#oh my GOSH sonny!!😫

[congratsyoureanidiot]

BROOOOO😤😍😍😍😍😍😫😫😫

YOUUU AREEE JOKINGGGGGG😩😍🥴

|LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 12: Emily Sonnet poses during a USWNT portrait studio session on February 12, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by John Todd/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images for USSF)|

[doll-elvis]

@queenncreole oh my gosh… the way you completely hit the nail on the head 😫!!!

thank you so much for your insight and research because this is exactly what I was trying to make a point of, that Elvis was likely just a product of his time and to judge him based off the opinions that he may have held, especially when at that time in the U.S they were the standard opinions of the public, is just extremely unfair imo

society was so uneducated about sexuality at this point in time and it especially shows with the quotes that you gave from the documentary. Elvis grew up in an extremely religious, conservative, and southern environment, I would be more surprised if he wasn’t taught homophobic teachings therefore I cannot judge a person who held opinions that were engrained in him since childhood and were validated by the general public being homophobic

like you said historical context is so important when reading about Elvis. For example in the 1977 book, “Elvis: What happened” by Red and Sonny West and Dave Hebler, I was completely shocked the first time I read it before I remembered it was literally written in the 70s by men born in the 30s and 40s

what we now consider a slur, they are saying it with complete nonchalance and using it as thought it is the correct way to refer to a gay man, and again this shows just how widespread homophobia was at this time

I also really loved how you said “his heart was good and in the right place” because it’s just so true. no matter what beliefs he may or may not have held I don’t believe he would ever be purposely cruel to another person or purposely mistreat them, even if he didn’t agree with them

thank you again for your insight, I absolutely love reading what you guys have to share 💗!!!

to be fair, according to marty, elvis had firmly believed that blacks and whites should be separate romantically. he dated joan blackman and when marty asked about her, he said she revealed she'd gone on a date w/ a black man and it turned him off. elvis was known to be contradictory and hold other ppl to standards he didn't hold himself to and i think his attraction to black woman was another example. that's probably why marty claimed that about the flirting.

I mentioned Marty Lacker specifically because in the Alanna Nash book whenever race is mentioned, it just seems like it is always him who has something to say about black people and Elvis. He just seemed hyper-fixated on race and that’s why I believe he may have held some prejudice and wanted to extinguish the idea that Elvis found black women attractive because he didn’t agree with that himself. Like for example when asked about if Elvis dated Maggie Smith (a black woman) Marty alluded that she wasn’t attractive enough for Elvis, and then also telling that Diana Ross story and saying that Elvis found her unattractive… it just comes off as strange to me personally

I’m not hating against Marty or saying that he lies about everything, I just wanted to point out that all of these men have their own biases and will only tell stories as they see them, even if it the situation had a different reality

but I have read that story about Joan Blackman and it was also what ended the relationship between him and Mindi Miller in the late 70s

“But then Elvis found out she’d been involved with black actor-football star Fred Williamson, and while it preceded their own relationship, he pulled the plug, just as he had on Joan Blackman when he heard she’d dated a black man, too. “He wasn’t a racist person,” Mindi Miller clarifies. “That’s just the way he was raised.”

(excerpt from BLPH by Alanna Nash)

This is obviously a touchy and complicated subject, like Mindi clarifies I genuinely don’t believe he was racist however I’m not saying he wasn’t without his prejudices whether it was conscious or sub-conscious

And we also have to remember this man was born in 1935 in the conservative and religious south and was most likely just a product of his time/environment. I have also read every Memphis Mafia member and some girlfriends say that Elvis held homophobic views but again that can be attributed to his environment and something that was just sub-conscious because of how he was raised and what he was taught. But I don’t believe that he would ever mistreat a gay person or be outwardly homophobic against them despite what he was probably taught to believe

Billy Smith said “I hate to say it, but Elvis was prejudiced about homosexuals…He wouldn’t mistreat them for anything”

I think that having an opinion is very different from actively expressing it

So I don’t believe that he strongly thought that black and white people should be separate romantically because to my knowledge he never said an unkind word about Myrna Smith (a black woman) and Jerry Schilling (a white man) dating. If he was so against it, why would he still be friends with them?

But like you said Elvis could be contradictory and hold others to standards that he didn’t hold himself to

However I think that actions speak louder than words and I’ve never read a story where he mistreated a black person or publicly expressed any racist views. I want to remember him for the good that he did and there are so many beautiful stories where he helped the black community and uplifted and defended black artists

most notably when he threatened to pull out of playing at Houston as they expressed they didn’t want him to bring his black back up singers, the Sweet Inspirations.

Elvis was having none of that so he straight up gave them an ultimatum and of course Houston caved in and allowed the Sweet Inspirations to perform

And there is no doubt in my mind that Elvis loved the Sweet Inspirations and that they loved him. They have said nothing but good things about him and his character (also have y’all seen the video where he kisses them all before rehearsal in Elvis on tour <3 ?!?!)

Like Elvis once wrote “To judge a man by his weakest deed is like judging the power of the ocean by one wave”