TLC: So Black & So Gay!
1 Aug
Even though NYC Black Pride aka Pride In The City seems to be in, ahem, a state of disarray, I am going to continue with the So Black & So Gay! series…
This one is for T-Boz, Left Eye, & Chili, also known as TLC. I mean when they hit the scene, 3 women wearing baggy shirts, jeans and overalls, with condoms pinned to their clothes, they were not only an overnight pop success, but a sharp distinct break from the R&B Grown & Sexy look of artists like Anita Baker and Patti Labelle. These girls gave you butch-in their dress and their attitude! Also, T-Boz-who was featured as the lead on most of their singles-has a very distinct low singing voice that many people read as butch. There were many rumors swirling that the women were lesbians, and by default, T-Boz’s health problems were thought to be AIDS-related. The women have denied the rumors they were lesbians, and T-Boz had to publicly disclose her sickle-cell anemia battle to squelch the HIV gossip.
This video, Hat 2 Da Back, was a song that celebrated their unconventional style, with the lyrics
Being that I am the kinda girl that I am
Nobody can make me do what I dont want to
I can be myself a lot and Im proud of what I got
So Ill never change for youBeing that I am the kinda girl that I am
Tight jeans dont hit the scene with one like me
I got to be feeling free and you better believe ill
Do what pleases me
I always read songs that are about being an “individual” and “doing what you wanna do” as implicitly about queerness-sexual liberation at the least. Anyhoo, TLC has influenced Baby Dykes all over this country. When I wander the West Village, and see the butch girls in fitteds, baggy jeans and hoodies, I think of TLC! Regardless of their own sexual orientations, TLC’s influence on Black Butch aesthetic is undeniable, and is what makes them SO BLACK AND SO GAY!
Tags: chili, hat 2 da back, left eye, so black and so gay, t-boz, tlc
weird, i always liked the earlier TLC stuff better than when they became over-produced and boring. plus left eye lopez sang more and i just loved her back then
my fave? ain’t 2 proud 2 beg!
Hey I used to like TLC ! they were hot.
Gay ? Well… yeah, who knows ? 
to be honest, i always thought they were more gay-friendly straight girls than actually gay, but tboz DEFINITELY has her fans in the community. as she should, since she is the hotness.