Trump fan dragged for ridiculous claim there were no trans people in the 70s– meet Rachel Humphreys
Rachel Humphreys (L) was a trans woman and Lou Reed’s (R) partner, in the mid-1970s (X: @theaidsmemorial)
It is impossible to think of the Velvet Underground without thinking about Lou Reed, but so many of Reed’s fans are unaware of the life he led behind closed doors with his trans girlfriend Rachel Humphreys.
On 1 September 2024, Trump superfan and MAGA activist Mila Joy tweeted the frankly ridiculous observation: “Remember the 1970s and 1980s when no one was autistic, gluten intolerant, or transgender. So what happened?”
As trans people have always existed and always will, this claim was easily debunked. One particularly popular rebuttal was shared by a user called @DylanTweetin, who simply shared a photo of “Lou Reed & his trans girlfriend” taken by legendary music photographer Mick Rock for Melody Maker magazine in 1977.
Many people replied to say they hadn’t heard of Rachel Humphreys, so we felt like this was as good a time as any to share some information about this trailblazing, important woman – who was far more than just “Lou Reed’s trans girlfriend.”
Humphreys also deserved much better treatment from the musician, and a longer (and happier) life.
How did Lou Reed and Rachel Humphreys meet?
Reed and Humphreys met in 1974 in New York. Humphreys was a drag queen at the 82 Club while Reed was feeling unhappy with his career having not yet gained as much recognition and success as he would have liked.
Reed – who was bisexual – once described their first meeting in an interview with Bambi Magazine, saying: “It was in a late-night club in Greenwich Village. I’d been up for days as usual and everything was at that super-real, glowing stage. I walked in there and there was this amazing person, this incredible head, kind of vibrating out of it all.”
He said that Humphreys was “wearing this amazing make-up and dress and was obviously in a different world to anyone else in the place”, making her all the more alluring and interesting to him.
But, while she was interesting to him, it appeared that he wasn’t all that impressive to her: “Rachel was completely disinterested in who I was and what I did. Nothing could impress her. She’d hardly heard my music and didn’t like it all that much when she did. Rachel knows how to do it for me. No one else ever did before. Rachel’s something else.”
This feeling was part of a natural progression which led to Humphreys later inspiring Reed’s songwriting during their relationship.
How did Rachel Humphreys influence Lou Reed’s music?
In particular, Humphreys inspired Reed’s sixth album Coney Island Baby, which was released in 1975, with one line in the title track dedicated to Humphreys: “I’d like to send this one out to Lou and Rachel, and all the kids at P.S 192. Man, I’d swear, I’d give the whole thing up for you.”
It’s unclear how long exactly Humphreys and Reed were together – around three to four years – but by 1978 they were definitely over.
During that period though, they were inseparable. They lived together in New York with their dachshunds, Duke and Baron, apart from when Reed was touring. If so, Humphreys would accompany him on the road as a hairdresser – she had previously attended cosmetology school – and act as tour manager for him.
In 1977, the couple decided to throw an anniversary party which some friends thought was effectively an informal wedding ceremony. Despite this, their relationship was on the rocks because Humphreys was beginning to consider gender reassignment surgery – Reed was opposed to this.
In a biography on Reed, written by Aidan Levy, a friend of Humphreys is quoted as saying: “There would be a discussion about sex change operations, and every time Rachel would be scheduled to do that—that’s what Lou wanted, as far as Rachel would say—then Lou would back off and say, ‘Well why are you doing that? I love you because of the way you are’.”
The same friend said these conversations made Humphreys feel depressed and suicidal and likely contributed to her gender dysphoria. Friends of the pair said their relationship was “mutually abusive”, both physically and emotionally.
These issues were never resolved so Humphreys and Reed eventually split up in 1978. The singer married Sylvia Morales just two years later.
What happened to Rachel Humphreys?
Not much is known about Humphreys’ life after she and Reed parted ways, despite the fact music journalists and pop culture fans believe her to be an important figure in Reed’s life, not to mention instrumental in his rise to stardom.
Humphreys died in 1990, 12 years after the break up, at the age of 37. Her official cause of death is unknown but she was reported to have passed at St. Clare’s Hospital, which specialised in treating AIDS patients.
Humphreys was buried in Potter’s Field on Hart Island, along with many others who also died during the AIDS epidemic.
Reed rarely mentioned Humphreys again after they broke up, though she was clearly a key part of his artistry in the 70s. She is nothing more than a footnote now, mentioned briefly in biographies and articles about his legendary music, without anyone realising how important she really was to him and to rock and roll generally.
Without his “trans girlfriend”, would Lou Reed be as significant as he is?
