“The Erasure of Maya Angelou’s Sex Work History”
“In interviews, Dr. Angelou used the term “prostitute” to refer to her previous employment without rancor or shame. She spoke candidly to her family about it. She told her mother, brother, and son she would redact the information from the book, but only if they were uncomfortable with it. She had no issue whatsoever with speaking her truth. So why do we not know about it, save for hushed whispers and the occasional salacious reference in reports about and interviews of her? What’s so wrong with our beloved and lovely Maya Angelou having been a sex worker and brothel manager?”
I found this very perspective shifting; it’s definitely important to have a whole and complete and complex image of a person. (And we did NOT talk about this in 8th grade when we read “I know why the caged bird sings”)
