'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom': Did Ma Rainey have a sexual relationship with Bessie Smith? A look at their bond
With Netflix adapting August Wilson's lay 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom' to a feature film on the legendary Mother of Blues, speculation runs rife about the legitimacy of the events shown in the narrative, and the characters we meet on screen. The most shocking one of course will be watching Ma Rainey have a girlfriend called Dussie Mae, who although fictional, does highlight a very significant part of the singer's life.
Although married to William Rainey for decades, Ma 'Gertrude Pridgett' Rainey constantly wrote and sang about lesbian affairs, lading some to even believe that her relationship to fellow Blues singer Bessie Smith wasn't just that of a mentor, but a sexual one too. But was Ma Rainey really in a relationship with Bessie Smith?
Ma Rainey, as most might know, was a pivotal inspiration behind Smith's music, but that's not all. Apart from teaching her the ways of showbiz and learning to mark her place in a man's world, especially when it came to her finances, Ma Rainey is said to have also influenced Smith's sexuality aplenty. Although there is no hard evidence to suggest that the two were involved sexually, bioggraphy.com notes her life on the road, that Ma Rainey prepared Smith for, did allow her plenty of scopes to indulge in a lifestyle that her husband wouldn't allow for at home.
Biography.com notes, " Life on the road also created an atmosphere that allowed for a more relaxed moral code than society would generally permit. Carousing and sexual adventure were not uncommon. In this light, it has often been suggested that Rainey’s influence over the young Smith was more than professional."
As to how far they were actually involved sexually, the answer remains ambiguous. While Ma Rainey was married to William, her lyrics were heavy on lesbian content. It was believed that she was just as into women as she was men, if not more.
Billboard even goes on to note: “There isn’t much hard evidence to support the stories, but it has been strongly implied over the years that Ma Rainey introduced Bessie Smith to lesbian relationships. Although Bessie herself would get married in the early 1920s, she would conduct various affairs with dancers in her shows throughout her career."
The most famous of these affairs of Smith is believed to have been with a woman called Lillian Simpson — the reason behind a lot of violence between her and her "jealous' husband" but there's nothing on paper about her being in a sexual relationship with Ma Rainey, whose song 'Prove it on Me' is believed to be about a 1925 incident where she got arrested for allegedly hosting an orgy with women from her choir group.
It can be said that Ma Rainey's bold persuasion of her own sexuality influenced Smith heavily, as the latter allegedly frequented 'buffet flats,' or "party houses (usually located in big cities) where all forms of sexual expression were permissible," shares Billboard.
"Generally, Bessie would explore this other world when her marriage was at low ebb, which happened often enough. Whether Ma Rainey was directly responsible for Bessie’s interest in women is something we’ll probably never know, but the fact is that after her time in the tent shows, Bessie was more open to alternative lifestyles than before.”
'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom' premieres this Friday, December 18, on Netflix.