Conjuring. Cross-dressing. Criminals. These are all found in "The Voodoo Queen," an African-American toast from Bruce Jackson's collection, Get Your Ass in the Water and Swim Like Me. Toasts are narrative, epic poems that are meant to be performed and signified. "Stackolee," "Dolomite," and "Titanic" are among the most famous toasts. It has been argued that they are the earliest form of African-American Sci-Fi.

“The Voodoo Queen,” as told by Big Ten, is the rhymed tale of a very sexualized transgendered prisoner. In addition to being “a sexy maid, a shake dancer by trade,” the Voodoo Queen is a “little bundle of joy…a sissy boy, / you know, / a female man.” These descriptors indicate a lot of gender ambiguity; not only is the titular character an effeminate male, but the depiction also requires two gendered nouns (“female man”).  Similarly, voodoo is a combination of elements: active (or aggressive) and serene (prayer-like) magics. These are represented by red and white, respectively, and could also be represented in the male/female dichotomy. Stereotypically, aggressive and active traits are associated with masculinity while passive and serene traits correspond to the feminine. The Queen, like voodoo, embodies both the male and female.

The toast supports ambiguity, or duality, in sex. Big Ten continues, “Why you laughing so, sonny? It’s no so funny. / Why this statement wise folks will endorse. / For in the glorious past, great kings liked their ass, / and sex is just a matter of choice” (emphasis mine). The speaker reprimands the imagined audience for finding the gender-bending funny. Then, the approval of “wise folks”—non-gender specific intellectuals—is cited as supporting the Voodoo Queen’s behavior. These “folks” would probably define “great kings” with noted homosexual rulers, such as Alexander the Great. Furthermore, the toast affirms that sex, which could be interpreted as gender and the physical act, is “just a matter of choice.” The Voodoo Queen chooses her gender identity as well as her lovers. 

The Queen’s power is rooted in the same magical devices as voodoo: metonym and metaphor. Both are used in representation. The Queen represents femininity by “shak[ing] a wicked ass…coming on strong, / performing with pride and grace.” The ass shaking signifies femaleness in “the mess hall” like a piece of hair would represent a person in a voodoo ritual. However, in the Queen’s gender performance, like conjuring, there are both masculine and feminine elements. Pride and “coming on strong,” or aggression, are often considered male traits, while grace is primarily attributed to women. The pride/grace duality coincides with aggressive/reverent magics of voodoo.

While the Voodoo Queen is considered powerful and her gender-bending serious, s/he is still demonic. The Queen not only “shakes a wicked ass,” but also is “a daughter from hell” and “created a hell of a scene.” S/he is not associated with a Christian heaven, but is demonized in the biblical sense. Practicing voodoo is often (ignorantly) considered being in league with the devil, but the practice is grounded in polytheistic African faiths. Much of conjuring is communicating with gods. However, despite these infernal ties, the Voodoo Queen wins the affections of many and becomes the Sheriff’s wife.

-Marjorie Jensen is a writer, editor, and academic. She's currently pursuing her MFA at Mills College.