His Gender Non-Conformity Helped Him in a Surprising Way

Many white parents of the 1950s, especially in the South, were frightened by the idea of a Black man trying to corrupt their daughters. But the documentary makes the interesting case that they didn’t perceive Little Richard as a threat, because he seemed so feminine.

“I wore the make-up so that white men wouldn’t think I was after the white girls. It made things easier for me, plus it was colorful too,” he was once quoted as saying.