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Woman Shares Her Crazily Eventful And Spicy Life Story On ‘Humans Of New York’ And It Goes Viral
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Woman Shares Her Crazily Eventful And Spicy Life Story On ‘Humans Of New York’ And It Goes Viral

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Humans of New York regularly gets into the news by finding people whose stories inspire us, make us angry, and more. The photographer’s latest story from a former stripper has everyone talking — so much that she got not one, but three features, and followers still can’t get enough.

It starts out as typical HONY fare, with the speaker, a flamboyantly dressed older black woman, telling of being kicked out and arrested as a teenager. But within a couple of sentences, the story dives into wild territory with her sharing how her costume design skills got her jobs dressing adult entertainers and made her friends in New York’s drag scene. She likely entered these circles at a time when ball culture was flourishing, when New York’s Black and Latino communities were pioneering a bolder and more expressive offshoot of early, white-dominated drag, and the 1969 Stonewall Riots had injected the gay club scene with new pride and defiance.

Please read with discretion, as the original quotes from Tanqueray contain a slur used to refer to transgender women, descriptions of drug use and sex acts.

RELATED:

    Humans of New York photographed a former dancer with some wild stories to tell

    Woman Shares Her Crazily Eventful And Spicy Life Story On 'Humans Of New York' And It Goes Viral

    Woman Shares Her Crazily Eventful And Spicy Life Story On 'Humans Of New York' And It Goes Viral

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    Image credits: humansofny

    Followers were so captivated by the story that HONY had to post another installment of her tales. Tanqueray, as she reveals was her stripper name in her heyday, could fill a book with crass and hilarious stories about the shows she and her fellow dancers put on. And while popular history says the 1970s were the beginning of the end for the mafia in New York, Tanqueray confirms that its stronghold over the clubs where she performed was still going strong at the time. Overwhelmed with demand, the photographer posted yet another paragraph of Tanqueray’s story, and the third post is even juicier: some commenters say her descriptions of the mobsters controlling 70s New York’s strip clubs and sex work scene are true, and she even incriminates an unnamed US president.

    Woman Shares Her Crazily Eventful And Spicy Life Story On 'Humans Of New York' And It Goes Viral

    Woman Shares Her Crazily Eventful And Spicy Life Story On 'Humans Of New York' And It Goes Viral

    Image credits: humansofny

    Woman Shares Her Crazily Eventful And Spicy Life Story On 'Humans Of New York' And It Goes Viral

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    Woman Shares Her Crazily Eventful And Spicy Life Story On 'Humans Of New York' And It Goes Viral

    Image credits: humansofny

    We doubt Tanqueray is up for the book deal that followers are calling for, since she says she “can’t afford the lawyers” to print everything she knows, but even if this is the last we hear from her, it’s a fascinating glimpse into the legendary trash and glamour of 70s New York.

    People were wildly intrigued by the story:

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    Woman Shares Her Crazily Eventful And Spicy Life Story On 'Humans Of New York' And It Goes Viral

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    Woman Shares Her Crazily Eventful And Spicy Life Story On 'Humans Of New York' And It Goes Viral

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    Woman Shares Her Crazily Eventful And Spicy Life Story On 'Humans Of New York' And It Goes Viral

    Woman Shares Her Crazily Eventful And Spicy Life Story On 'Humans Of New York' And It Goes Viral

    Woman Shares Her Crazily Eventful And Spicy Life Story On 'Humans Of New York' And It Goes Viral

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    Woman Shares Her Crazily Eventful And Spicy Life Story On 'Humans Of New York' And It Goes Viral

    Woman Shares Her Crazily Eventful And Spicy Life Story On 'Humans Of New York' And It Goes Viral

    Woman Shares Her Crazily Eventful And Spicy Life Story On 'Humans Of New York' And It Goes Viral

    Woman Shares Her Crazily Eventful And Spicy Life Story On 'Humans Of New York' And It Goes Viral

    Woman Shares Her Crazily Eventful And Spicy Life Story On 'Humans Of New York' And It Goes Viral

    Woman Shares Her Crazily Eventful And Spicy Life Story On 'Humans Of New York' And It Goes Viral

    Woman Shares Her Crazily Eventful And Spicy Life Story On 'Humans Of New York' And It Goes Viral

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Woman Shares Her Crazily Eventful And Spicy Life Story On 'Humans Of New York' And It Goes Viral

    Woman Shares Her Crazily Eventful And Spicy Life Story On 'Humans Of New York' And It Goes Viral

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    Lili North

    Lili North

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    Lili ended up in Vilnius, Lithuania out of her curiosity for studying languages, and stayed here out of sheer willpower. She loves cats maybe even a little more than the internet average and enjoys cooking videos despite only fantasizing about being able to make anything more complicated than fried rice.

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    Lili North

    Lili North

    Author, BoredPanda staff

    Lili ended up in Vilnius, Lithuania out of her curiosity for studying languages, and stayed here out of sheer willpower. She loves cats maybe even a little more than the internet average and enjoys cooking videos despite only fantasizing about being able to make anything more complicated than fried rice.

    Ilona Baliūnaitė

    Ilona Baliūnaitė

    Author, BoredPanda staff

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    I'm a Visual Editor at Bored Panda since 2017. I've searched through a multitude of images to create over 2000 diverse posts on a wide range of topics. I love memes, funny, and cute stuff, but I'm also into social issues topics. Despite my background in communication, my heart belongs to visual media, especially photography. When I'm not at my desk, you're likely to find me in the streets with my camera, checking out cool exhibitions, watching a movie at the cinema or just chilling with a coffee in a cozy place

    Read less »

    Ilona Baliūnaitė

    Ilona Baliūnaitė

    Author, BoredPanda staff

    I'm a Visual Editor at Bored Panda since 2017. I've searched through a multitude of images to create over 2000 diverse posts on a wide range of topics. I love memes, funny, and cute stuff, but I'm also into social issues topics. Despite my background in communication, my heart belongs to visual media, especially photography. When I'm not at my desk, you're likely to find me in the streets with my camera, checking out cool exhibitions, watching a movie at the cinema or just chilling with a coffee in a cozy place

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    DrGirlfriend
    Community Member
    5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Well.... In the late 90's turned 2000's no one gave a s**t that a kid like me 16, was taken by a pimp forced to work Hunts point NY. Forced to work in D.C , and Maryland clubs NO ONE CARED THEN WHEN I WAS BLOODY NAKED AND RUNNING FOR MY LIFE SCREAMING FOR HELP DOWN RHODE ISLAND AVE IN D.C ... Glorifying sex work and the industry is dangerous as fk it's not a walk in the park. It's fkn violent unforgiving, and those if us who got out alive I think will get where I'm coming from. Don't glorify this s**t ,women are being butchered kids are being taken , oh but wait you have a chance to make money so every warning I just gave don't count here in MERICA

    C
    Community Member
    5 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I'm very sorry for what you went through. And I totally agree, people should stop glorifying prostitution. Most of the times it's nothing more like human trafficking and in almost all cases there is so much suffering in all those women. None of them dreamt of living (suffering) a life like this when they were children. But I'm not telling this to you, you already know.

    Load More Replies...
    Maria
    Community Member
    5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Guys, Alfred Bloomingdale was a department store magnate who supposedly liked BDSM. He was involved with a woman named Vicky Morgan who also was involved with politicians. She was later murdered. Happened in late 60s.

    Meeow
    Community Member
    5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Vicki Morgan never been to NY, she was from Colorado according to wiki, when she was 9 years old her mother relocated to Montclair, California, then she went to Hollywood in search of fame. And she was murdered in 1983 by her boyfriend so not in the 60's

    Load More Replies...
    Load More Comments
    DrGirlfriend
    Community Member
    5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Well.... In the late 90's turned 2000's no one gave a s**t that a kid like me 16, was taken by a pimp forced to work Hunts point NY. Forced to work in D.C , and Maryland clubs NO ONE CARED THEN WHEN I WAS BLOODY NAKED AND RUNNING FOR MY LIFE SCREAMING FOR HELP DOWN RHODE ISLAND AVE IN D.C ... Glorifying sex work and the industry is dangerous as fk it's not a walk in the park. It's fkn violent unforgiving, and those if us who got out alive I think will get where I'm coming from. Don't glorify this s**t ,women are being butchered kids are being taken , oh but wait you have a chance to make money so every warning I just gave don't count here in MERICA

    C
    Community Member
    5 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I'm very sorry for what you went through. And I totally agree, people should stop glorifying prostitution. Most of the times it's nothing more like human trafficking and in almost all cases there is so much suffering in all those women. None of them dreamt of living (suffering) a life like this when they were children. But I'm not telling this to you, you already know.

    Load More Replies...
    Maria
    Community Member
    5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Guys, Alfred Bloomingdale was a department store magnate who supposedly liked BDSM. He was involved with a woman named Vicky Morgan who also was involved with politicians. She was later murdered. Happened in late 60s.

    Meeow
    Community Member
    5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Vicki Morgan never been to NY, she was from Colorado according to wiki, when she was 9 years old her mother relocated to Montclair, California, then she went to Hollywood in search of fame. And she was murdered in 1983 by her boyfriend so not in the 60's

    Load More Replies...
    Load More Comments
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