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Students Object to Lou Reed’s Hit ‘Walk on the Wild Side’ as ‘Transphobic’

Students Object to Lou Reed’s Hit ‘Walk on the Wild Side’ as ‘Transphobic’

“devalues the experiences and identities of trans folks”

Lou Reed passed away in 2013. At least he’s not here to witness one of his best songs become the newest thing campus snowflakes have deemed problematic.

Students at the University of Guelph in Canada played “Walk on the Wild Side” at a campus event and were ultimately forced to apologize.

Dave Huber reports at The College Fix:

Student group issues apology after playing Lou Reed’s ‘Walk on the Wild Side’

This is where we are: A student group at the University of Guelph in Canada has apologized for including the Lou Reed song “Walk on the Wild Side” on a playlist at a campus event.

Because, don’t you know, the tune contains “transphobic lyrics.”

The 45-year-old song is probably Reed’s biggest hit and describes, according to The Telegraph, a “number of individuals [he] knew from frequenting Andy Warhol’s Factory – among them transgender ‘Superstars’ Holly Woodlawn and Candy Darling.”

Here’s a sample:

Holly came from Miami, F.L.A.

Hitchhiked her way across the U.S.A.

Plucked her eyebrows on the way.

Shaved her legs and then he was a she.

She says, ‘Hey, babe, take a walk on the wild side.’

The Guelph Central Student Association wrote “We now know the lyrics to this song are hurtful to our friends in the trans community and we’d like to unreservedly apologize for this error in judgement.”

Here’s more from the groveling apology:

“We have committed as an organization to be more mindful in our music selection during any events we hold. We will be meeting to discuss how we can create better playlists in the future.

“If there are students or members of the campus community who overheard the song in our playlist and were hurt by its inclusion and you’d like to talk with us about it and how we can do better, we welcome that.” …

In a further statement a spokesperson said: “The lyrics, ‘and then he was a she,’ devalues the experiences and identities of trans folks.

If you’re somehow unfamiliar with the song, it describes the New York scene of which Reed was a part. It also mentions real people who were friends of Reed. Here’s the tune:

Many of Reed’s colleagues have come to his defense.

Edward Helmore writes at The Guardian:

Lou Reed’s friends dismiss claim that Walk on the Wild Side is transphobic

Friends of the late Lou Reed responded on Saturday with disbelief to a claim by a Canadian student body that the singer’s 1972 hit Walk on the Wild Side contains transphobic lyrics.

“I don’t know if Lou would be cracking up about this or crying because it’s just too stupid,” the singer’s longtime producer, Hal Willner, told the Guardian. “The song was a love song to all the people he knew and to New York City by a man who supported the community and the city his whole life.”…

The lyrics in question focus on Reed’s friends from Andy Warhol’s Factory, among them transgender “superstars” Holly Woodlawn and Candy Darling.

“Holly came from Miami, FLA,” Reed sings. “Hitchhiked her way across the USA/ Plucked her eyebrows on the way/ Shaved her legs and then he was a she/ She says, ‘Hey, babe, take a walk on the wild side.’”

Last word on this goes to Iowahawk:

Featured image via YouTube.

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Comments

Homosexual, bisexual, cross-over? Perhaps trans-human (e.g. abortionists).

I would have thought the ‘offensive’ part to be ‘all the colored chicks went…’. I’d have thought the racisss police would have been all over that one.

Can we assume that The Kinks classic ‘Lola’ was not on the playlist?

Won’t someone think of the colored girls?
Do, de do, de do……..

When art is judged by PC snowflakes it will be dead to the real world.

I fervently hope we do not suffer that fate.

We have officially reached Peak Stupidity with respect to the nauseating, mephitic cauldron of political correctness and totalitarian, Orwellian thought police tactics present in academia, today.

Is Rocky Horror off limits now too?

    jabster in reply to jabster. | May 22, 2017 at 1:28 pm

    Because one of those songs is on my daughter’s Just Dance x-box games. I’d hate to tell her she can’t dance to that one anymore.

Paul In Sweden | May 22, 2017 at 2:20 pm

David Johansen should speak to this matter on behalf of his old buddy Lou Reed.

ugottabekiddinme | May 22, 2017 at 5:16 pm

Thsee Stalinist Snowflakes are condemning icons of their own cultural revolution with such ever increasing velocity, that soon, there will be no one left for them to devour.

Personally, I look forward to the criticism/self-criticism sessions of Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn. Hee hee.

I’d wager that trans of the time thought this was complimentary

“We now know the lyrics to this song are hurtful to our friends in the trans community and we’d like to unreservedly apologize for this error in judgement.”?

Really? These kids, with newly minted college diplomas (what on earth did they learn?) would rather apologize than argue the point, that the fringe far leftists are simply nuts. It’s a 45 year old song, kiddies! Bah!

George Orwell — “The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.”

1972 is in my history. These leftists who were not alive in 1972 can destroy their own pathetic dishonest delusional history but leave mine alone.

Here’s the best video of TAKE A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsVLIiI8Vfo