On the B-side of his very first album, David Bowie has a song about gender bending! Is anyone surprised? Probably not, as it certainly wouldn’t be his last song on the subject, and indeed, androgyny was an extensive part of his persona.
She’s Got Medals tells the story of a woman who lived as a man, doing manly things such as playing darts, drinking heavily, and joining the army, until she grew tired of having to pretend and went back to being a woman, in the more traditional sense. What I love about Bowie’s relationship with gender bending, even as evidenced in this early song, is that it has nothing to do with sex or sexual preferences, and everything to do with state of mind.
Another Bowie blog (Pushing Ahead of the Dame, check it out) suggests that it is told as a kind of pub folklore and that it shares the theme with other songs on this album that most people have more to them than meets the eye. I would definitely agree with the pub folklore idea, as I can almost picture this tale being shared among comrades having a pint.