Η Αφροαμερικανή χορεύτρια που έγραψε ιστορία με την ομορφιά της

Η Tanqueray είναι μια γυναίκα που κατάφερε να συγκινήσει το Διαδίκτυο όταν εμφανίστηκε πριν λίγους μήνες στο «Humans of New York» και μοιράστηκε μερικές συγκλονιστικές αλήθειες.

Πρόσφατα μέσα από τη σελίδα «Humans of New York», μια γυναίκα τράβηξε τα βλέμματα του κόσμου επάνω της και όχι άδικα, αφού πριν από κάποιες δεκαετίες ήταν το απόλυτο σύμβολο του σeξ. Η Tanqueray ή αλλιώς Stephanie Johnson πρώην χορεύτρια burlesque συγκίνησε το διαδίκτυο λέγοντας τις συγκλονιστικές ιστορίες της.

Δείτε αυτή τη δημοσίευση στο Instagram.

(1/32) “Tanqueray, Tanqueray, Tanqueray. When this photo was taken, ten thousand men in New York City knew that name. My signature meant something to them. They’d line up around the block whenever I was dancing in Times Square, just so I could sign the cover of their nudie magazine. I’d always write: ‘You were the best I ever had.’ Or some stupid shit like that. Something to make them smile for a second. Something to make them feel like they’d gotten to know me. Then they’d pay their twenty bucks, and go sit in the dark, and wait for the show to start. They’d roll that magazine up tight and think about their wives, or their work, or some of their other problems. And they’d wait for the lights to come up. Wait for Tanqueray to step out on stage and take it all away for eighteen minutes. Eighteen minutes. That’s how long you’ve got to hold ‘em. For eighteen minutes you’ve got to make them forget that they’re getting older. And that they aren’t where they want to be in life. And that it’s probably too late to do much about it. It’s only eighteen minutes. Not long at all. But there’s a way to make it seem like forever. I always danced to the blues. Cause it’s funky and you don’t have to move fast. You can really zero in on a guy. So that it seems like you’re dancing just for him. You look him right in the eyes. Smile at him. Wink. Put a finger in your mouth and lick it a little bit. Make sure you wear plenty of lip gloss so your lips are very, very shiny. If you’re doing it right, you can make him think: ‘Wow, she’s dancing just for me.’ You can make him think he’s doing something to your insides. You can make him fall in love. Then when the music stops, you step off the stage, and beat it back to the dressing room.”

Η δημοσίευση κοινοποιήθηκε από το χρήστη Humans of New York (@humansofny) στις 21 Σεπ, 2020 στις 7:20 πμ PDT

Η ίδια εργαζόταν ως χορεύτρια τις δεκαετίες του 1960 και του 1970 και έγινε viral μέσα από το Instgram, όταν μοιράστηκε περισσότερες φωτογραφίες της, αλλά και απίθανες ιστορίες από την ζωή της. Κάπως έτσι κατάφερε και να μαζέψει χρήματα ώστε να καλύψει τα ιατρικά της έξοδα.

Μέχρι στιγμής στην πλατφόρμα GoFundMe έχουν συγκεντρωθεί περί τα 2,5 εκατομμύρια δολλάρια για την ίδια. Όσο για την ζωή της, ήδη από τα παιδικά της χρόνια δεν ήταν εύκολη, καθώς είχε μείνει έγκυος στην εφηβεία, διέκοψε την κύηση και στα 18 μπήκε στη φυλακή μετά από κατηγορίες για κλοπή από την ίδια της τη μητέρα.

Δείτε αυτή τη δημοσίευση στο Instagram.

Many of you will remember this young lady. Tanqueray caused quite a stir a few months ago when she dropped some truth bombs on us, while wearing a hand-beaded faux mink coat that she made herself. What you don’t know is what happened afterward. Tanqueray—whose real name is Stephanie—sat for a series of twenty interviews with me, during which time I transcribed her entire life story. And whoa boy, what a story. Stephanie is a born performer, so we were initially going to make a podcast out of it. But unfortunate circumstances have required a change in plans. Stephanie’s health has taken a bad turn, and she’s in a really tough spot. So I’m going to tell her story right here, right now. It’s the most ambitious storytelling I’ve ever attempted on the blog. It will unfold over the course of 32 posts. But if there’s anyone who can hold an audience for an entire week—it’s Tanqueray. As her story is shared, we will be raising money to ensure that Stephanie can live the rest of her life in comfort and dignity. Stephanie has a lot of urgent needs, so her care will be expensive. But her story is priceless. If the series adds any value to your life over the next seven days, please consider making a contribution to our fundraiser through the link in bio. ‘Tattletales From Tanqueray’ will begin tomorrow.

Η δημοσίευση κοινοποιήθηκε από το χρήστη Humans of New York (@humansofny) στις 20 Σεπ, 2020 στις 4:05 μμ PDT

ΔΙΑΦΗΜΙΣΗ

Ξεκίνησε να δουλεύει σε εργοστάσιο μόλις αποφυλακίστηκε, όμως παράτησε του δουλειά αυτήν για να γίνει χορεύτρια και μάλιστα ήταν η καλύτερη από όλες, για αυτό και έκανε γρήγορα όνομα στα clubs. Έτσι γνώρισε πολύ διάσημο και πλούσιο κόσμο της εποχής, ενώ έκανε και έναν γάμο που έληξε άμεσα.

Δείτε αυτή τη δημοσίευση στο Instagram.

(10/32) “One of my best customers was a GoGo dancer named Vicki. Vicki was a blonde-haired, blue-eyed bombshell. She worked the Peppermint Lounge when it was really going, but she made a lot of money on the side as an upscale call girl. All her clients came through a woman named Madame Blanche. Blanche controlled the high-end prostitution in the city. All the powerful men came to her because they knew she wouldn’t talk. But that didn’t mean Vicki wouldn’t talk. Vicki told me everything. One night I was selling her a coat, and she told me that Madame Blanche was looking for a black girl. The client was Alfred Bloomingdale—the owner of the department store. It was a role play thing. All I had to do was go to his hotel room and pretend to be a maid. She promised me that I wouldn’t even have to take off my clothes. And the pay was $300-- so I agreed. Bloomingdale was set up in a permanent suite at a fancy hotel off Park Avenue. When I walked in the door, he was lying in the bed, wearing one of those smoking jackets like Hugh Hefner wears. He was surrounded by five white hookers in French lingerie. They weren’t even touching him. They were just sorta sitting on the edge of the bed, looking bored. On the bedside table there were stacks of $100 bills. He peeled off three of them and handed them to me. Vicki had coached me so I knew what to do. He ordered me around for awhile. I was serving them drinks, and picking up clothes off the floor. He gradually got more and more demanding, and I was saying dumb stuff like: ‘Yessuh, Mr. Bloomingdale. Oh Yes, Mr. Bloomingdale.’ But after thirty minutes I was supposed to switch it up. The plan was for me to start talking back, and he was going to get angry and call me the N word and whip me with his necktie. I didn’t care. I was getting $300. But when that time came, he didn’t grab a necktie. He grabbed a leather belt. And that wasn’t in the agreement. So I grabbed my coat and got the fuck out of there. Thankfully I got my money up front.”

Η δημοσίευση κοινοποιήθηκε από το χρήστη Humans of New York (@humansofny) στις 22 Σεπ, 2020 στις 2:07 μμ PDT

ΔΙΑΦΗΜΙΣΗ

Στο πρόγραμμα της είχε ενσωματώσει  ένα φίδι και ένα σπαθί και έφτασε στο σημείο να έχει ουρά από άντρες που ήθελαν ένα μόνο αυτόγραφο της. Όπως λέει, σήμερα γελάει με τις αναμνήσεις της και τα αστεία μέρη της ζωής της, όμως θλίβεται με τα δυσάρεστα.

Μεγαλώνοντας, άφησε πίσω της τη ζωή της Tanqueray και αποφάσισε να είναι η Stephanie. Έτσι, σταμάτησε να χορεύει και ξεκίνησε να κάνει άλλες δουλειές, όπως υπεύθυνη σε οίκο ανοχής και dοminαtrix.

Σημερα, η ίδια έχει ανάγκη από χρήματα λόγω των προβλημάτων υγείας της, μέσα όμως από τον έρανο που έγινε κατάφερε να έχει 24ωρη βοήθεια στο σπίτι και φυσιοθεραπευτή, μιας και βρίσκεται σε αναπηρικό αμαξίδιο.