should she go or stay or should she try to get a trial separation?

Then with verse 4 we come to the first derogatory word, You see, he's not a f-word as you might suppose, which was to say they were not gay.

The verse continues to reveal that Dick feels constrained by male dress and how liberated they feel when dressed en femme, 'Cause when he puts on that dress, He feels like a princess.

With verse 5 we come to the second derogatory word, which rhymed with a word in the second line, He's not a dandy, he's only living out a fantasy, He's not a p-word, he's only being what he wants to be, which expresses that his gender expression is not performative but reflective of who they are, albeit offensively.

And the verse ends with them expressing that they are happy, that they are no longer living a lie in terms of their gender identity, with the last line containing the title of the song, as a metaphor for coming out, He's out of the wardrobe and now he's got no regrets.

In verse 6 Betty Lou is at first unsure, but then embraces the change, and is very happy and with line 5, She says that it helps their relationship, and the last line reveals that their friends are beginning to accept the change, And their friends are finally coming 'round to their way of thinking.

With verse 7, we learn that there is now a reversal of stereotypical gender roles by the lines, She wears the trousers and smokes the pipe, And he washes up and she helps him wipe.

And the song ends with verse 8, where Dick expresses that they are content, and happy being true to themself, and that everyone knows, and as the last line puts it, He's out of the wardrobe and now he's got no regrets.

A new decade and a sequel to “Lola”, Destroyer, which was released in August 1981, and whose main riff comes from another Kinks’ song, All Day and All of the Night.

From the first verse we learn that the narrator is paranoid, Feelin' guilty, feelin' scared, hidden cameras everywhere, and that they are trying to control their anxiety.

Then in verse 2 they express self doubt by alluding to being old fashioned by, But I'm really not as cool as I'd like to be.

Then continues 'Cause there's a red under my bed, which given verse 1’s expression of paranoia is possibly a reference to Secobarbital, a barbiturate, whose capsule colour is red/orange, and misuse recreationally can case paranoia.

This is feeling of paranoia is reinforced by, And there's a little yellow man in my head, And there's a true blue inside of me, and the verse ends with them expressing how inhibited they feel, That keeps stoppin' me, touchin' you, Wantin' you, lovin' you.

Then the chorus leaves little doubt about their mental health with two refrains of Paranoia, the destroyer.

With verse 3, the narrator relates how Lola tells them, that their behaviour is spirally out of control by, “…One day, you're gonna self-destruct, You're up, you're down, I can't work you out, and he is ruining their relationship by, You get a good thing goin' then you blow yourself out".

Then this time the chorus is from Lola’s point of view with again a double refrain, Silly boy, you self-destroyer.

And with verse 4 Lola take up the narrative, chiding the narrator but also reassuring them with, Silly boy, you got so much to live for, and tell them their could lose it all, You're so insecure, you self-destroyer.

And with the chorus the narrative I think reverts back to the narrator, double repeating again Paranoia, the destroyer, interleaved between the first line’s, And it goes like this, here it goes and Here it goes again.

Then in verse 5 the narrator asks for medical help and perhaps verse 2’s yellow man in my head, and true blue inside of me, was alluding to them believing something was inside them, There's a tiny device inside of me, I'm a self-destructin' man.

In verse 6, the narrator continues to voice his paranoia, but the doctor reassures them, He said, "You're not goin' crazy, you're just a bit sad, 'Cause there's a man in you, gnawin' you, tearin' you into two", suggesting that the narrator has an inner voice fuelling his paranoia.

And again in the chorus Lola, tells the narrator that their paranoia is destroying them.

Then in the final verse, the narrator finally succumbs to their paranoia, with the last line, Light the fuse and start eruption, yeah.

And the song ends with the last chorus describing their full blown paranoia.

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

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