How Dolly Parton became a natural advocate for diversity and inclusion
It’s no secret that America is home to a cluster of problems. Dolly Parton, however, isn’t one of them. Ever since her breakthrough in the 1960s, the country music icon has excelled with her signature blend of folksy charm, wit, and self-effacing humour. Time and time again, the star proved she’s more than just – as the media often portrayed her – a ‘dumb blonde’. In fact, for decades, Parton has been the people’s number one cheerleader.
In the 1970s, you could expect interviews with Parton to centre around one thing: her looks. Luckily, she would famously handle such questions gracefully, bringing the subject back to her roots or, more importantly, her music. Even in 1977, when Barbara Walters audaciously told her that she didn’t have to opt for a look so striking, Parton’s response was admirable. “I don’t like to be like everybody else,” she said. “I would never stoop so low as to be fashionable.”
Of course, the example involving Walters is pretty extreme because it’s clear there’s an unrelenting undertone of passive aggressiveness, but Parton displays something that’ll be there for the decades to come: patience and acceptance. “I’m very real where it counts,” she asserts, opting for confident self-assuredness in the face of shallow discourse. “As far as my outlook on life, and the way I care about people, and the way I care about myself.”
Parton’s natural inclination towards understanding and acceptance was a massive part of her personality, from her humble beginnings in rural Tennessee to her illustrious career spanning decades. Alongside her charitable efforts, the singer’s passion for championing people from all walks of life has always served as the backdrop to everything she does. For instance, Parton’s a huge drag fan — she once enjoyed entering a Dolly Parton lookalike contest…despite losing.
She’s also a significant voice in supporting the LGBTQ+ community and condemning those who speak out against it. Her views are unwavering, having expressed that those who pass judgment and criticise queer people are engaging in their own form of wrongdoing. “[Dollywood is] a place for entertainment, a place for all families, period,” she told Billboard in 2014. “It’s for all that. But as far as the Christians, if people want to pass judgment, they’re already sinning. The sin of judging is just as bad as any other sin they might say somebody else is committing. I try to love everybody.”
More recently, Parton extended her support to transgender people, weighing in on Tennessee’s anti-trans laws. She said: “I just want everybody to be treated good,” she said, adding: “I know and love them all, and I do not judge. And I just see how broken-hearted they get over certain things and I know how real they are. I know how important this is to them. That’s who they are. They cannot help that any more than I can help being Dolly Parton.”
More importantly, Parton’s support for such communities goes back to the early 1990s. One such instance is her album Eagle When She Flies, which features the song ‘Family’. While the lyrics might not seamlessly resonate by today’s standards, they were remarkably forward-thinking for their time: “Some are preachers / some are gay / some are addicts, drunks and strays / But not a one is turned away when it’s family.”
Parton doesn’t present as severe in her political positioning as some of her counterparts, but it’s refreshing, especially because her delivery often resembles a cherished family member. She’s also brutally candid in a way that only she would ever get away with. Speaking about marriage equality, Parton once joked, “Why can’t they be as miserable as us heterosexuals in their marriages?”
In addition to her interviews, Parton’s music inherently exudes a sense of sentimentality, partly owing to its themes and poetic lyricism. In 2005, she penned ‘Travelin’ Thru’ for Transamerica, a film about a transgender woman who discovers that she has a son in the eleventh hour. This delightful tune transformed into an anthem of courage and transformation, further endearing Parton to us — a country legend with a heart as big as the legacy she’s built.
