LGBTQIA+ HISTORY // DAY 03: . Gladys Bentley was born in 1907 to a mother who rejected her from birth because she wanted a boy. As a child, Gladys wore boys' clothes, had crushes on female teachers, and said she always felt different from others. Her family sent her to doctors and psychiatrists to correct her "unladylike behavior", which led to her running away from home at age 16 to live in Harlem. . Upon arriving in Harlem, Gladys answered an ad calling for a male pianist and began performing regularly in mens' clothing. Before long the club was named after her, and she was making a fortune singing and playing piano in clubs. She sang openly about sex, "sissies", "bulldaggers", and called men out in her songs. . Gladys was a memorable figure in the era known as the Harlem Renaissance, and she stood out even among that group of entertainers. She was a fat, loud, queer performer, and was described as as a “masculine-garbed, smut-slinging entertainer”. She was frequently criticized in the papers, harassed for crossdressing, and had to carry a special permit allowing her to be in public while wearing men's clothes. . Though same-sex marriages and interracial marriages weren't legally recognized at the time, Gladys was openly lesbian and even married a white woman. . During the McCarthy Era, Gladys was investigated as a possible "subversive" due to her same-sex marriage. Around the same time, she made an about-face with her sexuality and gender expression. She claimed to be "cured" by taking female hormones and married a man, then began studying to be a minister as her career as a performer waned. . Gladys Bentley died unexpectedly of pneumonia at her home in 1960, but leaves behind a legacy of strong black female masculinity. . #queerhistory #gayhistory #lgbtqhistory #queerpride #transpride #pride #pridemonth #pride2020 #sylviarivera #lgbt #lgbtqia #trans #transgender #queer #lesbian #gay #bisexual #intersex #asexual #pansexual #nonbinary https://www.instagram.com/p/CA_3sr_HNDN/?igshid=ed1avn5tccco