Some have argued that her shocking tell-all was, at least partly, Bentley’s way of staying relevant. Writer Casira Copes reminds us of the Renaissance’s most famous lesbian entertainer. 1940 (NMAAHC) As a singer, Bentley became known for a deep, growling voice and a trumpet-like … Gladys Bentley . It was a flowering time of African-American arts, letters, cultural expression. 'That big gorilla. Mayflower contract signed by the men in the group “…for the glory of God and advancement of the Christian faith…” Established gender normsthat determined the nuclear family unit was the basis for all ot… In 1928, Bentley began a recording career that would span two decades. Born on August 12, 1907, an opulent Leo, Gladys Bentley was destined to show up and show out. Two years later, Bentley publicly married her white girlfriend in an Atlantic City, NJ, ceremony. 'The clubs where I worked overflowed with celebrities. She went back into the closet so that one day I would never have to do that. * If that all went down in the 1920s, why haven't you ever heard about it? Gladys Bentley was an American blues singer, pianist and entertainer, and a prominent figure in the Harlem Renaissance. She would appear onstage as an openly lesbian drag king, … In the world of Harlem nightlife, Gladys Bentley stood apart from other entertainers. Clip | Meet Charlotta Spears Bass – The First Black Woman to Run for Vice President of the U.S. Her music can be found on most streaming platforms, and you would be doing yourself a huge disservice by not exploring it. In that same article, Bentley stated that she consulted a doctor to receive hormone treatments, and also married a man. Gladys Bentley by unidentified photographer, ca. Ethel Waters did it, Marlene Dietrich did it. Despite the "13 yrs in NY," which … . She became an instant sensation after performing at the most popular gay speakeasy, the Clam House, and soon toured the country as a pianist and singer. Early 1930s. Gladys Bentley, a blues singer and lesbian icon, claimed to have been born in the Caribbean. Jones speculates that the politics of the time forced Bentley back into the closet, and her Ebony confessional was a means to appease the black middle-class bourgeois the magazine catered to. Her father was African American; her mother, an immigrant from Trinidad. 'I have earned the distinction of being the first, and in some cases, the only performer of my race to crash the most plush glitter spots. James Baldwin. Subscribe to the American Masters Newsletter. Throughout her life Bentley continued to win the hearts of those around her, but ultimately struggled to find peace within herself. We have information on 15 results for Gladys Bentley… One cannot for certain say how exactly Gladys Bentley felt about her sexuality and gender, however, it is clear that she challenged the norms and did what she could to feed her soul. When it comes to discussing our queer elders – especially those of a century ago – it’s important to remember that they didn’t always speak of themselves in the way we might have liked or preferred from our modern perch, with our modern understanding of queer identities and queer politics. It was during the McCarthyism era, when many celebrities, especially homosexuals, were hoping just to … . One of the reasons Harlem emerges as such a central site for queer African Americans at this time is because this is the Prohibition Era. Ebony, August 1952. If you read that article really closely, it really is a plea for tolerance and understanding. Gladys Bentley was born on Aug. 12, 1907, in Philadelphia to a Trinidadian mother and black American father. She was not the only person who cross-dressed. Gladys Alberta Bentley was born on August 12, 1907, which makes her a Leo. The caveat was that they were looking for a male pianist to take the spot. Gladys Bentley was born in Philadelphia in 1907, the oldest of four children in a poor family. There's such a concern about racial uplift, upward mobility, that a figure such as Bentley is seen as so deviant that many in the mainstream African American community were not a fan, to put it mildly. However, it’s important to take a deeper look into the context and year that her account was published. A complete and total badass, and a blues singer and pianist during New York City’s Harlem Renaissance, wherein the neighborhood became a … I won’t pretend to know enough astrology to deduce any meaning from this, but it felt important … Gladys Bentley was an incredible talent on the piano and one of the few women at this time who was really boldly out and unashamed of her queer desires. When African Americans left the South with the Great Migration they really create lives for themselves in places like New York, Chicago, Detroit. Subscribe for special festival announcements, job boards and exclusive content. Below, identified as from 1950-1951. This is the Jim Crow era, right? And I ought to know.'. Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com: accessed ), memorial page for Gladys Bentley Smith (1903–1988), Find a Grave Memorial no. This is especially true in the music and entertainment industry. 'Some decide to take the reins of their destiny in their own hands. From an early age, she felt different and wrote about this in her 1952 “I Am A Woman Again” profile published in Ebony magazine. When I asked writers to submit hidden history for publication at the anti-racism blog Momentum, I wasn’t prepared for the sheer breadth and depth of what writers submitted. Blues Singer Gladys Bentley Broke Ground With Marriage to a Woman in 1931. Bentley's act fell on hard times in the mid 1930s. A documentary, T’Ain’t Nobody’s Bizness: Queer Blues Divas of the 1920s is playing a variety of festival circuits in the United States, and talks about Bentley with other queer performers of the era. Casira Copes sent … She recalls being at Connie’s Inn one night in Harlem where she met a friend who told her that the Mad House, a popular nearby nightclub  was looking for a pianist to start working right away. The 250-pound openly lesbian singer, pianist, and self-described “male impersonator,” was infamous for performing double-entendre laden songs in men’s evening clothes as a chorus line of drag queens danced behind her. We have the rise of medical experts who study the science of sex, who are introducing terms like homosexual and heterosexual, but most doctors at this time saw same sex desire as pathological. The state of California actually had anti-cross-dressing laws that went back to the 19th century to keep entertainment good and clean. Gladys Bentley was born in 1907 to a working class family in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Bentley was the first prominent performer of her era to embrace a trans identity . ... and a popular lesbian performer named Gladys Bentley… I think she is spinning a tale of respectability, right? As she gained more recognition and success, she felt more comfortable embracing her true self, which she had spent much of her childhood suppressing. Not only was Gladys Bentley a gifted pianist and blues singer, but she was also a pioneer in testing the limits for sexuality, gender and race in her performances. From an early age, she felt different and wrote about this in her 1952 “I Am A Woman Again” profile published in Ebony magazine. Bentley's lyrics were known for their bold content, highlighting her cross-dressing tendencies and her feelings towards women. There she explains how she loved to don her brother’s clothes, and only after ridicule from other children and her own parents, she conceded to wear feminine clothes. As one of the most notorious and successful lesbian entertainers of the 1920s and '30s, Gladys Bentley performed in top hat and white tuxedo at swank New York nightclubs. According to an article she wrote for Ebony in 1952, she always knew she was “different.” She loved wearing her brothers’ suits—a fondness that got … She's always playing with identity and presentation and fluidity. Gladys Bentley . Gladys Bentley was a consummate show woman, and she simply didn’t know how to let a publicity opportunity pass her by. We're going to try to do 'Them There Eyes.'. Donning a top hat and tuxedo, Bentley would sing the … And with the end of prohibition, we actually see more regulation of nightclub spaces. In a world where the intersections of her identity made it more than difficult to navigate and find happiness, she still left a legacy of excellent music, performanship, and style. Assistant Professor of Minority Studies and author Regina V. Jones explains in her essay that during the McCarthy Era, lesbian women and gay men were outlawed and lost their jobs consequently when their sexuality became public knowledge. via Wikimedia Commons Gladys Bentley (1907-1960) Bentley was a gender-bending performer during the Harlem Renaissance. When I asked writers to submit hidden history for publication at the anti-racism blog Momentum, I wasn’t prepared for the sheer breadth and depth of what writers submitted. 1620 – Colonial Plymouth established with Puritan norms. Gladys Bentley (1907-1960) Bentley was a gender-bending performer during the Harlem Renaissance. Above, Bentley and bandleader Willie Bryant, April 17, 1936, in front of posters for their Apollo show. Her dynamic piano playing, blues songs about sexism and abusive relationships, and ability to alter her voice in a way that sounded identical to a trumpet, attracted audiences of all types. Bentley’s mother worried about her attraction to women for most of her childhood, according to an article in the New York Times. Gladys Bentley was once known as the most popular Black entertainer in the US. And this leads to what is known as not only the Red Scare but also the Lavender Scare, and this kind of comes to a head with the firing of hundreds of government employees who are thought to be gay. During the late 1920's, Bentley recorded for the OKeh Record label and then for Victor Records in 1930. But there she faced challenges to her desire to perform on stage in men's clothing. She's not condemning who she was or is, but really explaining the struggles of what it meant to live her life. So from 1920 to 1933, it is illegal to purchase alcohol, but of course we have the emergence of speakeasies where people are able to purchase bootleg alcohol and take part in other illicit activities, from gambling to interracial dancing or same-sex dancing. LGBT+ history is black history. Born on August 12, 1907, an opulent Leo, Gladys Bentley was destined to show up and show out. Why use Whitepages? In the early 1950s, Bentley adapted her public image to match the times. This issue has been around for as long as women have had talent and the desire to display it. She invited us to be our whole selves and that's what we all want to be.'. In 1923, at age 16, with dreams of becoming a musician, Bentley ran away from home to live in Harlem, New York - then the epicenter of the Harlem Renaissance. When people talk about the Harlem renaissance they talk about the remarkable literature, art and music that came out of the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan from 1918 until 1929. She didn't feel like her body represented who she was. Above, Gladys Bentley, illustrator Prentiss Taylor, and Nora Holt, photo by Carl Van Vechten, 1935. In Langston Hughes’s autobiography The Big Sea, he refers to Bentley as an “amazing exhibition of musical energy--a large, dark, masculine lady, whose feet pounded the floor while her fingers pounded the keyboard--a perfect piece of African Sculpture, animated by her own rhythm.”. That is the way I reacted to being an unwanted child.'. 'I have violated the accepted code of morals, but the world applauded my piano playing and song styling. Bentley describes how she went from performing in skirts, full dress shirts, and oxfords in her earlier years to tailor-made suits with tails, top hats, and a cane to match each costume. Women from all walks of life are held to a different and much higher standard in order to gain the same recognition as the men around them. The question remains: Who was Gladys Bentley? The third result is Gladys L Bentley age 80+ in New York Mills, MN. Early magazine and newspaper articles. Early on she knew that she was attracted to women. Building these urban communities that were tolerant, that supported experimentation and different kinds of identities. She was known by most as an out and proud lesbian, yet in her profile, she claims to have been cured of her queer ways, and “found happiness in love after medical treatment to correct her strange affliction”. Blues singer and pianist Gladys Bentley made her only television appearance on Groucho Marx's 'You Bet Your Life' comedy show.