Blane Charles
Identifies as gender non-conforming
Lynne: Oh, it's so good to see you, darling. You know, I've been working on this project forever and I'm trying to bring it to a close, as far as the interviews. I've got about 20. The one thing that's been really good about this pandemic...
Blane: You get people staying home.
Lynne: They're like, “Sure, I'd love to talk to you.” And of course, because it's home, I think people are much more comfortable. I've been having some wonderful conversations with people.
Blane: This is very pertinent.
Lynne: I think what it's really doing is it's beginning to normalize the whole world of gender.
That's why I think your story is important, because first of all, you're older.
Blane: My 58th birthday was December 8th and I’m looking forward to celebrating my 60th in Italy with my sister, Davide Fantoni, and friends.
Lynne: You've probably experienced more of what I experienced when it came to being gay, being trans, the whole thing. There's this new language that is being invented. I'd like you to talk about your story growing up. I'll ask you some questions. Also, where you feel like you fit on the spectrum, and how you define yourself, and if that's changed.
Blane: Well, interesting thing is that I've always been who I am, they just didn't have a name for it. So now it is non- binary, which pretty much is the most accurate description of how I identify myself. It's nice to finally be acknowledged for who I am, you know. I never fit in the category because I wasn't trying to transform into a woman, but I also wasn't trying to be a macho man. I was just honoring my feminine and my masculine attributes equally. And I think that is something we need to talk about more, because a lot of men, whether you're straight, gay, whatever, are afraid to honor their feminine side because we as a society do not equate power with femininity.
Lynne: That's really a good point. Where did you grow up?
Blane: Well, I was born in East New York, Brooklyn in a five story walk walkup railroad apartment, five blocks, locks on the door gates and on the windows in the midst of drug dens and gangs and all of it. It was really a bad time. I was born in 1962 and my mom and dad decided 10 years later when I was 10 that for their wedding anniversary, instead of a diamond ring, or fur coat, or whatever, she wanted to have a house built in Charleston, South Carolina. We have really good friends that we would visit every summer. And they hooked us up because there was a new suburb just newly developed called Westside Woodside Manor. I'll never forget. And we were able to actually pick the land, which had a running creek... It was dirt cheap. So, it was really, really an amazing opportunity.
Growing Up in Charleston
Blane: My mom was a banker, my dad worked at Sears Roebuck in New York. My mom's two sisters went down with us to break in the house, get us situated in school, and then my mom and dad came down later. Fast forward, at 17 I finished school in Charleston, South Carolina. When we moved, we were the first black family into this newly integrated interracial suburb. Our school was also newly integrated. So, there was a lot of what was referred to as “Spring Fever.” There were riots every spring between the whites and blacks. And so, it's just a really rough time to be there.
... I was really proud of myself. "Roots" came out during that time. I was a writer for our new school newspaper. I was a journalist, and I did a piece where I paralleled us having the first female principal with highlights from “Roots” and the significance of change and the power of change. And that's coming, whether you like it or not. I won editorial of the year. My mother still has the award in Charleston, South Carolina. I was also the person that refused to go along with this divide. So I was that fly in the bowl of milk. I've been an activist since day one! I moved back to New York in 1980, note that another reason why I moved is because my family is Jehovah's Witness, and I was given a disfellowship. I was excommunicated. And there was no reason for me to live in an environment where I was totally negated and disrespected. When you get a disfellowship from the Jehovah's Witnesses, you are excommunicated from everyone. I sat at the dinner table by myself to eat. I was sent to my room when company came over. It's very devastating, most people do not survive it. A lot of my friends have committed suicide and were successful. I attempted suicide numerous times, but I wasn't successful. So, I know I definitely have a mission and that's why I'm so involved in the community. I'm on the board at Callen-Lorde, I curate the silent auctions for DIFFA. And I’m a supporter of HMI. You can be a victim, or you could be a victor. That’s what I always said.
...In the beginning, in the process of finding myself, I always used that victim card because it's easy. You know, it's much more easy to play the victim than it is to take responsibility for your life and make positive change, and do the human revolution that you need to do to win.
Back to New York
Lynne: Let's back up a little bit. When you were growing up in New York City, how did you present yourself? Obviously that part of the city was rough, but did you try to be macho? Or were you always yourself?
Blane: ALWAYS.
Lynne: How did your peers respond to you and how did you respond to them?
Blane: Well, fortunately, I have my height and my confidence, so I wasn't bullied as much as other people were, but I was considered odd. You know, I my mother used to use Tri Chem. I don't know if you remember Tri Chem, the tubes of paint. You paint on clothes and make designs on clothes and it's permanent. We shop our school clothes at Sears Roebuck obviously because my dad worked there. Sears Roebuck is not your destination for fashion. So, I would take those basic pieces and cut them up and strut them and paint them and make them my own. But like I said, because of my height and my confidence from the beginning, I was intimidating, even though people still had something to say. One of the things I've always been proud of, especially as a youth, is that I never I never had to fight anybody because my tongue was the sharpest sword, and I could shut you down with just choice words. I'm like, "I'm not getting any scratches on my face and I'm not getting any bruises on this face." I think the whole Jehovah's Witness experience really made it even more challenging. This is where the wisdom comes in, when you know, when you're dealt a bad deck of cards and you're able to see the golden egg. And so, for me, the golden egg was encountering Buddhism, first of all, where I was able to realize that as an ongoing living entity, I chose in this lifetime to be born into this family of Jehovah Witnesses to prove the power of the law of the universe. And that's a very powerful statement. Now I'm renting a room from a woman who was a Buddhist like me and decided to go back to Jehovah Witnesses. But anyway, it's just interesting. And I'm so grateful that I have this healthy attitude because otherwise I would always be tormented and miserable.
...Having given that much power, first of all, to an organization over myself and so realizing that I was born into this set of circumstances to prove the power of my life, the power of human revolution, and how you can transform any situation, has really helped me to get through.
Lynne: Okay, so how old were you when you went to Charleston?
Blane: Well, I was age 10 when we moved down there, and then I finished high school, a
little bit of college and came back to New York.
Lynne: It must have been crazy because not only were you dealing with your family, but you were dealing with the South, right?
Blane: Yes, it was. But yeah, I'm just really fortunate to be alive. That's all I know.
Lynne: So, when you came to New York, did you go to school or to just to sort of find yourself?
Blane: To get away from my family and find myself. My mother thought she was slick because, she said, "Oh, you can stay with Juanita. Juanita White was our babysitter when we were kids and she lived down the block from where we were born. For me it was like, "Okay, cheap or free place to live.” So, I said, yes. But then I realized after I was there that my mom was keeping tabs on me because she would always call Juanita. I caught her. She was in her room and I came in unexpected and caught her on the phone with my mother. And I was like, "Oh, I got to find me a place." So that pushed me to find my own place. My apartment was in Park Slope in Brooklyn. From there, one of my cousins who was executive secretary for Lehman Brothers, at 55 Wall Street at the time. She got me in for an interview and I was able land my first job. I always like to say that my first job in New York was on Wall Street. So, I started off in the mailroom and then I worked my way up to the word processing center where we proofread now the narrative and statistical documents for Lehman Brothers. So, I thought that was a pretty good kick-start. It was really impressive, too, as far as being gay and black in that environment. I stayed there for maybe two years and then worked in the editorial department for The New York Post, which was a lot of fun. I did the lobster shift, which is from 12 midnight to 8am the morning.
...It was then that I got involved with activism because my first true love passed away from AIDS and I wanted to channel my anger in a positive, constructive way. I got involved with ACT UP 1989 which led me to move into Montreal, Quebec, and starting a chapter in Montreal, which led to moving to Paris because they saw me performing at the KOX in Montreal. I ended up living in Paris for 4 years and then followed that with 6 years in London, traveling the world as a dancer and a model. So, I was really blossoming and coming into my own.
Lynne: What kind of performing were you actually doing?
Blane: I was a go-go dancer for club promoter John Blair at The Limelight, and then that led me to other opportunities. But yeah, I was shaking my tail feather, honey.
Lynne: Were you were you doing music videos or were you doing just performing live?
Blane: In clubs. I was in the House of Patricia Fields for a bit when the Voguing thing was really big. Most of the video work was when I moved to Montreal because they knew my history from New York and they were basically celebritizing me. So, I did a lot of Music Plus which is the MTV of Montreal for Madonna's song, Vogue.
Lynne: Did you ever get involved with the Balls here in New York?
Blane: I kind of miss that because remember, I went to Montreal... Oh, no, I'm sorry, let me backtrack. I was in May 29, 1989 issue of People's magazine. There was a centerfold feature article because I worked with the first LOVE BALL for DIFFA. Susanne Bartsch coordinated this, the first LOVE BALL was at ROSELAND BALLROOM and I was one of the performers. So, yeah, that was pretty fun. So, I did my big splash before I left.
Lynne: That's starting to make sense. So, you were in Paris and then in London. Were you performing in all these places?
Blane: Yeah, while I was living in Paris. I would come back to Montreal in New York in the summers for PRIDE to perform. I was a muse for DAVID SPADA. He would make outfits for all the models. He would fly them in from all over the world basically. We always won Best float of the Year for PRIDE in New York.
Lynne: When did you come back to New York and why?
Blane: I came back to New York in 2000 because I wanted to start getting paid for what I was doing for free and what I loved... That is helping people with their wardrobes and interiors. I also wanted to reconnect with my family on my terms. Through my Buddhist practice, I've gotten to the point where I had enough self confidence and wisdom to make that happen. That was the first thing on my to do list. After not speaking to my parents for 20 years. My sister and I stayed in touch, so she was my connection and my two aunts in New York also were my connection. They never told my parents where I was. They kept me informed of how the family was doing. So that was great. When talking about coming back to New York, my 2 aunts were always like my rock. I'm working on publishing a book entitled Lula's Pearls, which is a book that celebrates all the women that empower us in our community other than our mothers. My aunt Lula Henry left me a lot of wonderful treasures. One of the things was a double strand pearl necklace. She would always tell me when I was a little baby, I cried a lot. My mother would bring us over to visit. My Aunt Lula would always take me, and I would shut up immediately because I was spellbound by this necklace. She remembered that and she left it to me. The book is interviews with other, mostly Gay identified, African American men sharing their experiences, their stories. There is one straight, heterosexual man who is the husband of my life coach at the time.
...They all are being photographed with the same necklace, but no photo is the same. It's so amazing because I didn't tell them how to pose. I just said, "Connect with this and imagine this is your aunt. Imagine this is your high school teacher. Imagine this is your cousin or your neighbor next door. Show us that emotion." And that's how all the photos were taken. Hosea Johnson is the photographer. He's a black gay Buddhist. Mark Allen Davis is the editor. He's also a black gay Buddhist. I wrote all of the stories.
Lynne: I think I think a lot of gay men have important women in their lives. That's probably something that's sort of true across the board. I remember my partner, Douglas. had three or four women that were like 20, 30 years older than him that were his rock.
Fashion
Lynne: Would you say that you're more involved with fashion? How did that evolve for you?
Blane: I started modeling at a young age. So that's one of the things that I got back into. When I first came back to New York, I started off in more commercial modeling, but then I got more into fashion when I moved to Europe... My agent here in New York is Parts Models. When I was in London my agent was Broadcasting Models, which is a commercial agency, and then Ugly/Rage models for high fashion. I did a lot better in London than Paris. Paris, you think would be open and liberal. But you know what? My look wasn’t in vogue at the time. Paris on many levels, is very conservative, even in the 90s.
Lynne: When did you start art modeling or was that just sort of an offshoot of everything else?
Blane: I started art modeling when I came back to New York in 2000 because basically the only thing I had was my Social Security number. I'd have been gone for so long. I was couch surfing until I found my first place. It was just sure income that I knew that I could easily make, you know, because I have the body and already was used to modeling, so it was just another level of what I already did. I started at the Art Students League, because they had the most hours. I was recommended to them from a mutual friend and then from the Art Students League, that's when it all exploded everywhere.
Callen-Lorde
Lynne: I'm interested in your experience with Callen-Lorde and how you got involved with them and also how you evolved as far as your identity to your gender. I know how you express it. I would love for you to talk about it a little bit.
Blane: Well, the whole Callen-Lorde thing happened because I needed insurance. I like I said, all I had was a Social Security number in 2000. I walked through the doors and they totally embraced me and made me feel at home. I always say that whenever I am interviewed for Callen-Lorde that they really embrace, and make you feel valuable and worthy the way you should feel. There are a lot of people who don't have access to quality health care and cannot afford a simple checkup. You're not allowed to get a physical because you don't have insurance? How is that supposed to make you feel in this country as an American? That was a big plus, a big benefit in my life, to be able to find out about Callen-Lorde and be able to have access to the services that they provided, which is really, really wonderful. I was also an activist. I'm involved with ACT UP and fighting in the streets, getting arrested and getting handcuffed and all that. Callen-Lorde was really excited to hear my stories. And, you know, we would exchange stories about fighting for justice for the community. And then Callen-Lorde kind of took me to another level because I went from fighting in the streets to fighting in the Albany courts. So now I am like in a suit, with a briefcase and I'm talking to politicians. That was just a really, really great graduation from the street fighting I was used to. Take that to the next level, which is when I was invited to be on the board. I've always thought only the people on the board are people who are rich or people who are presidents or CEOs or whatever. It was really empowering for me, to realize that, "Yes, I can make a difference too." I have first-hand experience of the services they provide and how it affects and impacts the person's life and why that's so and critical and important. It has been a wonderful journey.
Lynne: How long have they been around?
Blane: Callen-Lorde roots date back to 1983 when St. Marks Clinic and the Gay Men’s Health Project merged to form Community Health Project, a mostly volunteer-staffed, episodic care program housing the nation’s first community-based HIV clinic.
Lynne: So, let's talk a little bit about your evolution as far as being non-binary, gender non- conforming.
Blane: Non-gender conforming, non-binary. Like I said, I've always been this way. There was never a vocabulary for it.
Lynne: Was there an “aha” moment for you like. "Oh man”, can you tell me a little bit about that?
Blane: You know, I don't identify as female or male so that was my definition. But non- gender conforming is just like, shhh like the BOMB. You can't misunderstand that. It's just really great to see young people being able to not only have the space to express themselves, but to do so powerfully! And so, it's just really, really great. I feel like, most pioneers, it's wonderful to see the results of your struggles. That you never gave up. Now you see that your efforts have provided a space for others to blossom.
2020
Lynne: How has this last year been for you?
Blane: HAH. (laughing). Oh, my goodness. I mean, yeah, of course you're going to say challenging. Obviously, it was challenging. But the thing that's really important is to, again, see the golden egg. I found that Mother Nature forced us to sit with ourselves and self- reflect and hopefully we were able to do that and come out of it as better people. For me, that was the golden egg. Of course, it was a wonderful 8 years of Obama. It was really so encouraging. I was so happy to be alive to witness that moment with my grand-niece, and nephew, and my niece. Life is never going to be all hunky dory and peaches and cream. Trump was a reality check for all of us. My question is always, if someone's complaining, “What are you going to do about it?" I just had this conversation with Dawn Robertson, executive director of DIFFA, and she said the same thing. Whenever someone says, “I like this I hate this." What are you going to do about it?” I think Trump was a key instrument in exposing what was already there. See it clearly and deal with it. Some of us dealt with it and some of us ignored it, some of us complained. Us as activists in nonprofit organizations were definitely ready to deal with it. Isn’t it interesting the correlation between those who suffered the most from COVID and those who suffer from HIV and AIDS? It's always the same communities that are affected. I's like, "Oh, that community is not valuable so we can dismiss them."
...Or, "This group of people that identify this way aren’t important so we can dismiss them. I think the way that the Covid thing was handled from the beginning was just appalling and really terrible.
Lynne: And the rest of the world is handling it very differently.
Blane: Yeah, I lost a lot of friends. One of my friends went to get checked and they sent him home and he died in a coma. So, you know, his club name, his drag name was Mona Foot. If you saw the movie FLAWLESS. If you remember, the big black queen. He was in a band, just an amazingly talented individual who lived in this village. When we opened Trader Joe's East Village, we were able to always check in with each other, because that's where he shops. Because of Covid, there wasn't really any events going on so we would always catch up with each other at Trader Joe's East Village. I hadn't seen him for a while. which was weird because he was like as clockwork. When somebody shops for food somewhere, you know, you're going to see them every week. And then I stopped seeing him. A couple of weeks after that, one of our mutual friends came in and told me that he had passed. I was just devastated.
Lynne: You mentioned this. Do you think that Covid has affected the gay community as much as it has t the black and brown community, or do you feel like it's more economic?
Blane: It's economic, because you have the gay communities that are affluent and have money. But it’s always the other communities that are deemed not important. It always comes back to education, money, and do they fit in? There's always this kind of force for assimilation that also tends to be so caught up on homogenizing. Let’s make everybody white with white tee shirts and Levi's 501's.
Lynne: I'm really curious that the interview that you just had. Did you discuss Future at all?
Blane: Oh, yeah. Well, DIFFA, started a new group called DIFFA PLUS. It's an organization of younger executives in the architectural and interior design world. I was part of that initiative starting up. It was such a critical venture to take on because first of all, there's a gap as far as the history dealing with this HIV epidemic. A lot of young people feel like it doesn't relate to them. That was the problem in the 80s and 90s. Right. So, educating them first and then empowering them to be active in seeing an AIDS free generation was key. And we want to be alive to see that. In order to make that happen, we had to empower the community. DIFFA PLUS is taking that on and running with it, which is so exciting.
Lynne: Are you meeting a lot of trans people in your recent experiences. Do you feel like it's becoming more normalized? Talk a little bit about that?
Blane: Well, I mean, it's just that they’re becoming more visible because they're fighting back. Now that we have the media giving exposure to this community, I think that especially the younger generation, they're much more accepting. It’s not until younger people get in positions of power, such as, CEOs, art directors, editors, hiring for campaigns, modeling agencies, that we will truly realize the value and the beauty that this community has to offer to the world of fashion. They were always there but they're coming out of the woodwork. Myself, my personal involvement is because my best friend that I live with in London decided to transition. I lived through his transformation into a woman, he was a hockey player from Canada. Montreal, Canada. Jeffrey Thompson is now Adja Thompson, beautiful, gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. That whole process was really painful for both of us because of the mood swings and adjusting to the drugs, et. cetera. But we worked through it. We were able to look back at that time and really treasure it. It's about patience, acceptance, understanding, and compassion. You have got to have all those things to really be a support for the trans gender and trans community in general. Now, I as a board member for Callen-Lorde, I am one of the hosts for one of our annual fundraisers, TRANSCENDENCE. We have an ad hoc committee which is focused on the needs of the trans community. So, I'm involved with that. That’s my connection.
Lynne: It's great talking to you, hearing you, and your story.
Blane: Long overdue. Long overdue.
Lynne: Long, long overdue, darling. I still have photographs of you when I had my CUBA show. It was so cute, doing Hear No Evil, See No Evil. It was a lot of fun.
Lynne: What are you doing to support yourself right now.
Blane: I have my own business BCD, Blane Charles Design which is on all my social media. I’m also a published writer most recently seen in Stacy Garcia’s Life Styled magazine. I’m all about empowering my clients to live the very best version of themselves possible! My website is www.blanecharlesdesign.com.
Lynne: So, happy to talk to you Blane. Thank you.
Blane: You get people staying home.
Lynne: They're like, “Sure, I'd love to talk to you.” And of course, because it's home, I think people are much more comfortable. I've been having some wonderful conversations with people.
Blane: This is very pertinent.
Lynne: I think what it's really doing is it's beginning to normalize the whole world of gender.
That's why I think your story is important, because first of all, you're older.
Blane: My 58th birthday was December 8th and I’m looking forward to celebrating my 60th in Italy with my sister, Davide Fantoni, and friends.
Lynne: You've probably experienced more of what I experienced when it came to being gay, being trans, the whole thing. There's this new language that is being invented. I'd like you to talk about your story growing up. I'll ask you some questions. Also, where you feel like you fit on the spectrum, and how you define yourself, and if that's changed.
Blane: Well, interesting thing is that I've always been who I am, they just didn't have a name for it. So now it is non- binary, which pretty much is the most accurate description of how I identify myself. It's nice to finally be acknowledged for who I am, you know. I never fit in the category because I wasn't trying to transform into a woman, but I also wasn't trying to be a macho man. I was just honoring my feminine and my masculine attributes equally. And I think that is something we need to talk about more, because a lot of men, whether you're straight, gay, whatever, are afraid to honor their feminine side because we as a society do not equate power with femininity.
Lynne: That's really a good point. Where did you grow up?
Blane: Well, I was born in East New York, Brooklyn in a five story walk walkup railroad apartment, five blocks, locks on the door gates and on the windows in the midst of drug dens and gangs and all of it. It was really a bad time. I was born in 1962 and my mom and dad decided 10 years later when I was 10 that for their wedding anniversary, instead of a diamond ring, or fur coat, or whatever, she wanted to have a house built in Charleston, South Carolina. We have really good friends that we would visit every summer. And they hooked us up because there was a new suburb just newly developed called Westside Woodside Manor. I'll never forget. And we were able to actually pick the land, which had a running creek... It was dirt cheap. So, it was really, really an amazing opportunity.
Growing Up in Charleston
Blane: My mom was a banker, my dad worked at Sears Roebuck in New York. My mom's two sisters went down with us to break in the house, get us situated in school, and then my mom and dad came down later. Fast forward, at 17 I finished school in Charleston, South Carolina. When we moved, we were the first black family into this newly integrated interracial suburb. Our school was also newly integrated. So, there was a lot of what was referred to as “Spring Fever.” There were riots every spring between the whites and blacks. And so, it's just a really rough time to be there.
... I was really proud of myself. "Roots" came out during that time. I was a writer for our new school newspaper. I was a journalist, and I did a piece where I paralleled us having the first female principal with highlights from “Roots” and the significance of change and the power of change. And that's coming, whether you like it or not. I won editorial of the year. My mother still has the award in Charleston, South Carolina. I was also the person that refused to go along with this divide. So I was that fly in the bowl of milk. I've been an activist since day one! I moved back to New York in 1980, note that another reason why I moved is because my family is Jehovah's Witness, and I was given a disfellowship. I was excommunicated. And there was no reason for me to live in an environment where I was totally negated and disrespected. When you get a disfellowship from the Jehovah's Witnesses, you are excommunicated from everyone. I sat at the dinner table by myself to eat. I was sent to my room when company came over. It's very devastating, most people do not survive it. A lot of my friends have committed suicide and were successful. I attempted suicide numerous times, but I wasn't successful. So, I know I definitely have a mission and that's why I'm so involved in the community. I'm on the board at Callen-Lorde, I curate the silent auctions for DIFFA. And I’m a supporter of HMI. You can be a victim, or you could be a victor. That’s what I always said.
...In the beginning, in the process of finding myself, I always used that victim card because it's easy. You know, it's much more easy to play the victim than it is to take responsibility for your life and make positive change, and do the human revolution that you need to do to win.
Back to New York
Lynne: Let's back up a little bit. When you were growing up in New York City, how did you present yourself? Obviously that part of the city was rough, but did you try to be macho? Or were you always yourself?
Blane: ALWAYS.
Lynne: How did your peers respond to you and how did you respond to them?
Blane: Well, fortunately, I have my height and my confidence, so I wasn't bullied as much as other people were, but I was considered odd. You know, I my mother used to use Tri Chem. I don't know if you remember Tri Chem, the tubes of paint. You paint on clothes and make designs on clothes and it's permanent. We shop our school clothes at Sears Roebuck obviously because my dad worked there. Sears Roebuck is not your destination for fashion. So, I would take those basic pieces and cut them up and strut them and paint them and make them my own. But like I said, because of my height and my confidence from the beginning, I was intimidating, even though people still had something to say. One of the things I've always been proud of, especially as a youth, is that I never I never had to fight anybody because my tongue was the sharpest sword, and I could shut you down with just choice words. I'm like, "I'm not getting any scratches on my face and I'm not getting any bruises on this face." I think the whole Jehovah's Witness experience really made it even more challenging. This is where the wisdom comes in, when you know, when you're dealt a bad deck of cards and you're able to see the golden egg. And so, for me, the golden egg was encountering Buddhism, first of all, where I was able to realize that as an ongoing living entity, I chose in this lifetime to be born into this family of Jehovah Witnesses to prove the power of the law of the universe. And that's a very powerful statement. Now I'm renting a room from a woman who was a Buddhist like me and decided to go back to Jehovah Witnesses. But anyway, it's just interesting. And I'm so grateful that I have this healthy attitude because otherwise I would always be tormented and miserable.
...Having given that much power, first of all, to an organization over myself and so realizing that I was born into this set of circumstances to prove the power of my life, the power of human revolution, and how you can transform any situation, has really helped me to get through.
Lynne: Okay, so how old were you when you went to Charleston?
Blane: Well, I was age 10 when we moved down there, and then I finished high school, a
little bit of college and came back to New York.
Lynne: It must have been crazy because not only were you dealing with your family, but you were dealing with the South, right?
Blane: Yes, it was. But yeah, I'm just really fortunate to be alive. That's all I know.
Lynne: So, when you came to New York, did you go to school or to just to sort of find yourself?
Blane: To get away from my family and find myself. My mother thought she was slick because, she said, "Oh, you can stay with Juanita. Juanita White was our babysitter when we were kids and she lived down the block from where we were born. For me it was like, "Okay, cheap or free place to live.” So, I said, yes. But then I realized after I was there that my mom was keeping tabs on me because she would always call Juanita. I caught her. She was in her room and I came in unexpected and caught her on the phone with my mother. And I was like, "Oh, I got to find me a place." So that pushed me to find my own place. My apartment was in Park Slope in Brooklyn. From there, one of my cousins who was executive secretary for Lehman Brothers, at 55 Wall Street at the time. She got me in for an interview and I was able land my first job. I always like to say that my first job in New York was on Wall Street. So, I started off in the mailroom and then I worked my way up to the word processing center where we proofread now the narrative and statistical documents for Lehman Brothers. So, I thought that was a pretty good kick-start. It was really impressive, too, as far as being gay and black in that environment. I stayed there for maybe two years and then worked in the editorial department for The New York Post, which was a lot of fun. I did the lobster shift, which is from 12 midnight to 8am the morning.
...It was then that I got involved with activism because my first true love passed away from AIDS and I wanted to channel my anger in a positive, constructive way. I got involved with ACT UP 1989 which led me to move into Montreal, Quebec, and starting a chapter in Montreal, which led to moving to Paris because they saw me performing at the KOX in Montreal. I ended up living in Paris for 4 years and then followed that with 6 years in London, traveling the world as a dancer and a model. So, I was really blossoming and coming into my own.
Lynne: What kind of performing were you actually doing?
Blane: I was a go-go dancer for club promoter John Blair at The Limelight, and then that led me to other opportunities. But yeah, I was shaking my tail feather, honey.
Lynne: Were you were you doing music videos or were you doing just performing live?
Blane: In clubs. I was in the House of Patricia Fields for a bit when the Voguing thing was really big. Most of the video work was when I moved to Montreal because they knew my history from New York and they were basically celebritizing me. So, I did a lot of Music Plus which is the MTV of Montreal for Madonna's song, Vogue.
Lynne: Did you ever get involved with the Balls here in New York?
Blane: I kind of miss that because remember, I went to Montreal... Oh, no, I'm sorry, let me backtrack. I was in May 29, 1989 issue of People's magazine. There was a centerfold feature article because I worked with the first LOVE BALL for DIFFA. Susanne Bartsch coordinated this, the first LOVE BALL was at ROSELAND BALLROOM and I was one of the performers. So, yeah, that was pretty fun. So, I did my big splash before I left.
Lynne: That's starting to make sense. So, you were in Paris and then in London. Were you performing in all these places?
Blane: Yeah, while I was living in Paris. I would come back to Montreal in New York in the summers for PRIDE to perform. I was a muse for DAVID SPADA. He would make outfits for all the models. He would fly them in from all over the world basically. We always won Best float of the Year for PRIDE in New York.
Lynne: When did you come back to New York and why?
Blane: I came back to New York in 2000 because I wanted to start getting paid for what I was doing for free and what I loved... That is helping people with their wardrobes and interiors. I also wanted to reconnect with my family on my terms. Through my Buddhist practice, I've gotten to the point where I had enough self confidence and wisdom to make that happen. That was the first thing on my to do list. After not speaking to my parents for 20 years. My sister and I stayed in touch, so she was my connection and my two aunts in New York also were my connection. They never told my parents where I was. They kept me informed of how the family was doing. So that was great. When talking about coming back to New York, my 2 aunts were always like my rock. I'm working on publishing a book entitled Lula's Pearls, which is a book that celebrates all the women that empower us in our community other than our mothers. My aunt Lula Henry left me a lot of wonderful treasures. One of the things was a double strand pearl necklace. She would always tell me when I was a little baby, I cried a lot. My mother would bring us over to visit. My Aunt Lula would always take me, and I would shut up immediately because I was spellbound by this necklace. She remembered that and she left it to me. The book is interviews with other, mostly Gay identified, African American men sharing their experiences, their stories. There is one straight, heterosexual man who is the husband of my life coach at the time.
...They all are being photographed with the same necklace, but no photo is the same. It's so amazing because I didn't tell them how to pose. I just said, "Connect with this and imagine this is your aunt. Imagine this is your high school teacher. Imagine this is your cousin or your neighbor next door. Show us that emotion." And that's how all the photos were taken. Hosea Johnson is the photographer. He's a black gay Buddhist. Mark Allen Davis is the editor. He's also a black gay Buddhist. I wrote all of the stories.
Lynne: I think I think a lot of gay men have important women in their lives. That's probably something that's sort of true across the board. I remember my partner, Douglas. had three or four women that were like 20, 30 years older than him that were his rock.
Fashion
Lynne: Would you say that you're more involved with fashion? How did that evolve for you?
Blane: I started modeling at a young age. So that's one of the things that I got back into. When I first came back to New York, I started off in more commercial modeling, but then I got more into fashion when I moved to Europe... My agent here in New York is Parts Models. When I was in London my agent was Broadcasting Models, which is a commercial agency, and then Ugly/Rage models for high fashion. I did a lot better in London than Paris. Paris, you think would be open and liberal. But you know what? My look wasn’t in vogue at the time. Paris on many levels, is very conservative, even in the 90s.
Lynne: When did you start art modeling or was that just sort of an offshoot of everything else?
Blane: I started art modeling when I came back to New York in 2000 because basically the only thing I had was my Social Security number. I'd have been gone for so long. I was couch surfing until I found my first place. It was just sure income that I knew that I could easily make, you know, because I have the body and already was used to modeling, so it was just another level of what I already did. I started at the Art Students League, because they had the most hours. I was recommended to them from a mutual friend and then from the Art Students League, that's when it all exploded everywhere.
Callen-Lorde
Lynne: I'm interested in your experience with Callen-Lorde and how you got involved with them and also how you evolved as far as your identity to your gender. I know how you express it. I would love for you to talk about it a little bit.
Blane: Well, the whole Callen-Lorde thing happened because I needed insurance. I like I said, all I had was a Social Security number in 2000. I walked through the doors and they totally embraced me and made me feel at home. I always say that whenever I am interviewed for Callen-Lorde that they really embrace, and make you feel valuable and worthy the way you should feel. There are a lot of people who don't have access to quality health care and cannot afford a simple checkup. You're not allowed to get a physical because you don't have insurance? How is that supposed to make you feel in this country as an American? That was a big plus, a big benefit in my life, to be able to find out about Callen-Lorde and be able to have access to the services that they provided, which is really, really wonderful. I was also an activist. I'm involved with ACT UP and fighting in the streets, getting arrested and getting handcuffed and all that. Callen-Lorde was really excited to hear my stories. And, you know, we would exchange stories about fighting for justice for the community. And then Callen-Lorde kind of took me to another level because I went from fighting in the streets to fighting in the Albany courts. So now I am like in a suit, with a briefcase and I'm talking to politicians. That was just a really, really great graduation from the street fighting I was used to. Take that to the next level, which is when I was invited to be on the board. I've always thought only the people on the board are people who are rich or people who are presidents or CEOs or whatever. It was really empowering for me, to realize that, "Yes, I can make a difference too." I have first-hand experience of the services they provide and how it affects and impacts the person's life and why that's so and critical and important. It has been a wonderful journey.
Lynne: How long have they been around?
Blane: Callen-Lorde roots date back to 1983 when St. Marks Clinic and the Gay Men’s Health Project merged to form Community Health Project, a mostly volunteer-staffed, episodic care program housing the nation’s first community-based HIV clinic.
Lynne: So, let's talk a little bit about your evolution as far as being non-binary, gender non- conforming.
Blane: Non-gender conforming, non-binary. Like I said, I've always been this way. There was never a vocabulary for it.
Lynne: Was there an “aha” moment for you like. "Oh man”, can you tell me a little bit about that?
Blane: You know, I don't identify as female or male so that was my definition. But non- gender conforming is just like, shhh like the BOMB. You can't misunderstand that. It's just really great to see young people being able to not only have the space to express themselves, but to do so powerfully! And so, it's just really, really great. I feel like, most pioneers, it's wonderful to see the results of your struggles. That you never gave up. Now you see that your efforts have provided a space for others to blossom.
2020
Lynne: How has this last year been for you?
Blane: HAH. (laughing). Oh, my goodness. I mean, yeah, of course you're going to say challenging. Obviously, it was challenging. But the thing that's really important is to, again, see the golden egg. I found that Mother Nature forced us to sit with ourselves and self- reflect and hopefully we were able to do that and come out of it as better people. For me, that was the golden egg. Of course, it was a wonderful 8 years of Obama. It was really so encouraging. I was so happy to be alive to witness that moment with my grand-niece, and nephew, and my niece. Life is never going to be all hunky dory and peaches and cream. Trump was a reality check for all of us. My question is always, if someone's complaining, “What are you going to do about it?" I just had this conversation with Dawn Robertson, executive director of DIFFA, and she said the same thing. Whenever someone says, “I like this I hate this." What are you going to do about it?” I think Trump was a key instrument in exposing what was already there. See it clearly and deal with it. Some of us dealt with it and some of us ignored it, some of us complained. Us as activists in nonprofit organizations were definitely ready to deal with it. Isn’t it interesting the correlation between those who suffered the most from COVID and those who suffer from HIV and AIDS? It's always the same communities that are affected. I's like, "Oh, that community is not valuable so we can dismiss them."
...Or, "This group of people that identify this way aren’t important so we can dismiss them. I think the way that the Covid thing was handled from the beginning was just appalling and really terrible.
Lynne: And the rest of the world is handling it very differently.
Blane: Yeah, I lost a lot of friends. One of my friends went to get checked and they sent him home and he died in a coma. So, you know, his club name, his drag name was Mona Foot. If you saw the movie FLAWLESS. If you remember, the big black queen. He was in a band, just an amazingly talented individual who lived in this village. When we opened Trader Joe's East Village, we were able to always check in with each other, because that's where he shops. Because of Covid, there wasn't really any events going on so we would always catch up with each other at Trader Joe's East Village. I hadn't seen him for a while. which was weird because he was like as clockwork. When somebody shops for food somewhere, you know, you're going to see them every week. And then I stopped seeing him. A couple of weeks after that, one of our mutual friends came in and told me that he had passed. I was just devastated.
Lynne: You mentioned this. Do you think that Covid has affected the gay community as much as it has t the black and brown community, or do you feel like it's more economic?
Blane: It's economic, because you have the gay communities that are affluent and have money. But it’s always the other communities that are deemed not important. It always comes back to education, money, and do they fit in? There's always this kind of force for assimilation that also tends to be so caught up on homogenizing. Let’s make everybody white with white tee shirts and Levi's 501's.
Lynne: I'm really curious that the interview that you just had. Did you discuss Future at all?
Blane: Oh, yeah. Well, DIFFA, started a new group called DIFFA PLUS. It's an organization of younger executives in the architectural and interior design world. I was part of that initiative starting up. It was such a critical venture to take on because first of all, there's a gap as far as the history dealing with this HIV epidemic. A lot of young people feel like it doesn't relate to them. That was the problem in the 80s and 90s. Right. So, educating them first and then empowering them to be active in seeing an AIDS free generation was key. And we want to be alive to see that. In order to make that happen, we had to empower the community. DIFFA PLUS is taking that on and running with it, which is so exciting.
Lynne: Are you meeting a lot of trans people in your recent experiences. Do you feel like it's becoming more normalized? Talk a little bit about that?
Blane: Well, I mean, it's just that they’re becoming more visible because they're fighting back. Now that we have the media giving exposure to this community, I think that especially the younger generation, they're much more accepting. It’s not until younger people get in positions of power, such as, CEOs, art directors, editors, hiring for campaigns, modeling agencies, that we will truly realize the value and the beauty that this community has to offer to the world of fashion. They were always there but they're coming out of the woodwork. Myself, my personal involvement is because my best friend that I live with in London decided to transition. I lived through his transformation into a woman, he was a hockey player from Canada. Montreal, Canada. Jeffrey Thompson is now Adja Thompson, beautiful, gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. That whole process was really painful for both of us because of the mood swings and adjusting to the drugs, et. cetera. But we worked through it. We were able to look back at that time and really treasure it. It's about patience, acceptance, understanding, and compassion. You have got to have all those things to really be a support for the trans gender and trans community in general. Now, I as a board member for Callen-Lorde, I am one of the hosts for one of our annual fundraisers, TRANSCENDENCE. We have an ad hoc committee which is focused on the needs of the trans community. So, I'm involved with that. That’s my connection.
Lynne: It's great talking to you, hearing you, and your story.
Blane: Long overdue. Long overdue.
Lynne: Long, long overdue, darling. I still have photographs of you when I had my CUBA show. It was so cute, doing Hear No Evil, See No Evil. It was a lot of fun.
Lynne: What are you doing to support yourself right now.
Blane: I have my own business BCD, Blane Charles Design which is on all my social media. I’m also a published writer most recently seen in Stacy Garcia’s Life Styled magazine. I’m all about empowering my clients to live the very best version of themselves possible! My website is www.blanecharlesdesign.com.
Lynne: So, happy to talk to you Blane. Thank you.