Kids Can Be Cruel
Growing up, Janis Joplin wasn’t what you would call a popular kid. She got picked on at school all the time. She had frizzy hair, she was overweight and had acne that led to facial scarring. And unlike most ‘50s kids in Texas, she liked hanging out with Black people.
Janis Joplin circa 1962. Photo by Marjorie Alette / Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images
The students would constantly taunt and tease her, calling her a “freak” or a “pig.” Joplin once said: “I was a misfit. I read, I painted, I thought. I didn’t hate Black people.” Joplin was a free thinker from the start.