I have two children in middle school or junior high school, if you prefer. They spend significant time in school learning about tolerance for LGBTQ people. There’s no question that in America today, kids need to be taught basic courtesy and kindness. But students and teachers think that they are discovering something new.
Sorry to sound a little bit like your father, or grandfather, screaming, “get off my lawn,” but this isn’t cutting-edge thinking. The revolution happened long ago. We learned about these issues through music and cultural issues, all broadcast on the radio when baby boomers were teens.
We grew accustomed to cross-dressing, gay and transgender people largely through the music we grew up with on the radio, songs still being heard on Classic Rock radio. Some examples include:
“Well, you should see Polythene Pam
She’s so good-looking, but she looks like a man
Well, you should see her in drag dressed in her polythene bag.”
–“Polythene Pam,” The Beatles
“Holly came from Miami F-L-A. Hitchhiked her way across the USA
Plucked her eyebrows on the way
Shaved her legs, and then he was a she.”
–“Walk on the Wild Side,” Lou Reed
“A story comes to mind about a friend named George
Georgie boy was gay, I guess
Nothing more and nothing less.”
–“The Killing of Georgie,” Rod Stewart
“You’ve got your mother in a whirl
She’s not sure if you’re a boy or a girl.”
–“Rebel Rebel,” David Bowie –
A long list of Bowie’s songs deals with cross-dressing, transgender, and homosexuality. Bowie turned sexual ambiguity into an art form.
“Number 47 said to number 43
You’re the cutest jailbird I ever did see
I sure would be delighted with your company.”
–“Jailhouse Rock,” Elvis Presley
“Sweet Loretta Martin thought she was a woman
, but she was another man.”
–“Get Back,” The Beatles
–“Tutti Frutti,” Little Richard. Performers from Little Richard to Freddie Mercury were flamboyant and made little effort to hide their sexuality.
“One girl was called Jean Marie
Another little was called Felicity
Another little girl was Sally Joy
The other was me, and I’m a boy.”
–“I’m a Boy,” The Who
“Well, I’m not dumb, but I can’t understand
Why she walks like a woman and talks like a man.”
–“Lola,” Kinks
“Now Jimmy looking sweet though he dresses like a queen.”
–“All the Young Dudes,” Mott the Hoople (written by David Bowie)
“Desmond stays at home and does his pretty face
And in the evening, she’s a singer with the band.”
–“Ob la di ob la da,” The Beatles
These are a handful of songs that come to mind off the top of my head. The list isn’t intended to be complete but demonstrates the point. Some people may dispute my interpretation of these songs, and that’s okay. People understand music differently.
In addition to playing these and other songs that expressed the acceptance of different sexual mores, many radio stations participated in promotions such as late weekend night screenings of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” which, if not altogether accurate, was campy and fun. By the mid-1980s, when the AIDS crisis became known, many stations held various appeals and drives to educate, raise awareness, and funds.
What’s indisputable is that what is being taught in schools today as a new tolerance has had acceptance in rock music and on the radio since the genre began. So perhaps in study hall (or whatever they call it now) or gym, instead of playing today’s music, much of which has some hateful lyrics, they should play Classic Rock, the music broadcast when the revolution took place. Then schools can teach reading, writing, and arithmetic for the rest of the day.
I know, “Okay, Boomer.”
Andy Bloom is president of Andy Bloom Communications. He specializes in media training and political communications. He has programmed legendary stations including WIP, WPHT and WYSP/Philadelphia, KLSX, Los Angeles and WCCO Minneapolis. He was Vice President Programming for Emmis International, Greater Media Inc. and Coleman Research. Andy also served as communications director for Rep. Michael R. Turner, R-Ohio. He can be reached by email at andy@andybloom.com or you can follow him on Twitter @AndyBloomCom.
