Student group apologises after playing ‘transphobic’ Lou Reed song
By Ross Semple
A student group in Canada has apologised after playing the Lou Reed song ‘Walk on the Wild Side’, after claiming the track is transphobic.
Guelph Central Student Association, a group at the University of Guelph in Ontario, took to Facebook to issue a now-deleted apology for playing the song at an event.
The Lou Reed track makes reference to trans woman Holly Woodlawn, who rose to prominence as part of Andy Warhol’s Factory. The lyrics are as follows:
“Holly came from Miami, FLA/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.’”
Holly passed away in 2015 at the age of 69.
The apology issued by the group read: “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.”
The group confirmed that they intend to be “more mindful in our music selection during any events we hold.
“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.”
However, friends of Reed, who died in 2013, have dismissed the controversy. Hal Willner, a longtime collaborator of Reed’s, told The Guardian: “I don’t know if Lou would be cracking up about this or crying because it’s just too stupid,
“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.”
Jenni Muldaur, one of Reed’s friends, expressed similar sentiments: “Lou was open about his complete acceptance of all creatures of the night,” she said. “That’s what that song’s about. Everyone doing their thing, taking a walk on the wild side. I can’t imagine how anyone could conceive of that. The album was called Transformer. What do they think it’s about?”
What do you think? Is ‘Walk on the Wild Side’ transphobic?