FeatureDesigner: Sadhana Pakala (Business Administartion and Design) Fall 2020
8
Black Queer Female Representation in the Blues Era The blues, like most of American popular music, was conceived by a community who often is not given its due credit, respectability or visibility. Not only was the creation of the genre instrumental in Black America’s establishment of artistic integrity during the civil rights movement, but it was also a cultural movement where other important representation can be found, particularly that of the queer community. Within that sphere of the Black community, queer women can be credited as many of the biggest names in blues and jazz, and even the larger music industry. Figures in both blues performance and composition represented women and queer culture when it was no simple task, facing the scrutiny of a very unwelcoming general public.
Through the unabashed careers of these musicians, we are able to look back at this era in music and see a spectrum of diversity that is inclusive of more than society was comfortable with then, and a source of pride for members of the community today. Sexuality on its own was not a taboo topic within blues music. In fact, it was within this genre that overtly sexual subject matter was first expressed in American popular music. Contrasting to wholesome, family-friendly crooners such as Pat Boone, blues artists used topics like infidelity, casual sex, and lustfulness often. The reception of this was mixed at first, but there eventually grew to be a general embrace, as the blues were meant to embody and express the human experience,
