Ma Rainey And Lucille Bordan Women Research Paper

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Black women in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were faced with hardships unique to both black men and white women. Here was a group of individuals who had to fight for their rights not only because of their race, but their gender as well (Bailey 2022). This resulted in the silencing of black women’s voices and the roles they had to choose from consisted mainly of caring for their own household while making a meager wage working in other households (Boomer 2024). A new opportunity emerged with the emergence of Vaudeville shows where women could break gender roles through singing. The variety shows that built the foundation of Vaudeville music became a haven for blues musicians. Black musicians were able to express themselves …show more content…

Two of the many influential women I will discuss further are Ma Rainey and Lucille Bogan. Ma Rainey grew up as Gertrude Pridgett in Georgia in the late 1880s. Having parents who were entertainers themselves, it is no surprise that Ma Rainey began her own singing career at a very young age. After initially singing with a group at an opera house, Ma Rainey joined the Vaudeville scene where she met her husband, Will Rainey. Together the two formed the duo “Ma and Pa Rainey” where they toured together, sometimes with other vaudeville groups. After a little over a decade of marriage, Ma and Pa separated, and Ma Rainey started her own show and career where she combined the styles of vaudeville and the blues, making it her own (Brandman 2021). Other signatures of her show included a flashy, sequin dress and singing openly about her bisexuality (Rosenthal). In her song, “See See Rider,” Rainey sings, “Girl, you made me love you, And now, now, now your lovin’ man has gone.” In another song, “Prove it on Me Blues,” she sings, “Went out last night with a crowd of my

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