“This world is for me too, honey. And they have to understand that. I have a right to be here, just like everybody else. See, their problem is: they don’t want you to know about me. Because, first of all, I get too many dicks hard. Simple as that.” – Octavia St. Laurent (March 16, 1964 – May 17, 2009)
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Photo: Temperance and Octavia St. Laurent, New York City, 1989. Photo © Chantal Regnault.
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Octavia St. Laurent (a.k.a. Heavenly Angel Octavia St. Laurent Manolo Blahnik; a.k.a. Octavia St. Laurent Mizrahi), who was born fifty-three years ago today, was one of the trans icons of New York City’s underground voguing community, brought to the attention of the mainstream by Jennie Livingston’s seminal 1990 documentary “Paris is Burning.”
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“I want to be somebody,” Octavia told the world. “I mean, I am somebody. I just want to be a rich somebody.”
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Octavia had the distinction of being one of the longest-living “Paris is Burning” subjects, and her presence in the decades after the documentary was as unapologetically fabulous and queer as ever. Among other things, she used her fame—and the consistently-increasing awareness of the film—to speak out about violence, drug addiction, and AIDS in and among queer communities of color.
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In her last interview, Octavia was asked what advice she would give to the legendary children of the future. “Live life,” she said. “Live life and do not take anything for granted. Because what you have today can instantly be gone tomorrow. And don’t settle for nothing but the best.”
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Octavia St. Laurent died of cancer on May 17, 2009; she was forty-five. #lgbthistory #HavePrideInHistory #OctaviaStLaurent
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