Reel Queer: Documentary and Discussion

Reel Queer: Documentary & Discussion

Taint nobody’s business: Queer blues divas of the 1920s (28 mins)

T’Ain’t Nobody’s Bizness excavates the hidden sexualities of Black female entertainers who reigned over the nascent blues recording industry of the 1920s. Unlike the male-dominated jazz scene, early blues provided a space for women to take the lead and model an autonomy that was remarkable for women of any color or sexual orientation. The fact that some of these women, still famous 90 years later, successfully conducted same-sex relations with friends and working partners is a tribute to their independent spirit and a marker of the relaxed mores that shaped the world of Black entertainment.

Reel Queer is a quarterly inter-generational LGBTQIA+ movie night. The event is co-sponsored by the Arlington Council on Aging and the Arlington Rainbow Commission. Upcoming events are on April 4th, July 11th and October 3rd. Contact jstarkey@minlib.net for more information.