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 you

Being 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!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eo-TrSQ7QZc&feature=related]