R.I.P. Holly Woodlawn

At my age one of the moments of knowing I wasn't alone in the closet with my gender dysphoria was when Lou Reed crooned "Take a Walk on the Wild Side." It started like this:

Holly came from Miami F-L-A,

Hitchhiked her way across the U.S.A.,

Plucked her eyebrows on the way,

Shaved her legs and then he was a she.

Very soon, Ms. Woodlawn took her place in the Warhol pantheon alongside two other freshly minted stars, the transgender actresses Jackie Curtis and Candy Darling. Together, they brought a daffy, deadpan style to Mr. Morrissey’s next film, “Women in Revolt,” also produced by Warhol, a satire on the women’s liberation movement, with Ms. Woodlawn playing a nymphomaniac fashion model who detests men and joins the militant organization P.I.G. (Politically Involved Girls).

Thanks Holly! Rest in Peace.

Transsexual Muse

"Lou Reed with Rachel"

With the passing of rock icon Lou Reed, finally bits and pieces of his transsexual inspiration Rachel are beginning to surface from sites such as Dangerous Minds :

"The source of inspiration for most of the songs on Coney Island Baby, Lou Reed’s transvestite lover and muse Rachel (Tommy) has always been somewhat of a mystery figure. In all that’s been written about Reed, Rachel is barely a footnote. Despite playing a significant romantic role in Reed’s life and even touring with him during the mid-70s, Rachel managed to keep her private life private. Even details of her death are vague. She is rumored to have died in the early 90s."

Go here for more.

It's a "Boo ti Ful" Day in Cyrsti's Condo

Well, it's Boo-ti-ful" in and outside too.  Gray skies, storms and high winds tonight to the extent the kids Trick or Treating my be canceled.

I will have a final "Best of" Halloween experience to pass along, but first a couple comments too:

From Billie: I also got stoned and I certainly did not miss him, either! His was THE message for the times! Especially, "Walk on the Wild Side"! He will be greatly missed by me and hopefully his message will be passed along.

 RIP Lou!!  You are so right Billie, the first time I heard part of the verse which said "shaved his legs and then he was a she" I was driving and about wrecked the car!

Plus a costume idea from Pat:  " I plan to dress and do a bit of a pub crawl for Halloween. One place that I will hit will be having Karaoke tonight. In the past I have done songs such as Lola by the Kinks and Dylan's Just like a Woman but I have shied away from trying "Wild Side". Perhaps tonight?"

Sure why not!!! Just remember the old bar saying, "You can judge how fast the beer bottle is coming at you from the sound of it's whup, whup!"

Finally, under "it's a small world" thought from Paula in the UK:

Oh no, now you have said that you have reminded me of doing my paper round early in the morning when no one else was around, wearing tights (pantihose) and a gym slip which I had "acquired" , If only Id known then what I know now.  You got me on that one, woman!  I don't recall adding the extra "fashion" accessories you did!

Paula, from bathroom wall graffiti to paper "rounds" we seem to share a lot of common history.

As always, thanks for the comments and we will do Halloween in the next post!

Walked on the "Wild Side"

Of course I noticed immediately the passing of Lou Reed, of the Velvet Underground fame. Lou Reed appeared on the scene as I was questioning my gender identity seriously for the first time.  I say seriously because down deep I knew cross dressing was just not going to be an end all solution for me but I was afraid to look at other alternatives which would effectively change my life forever.

Lou Reed

Reed's biggest hit "Walk on the Wild Side" hit the charts in 1972, and homosexuality was still classified as a mental illness by the American Psychiatric Association In the middle of all of this  "The Wild Side" hit the airwaves and was.famously written about a gay hustler and several trans people, including his friend and Warhol-muse Candy Darling.

It is important to note Lou Reed had more than a commercial or passing interests in transgender women. He  had his own personal trans muse in the form of Rachel, a Mexican hairdresser variously described as transvestite and transsexual by her contemporaries. Rachel and Reed appeared  to have been lovers for much of the 70s and fans suggest she inspired some of his greatest work.

Quite possibly though, Lou Reed's greatest gift to the transgender community is he outed us all to the world.  All of a sudden we existed.  Plus, many of us were very exotic and even cool!

At the time,  Lou Reed was yet another exciting influence for me during a time of flux in my life. I was graduating college and into the Army and I most of the time I joked and said, "I got stoned and missed him"- but the opposite was true.

 I hope his final "Walk on the Wild Side" is a good one!  RIP Lou!

Read more on Lou Reed courtesy of Paris Lees ... here.

Take a Walk on the Wild Side

Lou and Rachel

Remember Lou Reed and his classic song "Take a Walk on the Wild Side?
Here's a line from the song:

"Holly came from Miami, F.L.A. Hitch-hiked her way across the U.S.A. Plucked her eyebrows on the way Shaved her legs and then he was a she"

Which supposedly was about "Holly Woodlawn"

It turns out Lou's source of inspiration for most of the songs on "Coney Island Baby" was his trans lover and muse Rachel," who has has always been "somewhat of a mystery figure."
And I guess she still is!