Pride Month Spotlight: Gladys Bentley

By Takiyah Ward

This month, the Art Queen of Converge Takiyah "TDub" Ward will highlight Queer community members who have or are positively impacting and pushing the next generation forward.

Gladys Bentley (stage name, Bobbie Minton) was a Harlem Renaissance blues singer and cross dresser.  She was one of the most well-known and financially successful black women in the United States in the 1920s and 1930s. She was a pioneer in pushing the envelope of gender, sexuality, class, and race with parody and exaggeration, personally and professionally. A talented pianist and blues singer, she ran away to New York City at the age of sixteen. From early on, Bentley overtly included sexuality in her act with her song content, stage moves, and attire. She often dressed as a man in her signature black-and-white tuxedo. In fact, she became the most prominent mannish lesbian of the Harlem Renaissance. 

There is little to no documentation on Gladys’ early life but rumor has it she dealt with a lot of rejection in her family home due to her chosen appearance, as even in her formative years she preferred more masculine clothing. By today’s definition, Gladys could be considered the first prominent Drag King. Choosing to leave home and be an out and proud lesbian from the start of her career makes her an icon who paved the way for gender non conforming performers of all kinds. We salute you Gladys!