She wouldn’t consider herself a social justice warrior, mostly because that phrase wouldn’t be invented for more than a century after her birth in 1893. Born Mary Jane West, she would later be known as Mae West, a 1930s movie star who’s sultry walk, and rapid fire delivery of one liner double entendre made her famous as a sex symbol and comedienne. But before delivering her famous "Why don’t you come up sometime and see me" in her first Hollywood movie, she was already a seasoned Vaudeville and Burlesque performer, as well as a play-write willing to take on taboo subject matter
“I never said it would be easy, I only said it would be worth it.” Mae West
“I wrote the story myself. It’s about a girl who lost her reputation and never missed it.” Mae West
In 1926 she debuted her first show as a play-write on Broadway giving herself the starring role as the quintessential "hooker with a heart of gold". She called it Sex, a title that in and of itself drew attention...the curiosity of audiences and worse from law enforcement. The play depicted the lives of sex workers, and while it didn’t glorify their work, it did paint a picture of women trying to take control of their own lives both financially and socially. By the end of the play audiences were exposed to the dangerous situations prostitutes lived in, the cultural stigma, and the strength of women determined to succeed at making a better life. It was a commercial success, but after 375 performances in front of 325.000 people, the play was closed down by the NYPD and Mae West was brought up on obscenity charges . Given the choice between paying a large fine or going to prison for 10 days, Mae West chose prison. The publicity would be well worth it, as she said “A few days in the pen ‘n' a $500 fine ain’t too bad a deal”. She went on to donate to the women’s prison and established the Mae West Memorial Library to help improve the lives and futures of women inmates.
“All discarded lovers should be given a second chance, but with somebody else.” Mae West
She had been on stage since the age of 14, touring the country doing Vaudeville and burlesque shows, and had come to know many gay performers. At that time, any openly gay actor would never be given a speaking part with more than a few lines, relegating them to the chorus line. Mae West knew how they struggled, not only professionally, but also personally, facing family and societal rejection if they came out of the closet. In 1927 she took this subject on in her next play, titled "The Drag". In this play she wrote about both transgender and homosexual men, their sub-culture in NY city, and how they would often marry women while living secret lives. She even took on the topic that homosexual and transgender people are born, not made, a subject that would still be debated decades later. The play had a large cast, and she insisted that gay actors play the parts of LGBTQ characters. After her arrest in New York, she was unable to open this play on Broadway, but did manage to show it in New Jersey, as well as in Canada. Surprisingly well received by audiences, it too was shut down after a couple weeks when The Society for the Prevention of Vice warned the producers that if the play continued, all Broadway productions that season would be scrutinized and censored. She later went on to say, ” I believe that one day the world will judge the witch hunt against homosexuals just as harshly as it judges the Spanish Inquisition and the Holocaust.”
"I’m a woman of very few words, but lots of action." - Mae West
It’s said that Mae West was inspired by African American entertainers, especially in her walk and delivery of her lines, as well as the double entendre employed in her dialogue. (Her unique walk and swing of her hips was more likely a result of wearing very tall platform shoes throughout her career, as she was only 5 ft. tall.) At a time in our country when laws restricted where and when black Americans were allowed to be, which affected their ability to work, Mae West didn’t let race influence her hiring decisions. Where black musicians didn’t normally have a chance on Broadway, Mae west hired the Duke Ellington orchestra to provide the music for her plays.
Mae West’s father was a prizefighter and so she was no stranger to the world of boxing, enjoying the sport and the culture surrounding it. In 1922, she met an African American boxer by the name of William Landon Jones. The relationship between the two of them lasted the rest of his life, ranging from dating, to her hiring him as both a chauffeur and body guard.
"I never loved another person the way I loved myself." - MaeWest’s career as a play-write came after having acted in a few small roles on stage that she’d auditioned for. Having caught the "acting bug", she didn’t wish to put her future in the hands of others, waiting for someone else to offer her next opportunity, so she wrote, produced and starred in several plays. She took on Hollywood the same way, playing in front of cameras first in a small role in 1932’s Night after Night. Not willing to wait for larger roles to be offered, she wrote the scripts and starred in her next 7 movies. She had the star power to request Paramount Pictures provide a decorated apartment for her. When she learned that the upscale apartment building she was living in didn’t allow black people, she decided to purchase the building and change the rules. While her reasoning may have been that she simply wanted William Jones to live in the building, her actions challenged social norms.
“I freely chose the kind of life I led because I was convinced that a woman has as much right as a man to live the way she does if she does no actual harm to society.”– Mae West
Her first stage performance was at age 6, noticing that the spotlight was not shining on her, she looked directly at the lights operator, stomped her foot and vocally demanded the spot light be placed directly on her. While its certain that Mae West saw the unfairness and inequality in American culture toward LGBTQ and racial minorities, she may not have seen her actions as activism. It’s fair to say that Mae West didn’t fight women’s rights so much as she fought for her own rights, but she shared that spot-light with many whom society deemed unworthy, and put on full exhibition the results and the cruelty of predjudice.
That the issues she contended with are still with us today is perhaps a testament to her vision and self-confidence. Her statement, "You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.” is a challenge to those wishing to make a difference.
