WUSSY vol.04 w/ Amanda Lepore

MIZ

CRACKER

-

PARKER

DAY

-

BIG

DIPPER

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BIQTCH PUDDIN’ - WILL SHERIDAN - LUCY STOOLE

VOL.04

ALOK

AMANDA LEPORE

CREATE QUEER ART. SHOVE IT DOWN THEIR GODDAMN THROATS.

WUSSY VOLUME 4 JUNE 2018 COPYRIGHT FOR ALL HUMANS, LLC WUSSYMAG.COM

A

LETTER

FROM

THE

EDITOR

The landscape of queer art and pop culture is forever shifting, making room for new voices and fresh faces and washing away heteronormative standards of what is and should forever be.

With mainstream powerhouse artists like Janelle Monae coming out as queer black woman and a gay low budget masterpiece like Moonlight winning Best Picture, the possibilities appear to be endless. With all these glass ceilings being shattered, what comes next?

As a young, Southern gayfer, I found my early inspiration through the work of queer filmmakers like Todd Haynes, John Waters, Andrew Fleming, and Gus Van Sant. The first time I saw Female Trouble, it was as if a veil had been lifted and I could see clearly for the first time. That rebellious masterpiece was unlike anything I had ever seen before and led me down a gay rabbit hole that I have yet to escape. I credit these filmmakers (and my local Blockbuster) for saving my life.

With broader representation and an endless stream of new queer artists, it feels like our stories are finally being told. Our survival depends on this type of queer defiance and radical representation. No one is going to tell our stories the way we can.

Covergirl Amanda Lepore’s been a constant staple in the freaky world of NYC nightlife—a true shining beacon of beauty, glamour, and authentic living. WUSSY was honored to speak to Amanda about her suburban upbringing and what it took to survive in a world that consistently says “NO” to those living on the margins.

We dedicate this issue to those queerdos who resist every day simply by existing and staying visible. In the age of social streams and information warfare, we must remind ourselves that sometimes simply being present is enough. Take some time to support local queer artists and performers, make something beautiful and have a fucking ball.

Queer art reigns supreme.

JON DEAN

@jondeanphoto editor-in-chief

barry brandon

@thequeerindigo managing editor

sunni johnson

@audreyhorney arts editor

nicholas goodly

@nicholasgoodly writing editor

liz yo

@hellolizyo graphic designer sapphic special thanks to

SAVANA OGBURN @SAVANAOGBURN

MATT JONES @YOUANDYOMAMA

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QUEER SURVIVAL GUIDE Queer Patches Barry Lee Tips and Tricks Collages - Savana Ogburn Words - Sunni Johnson

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PARKER DAY Interview Sunni Johnson

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An American Hyperreality

ERIC RANDALL MORRIS

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LUCY STOOLE Interview Stevie King Photography Savana Ogburn

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Artwork

RAMZY MASRI I Am Not Your Faggot

KENDAL DEAUNTA EDWARDS

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Avril Lavigne’s “Complicated” plays at AFROPUNK FEST + Cupid (Venus)

TYQUAN MORTON

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ALOK

Interview Sunni Johnson Photography Eivind Hansen

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BIG DIPPER

Interview Stevie King Photography Rakeem Cunningham

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LIVING LIFE AUTHENTICALLY WITH

WILL SHERIDAN

Interview - Tyler Scruggs Photography - Jon Dean

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Here’s to the DREAMers

LUIS ACEVES

Words + Photography

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AMANDA LEPORE Interview - Sunni Johnson Photography - Mateus Porto & Giovanni Peschi Harness - Creepyy Yeha COVER

STORY

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What Intersectionality Looks Like in an Interracial Relationship

JACY TOPPS

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BIQTCH PUDDIN’ Interview Anna Jones Photography Nathan Noyes

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Badlands + Fade Away + The Price You Pay

MEGAN VOLPERT

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Collages

SARAH BARNHART

COOL QUEERS Inteviews Sunni Johnson

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Nightime Fishing with David Lynch

BENJAMIN STEVENSON

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Cultured Pearl

TREVOR BLAKE

Fashion Spread

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ASIA O’HARA Interview Barry Brandon Photography Savana Ogburn

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MIZ CRACKER Interview Juan Aguas Photography Savana Ogburn

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PHOTOGRAPHER SHOOG MCDANIEL Q&A - Barry Brandon

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Fencing + The Armory

COLLIN KELLEY

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Illhoestrations

MATT JONES

Join for free by visiting

wussymag.com/gendr

QUEER SCOUT l a v i v r su GUIDE

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illustrations by barry lee h c t a p

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@barryleear t

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tips & tricks from the queer scout survival guide

y to On my honor I will tr

SERVE LEWKS, BE KIND,

&

S R EE U Q Y B AND ST at al l ti m es .

lov e) (sig n her e wi th

Savana Ogburn Words by Sunni Johnson

Collaged Photography by

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Obviously, your chosen family and true blues are everything! And by everything, this goes beyond the kiki and ya’ll’s selfies. Not only will your queer crew protect you, they’ll call you out if they need.

It’s important to pay attention to each others’ sensitivities and help overcome obstacles in a way that is intuitive and accountable.

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This one requires some Jedi juju in the mental strength department.

Believing in yourself is hard work even for our straight mates! The wild, wild world of political adversaries, racist rednecks, Internet dudes who mock progress and those Mean Grrrls known as TERFs can get pretty scary super quickly. A hater’s mindfuckery can easily seep us into a self-doubt tailspin so perseverance and boundaries are key to dodging toxic energy.

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Of course a queer scout’s uniform is made to let us be the sparkly unicorns we all are. However that may read for YOU, queerness is often something we’re taught to hide, and getting to the point that we feel comfortable in letting our queerness shine is no simple day in the park. It’s a risk to let your freak flag fly, baby, whether that means statements said aloud and proud or the hanky of your chosen code waving in the wind. Upholding the pride in your identity, by any ritual or wear, is a radical feat.

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And by shit we mean sacred space, because your posse, your body and your mental well being are all much needed for the good fight. Take your vitamins. Get tested. Epsom soak. Sleep. Dream. Hydrate. Stylize. Call upon a partner in crime‌ or accountability. Bump and grind but make sure to unwind. Be magick and be present. Social media detox. Whatever you need to do you in a way that helps you express yourself without wrecking yourself, facilitate it. Self care is NOT selfish - it’s necessary!

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Wanna know what’s really uncool? The idea that being queer means you are immune from racism, sexism, transphobia, ableism and many other forms of prejudice. Many of us deal with internalized homophobia and unpacking the madness of systematic oppression unleashes on us takes some serious cross examination to change. The world is already full of assholes and in dire need of more allies. Change will always start with ourselves.

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PARKER PARKER PARKER PARKER PARKER PARKER PARKER DAY DAY DAY DAY DAY DAY DAY BY SUNNI JOHNSON BY SUNNI JOHNSON BY SUNNI JOHNSON BY SUNNI JOHNSON BY SUNNI

BY SUNNI JOHNSON JOHNSON

Los Angeles based Parker Day, a photographer of fantastical means, was blessed from a young age with quite the imagination. Scanning the aisles of her father’s comic book shop, her future self would develop a knack for visualizing and consequently styling otherworldly characters as the subjects for her photographic ventures. “My work concerns the malleability of identity and the yearning to expand,” Parker explains. “I think everyone at one time or another questions who they are and feels the angst of unrealized potential selves. People who visibly exist beyond the status quo show the potential we all have to break away from who we think we ought to be.”

MY WORK CONCERNS THE MALLEABILITY OF IDENTITY

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AND THE YEARNING TO

E X PA N D

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Wrapped in a keen combination of saturated, saccharine and surreal, Parker Day’s portraits flesh out kid powered, femmetastic and oft androg elements that ultimately elevate her work to high queer art. Her own personal imprint of candycoated, front-flash, textural fundamentals is met with a temperment of wildness, weirdness and wonderment. It helps that her technique dreams in Technicolor, a flair in which Parker pulls off retro realistically and with perfect ease; her massive series ICONS is proof of this.

Though Parker follows her own stream of ideas without fitting it into any particular box or boundary, her work is quintessential to the dialogue of queer aesthetic and art.

Perhaps the kindredship stems from the visibility of queer femmes, an appreciation of genderqueer performance or just the fact the kitsch cool of hyper femininity (owned and powered by the queer community) is highly present in Parker’s portraits.

Queerness is undoubtedly, even if by accident, one angle of the contained chaos within Parker’s images. Noting she does have some queer art influences such as Pierre et Gilles, Francis Bacon, John Waters, Velvet Underground, and David LaChapelle, Parker Day is one of the best modern day queer art portrait photographers without ever having intended it.

As someone who works primarily with androg fashionistas and many who blur the binaries, it simply feels naturally to call Parker’s work ‘queer art’. “Well, first off, I am, for all intents and purposes, a cis woman in a monogamous heterosexual relationship. Nothing spicy

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here!”, Parker laughs. But as a someone whose playful relationship with her own version of femininity, marked through a love for vintage and kitsch, it’s evident she’s not only loved and involved in the queer community but respected for her flair and proud femme representation. “In my portraits, there’s a vast variety of beautiful ways to show femme identity. It can be very powerful to play with the tropes and symbols of femme identity. Masculine identity doesn’t seem to have as many visual touchstones, it’s a bit more limited. I like toying with cultural archetypes and using visual symbols.

There’s much more to pick and choose from on the femme side.”

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Having photographed a 100 well-known artists and influencers for her ICONS series in a short period of time, Parker Days models are both malleable but bold.

Creative types in their own regards, Molly Soda, Dorian Electra, Stella Rose, Lexi Lafortune, Cheeky Ma, and Ernie Omega make appearances in ICONS. Another series, Possession, mirrors classical scenery with landscape-oriented lounging nudes that flirts not with just characters and paired symbolism but the juxtaposition of our wealth and domains in our bodily existences. Including models such as gay babe artiste extraordinaire Seth Bogart, Possession’s fierce and fun yet philosophical perspective explores the body as our only owned thing.

Of course, the most important aspect of her images are the characters she conjures. Half the work in itself is character creation, a narrative that propels Parker to search high and low for the kookiest of props. Building the elements needed to create the idealized seamless image once time to shoot is a crucial

series of step. “You can’t just wait for the muses to speak to you. I take lots of notes, save images of interesting people I find on Instagram, and look for clothes and props,” Parker says of her creative process.

“I let it all sort of click together by trusting my instincts. I like my models to have a dark fire in the eyes, be whip smart, and unattached to their personal image.

No self conscious narcissists, please, I need the free freaks of the world.”

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deconstructing identity all together: “We’re all the same at the base of it, we all experience the same human emotions and what is our experience of life other than an emotional one. If I have any agenda in my work it’s to foster empathy. I want a granddad in the Midwest to see something of himself in Yvonne’s leopard spotted self.”

As an artist who has shown multiple times in Los Angeles and NYC galleries, as well as London, Barcelona, Milan and recently a solo show for ICONS in Zurich May 2018, we look forward to further ventures by this already prolific young artist. The ICONS collection has been made into an art book and is available for purchase at Not a Cult.

Slight grotesque absurdity litters Parker’s portraits, unsettling subtleties which Parker refers to as “a darkness and a gentle undercurrent of rage”.

Parker Day’s imaginarium of fierce and frantic femme fury, interpreted as either maven monstrosities or clownish coquettes, glitter and gleam in her saturated photographic mastery.

Above all, Parker has a unique way of seeing and

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Vernacular American architecture is removed from its context, distorted and turned into fantastical patterns in this manipulated photography. This ongoing series explores a distorted vision of the American dream and represents an architecture of the unconscious.

Reality is perception, and what we consider normal is not actually normal; it’s odd, it’s strange, it’s obscure, it’s nonsensical. That normal things deserve to be looked at and dreamt about.

A

A

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N E R I C

Having moved to a new city, the spaces I find myself in are completely foreign to me - and through visual experimentation - I am claiming some ownership over my new surroundings. Capitalizing on my agency as an architectural designer to shape my world and how it is perceived. These works are often meditative in practice, because they represent the reconciliation between the fantasy of the city and the stark reality of urban life.

M

H

A N P E R R

T

E A L

Y

B Y

@ E R I C R A N D A L L

E R I C

R A N D A L L

M O R R I S

A central narrative of the project is that of, ’simulacra and simulation’, or the discussion of images, signs, and how they relate contemporaneously. We have conceived notions and expectations of our surroundings, and whether we recognize it or not, our minds fill in the blanks. Memories, experiences, and prediction all unconsciously articulate our understandings of reality. This project aims to blur the lines between fact and fiction.

Y

I

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Super glue nt those lace fro ladies because Stoole Chicago’s Lucy ke up the is here to sha own statusquo. Kn eard for her burly b pping and show sto s, Lucy performance ing Stoole is blow s upgender norm g and redefinin s to what it mean en. be a drag que In a meteoric Lucy rise to fame, come Stoole has be ame in a household n e; the drag scen

with synonymous nce’ and ‘black excelle ing.’ Chicago’s ‘groundbreak is ueen ofcolor powerhouse q hosts continues to e sh s a le b a p unstop cism in untry, fight ra co e th ss o cr a parties voice to ity, and give a n u m m co r e e thequ x when it fit into any bo ’t n o d o h w those der. comes to gen as a ut her journey o b a cy u L h it sive to We chatted w be more inclu to ys a w , n e e bearded qu America’s nd exploring a r, lo co f o s n dragquee tour. ape while on queer landsc

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@SteevieKin

g2

Along with subverting gender roles and expectations audiences have with drag queens, you’ve been outspo ken in the past about racism in the drag com munity.

Would you care to open up abo ut some of the challenges you’ve fac ed as a POC queen?

of Lucy ’t had a stool sample For anyone that hasn describe her?

Stoole, how would you n out because I’ve always bee That’s not an easy one part as her g bin cri I’ve been des of the box, but lately . housewife, part hooker housewife!

That’s the best kind of ody else. e fun at night like everyb Exactly! She likes to hav stunning your bold looks and Fans know you for pushed at Wh . te with your beard makeup you coordina c? eti arded queen’ aesth you to embrace the ‘be another very short time, under I had tried drag, for a ething som s t a beard and it wa name (chuckles) withou the on a son I put that drag per I really wasn’t for, so an to nt we . Then one day I back burner for awhile y Luc and rd and a wig with a bea Oscars party in a dress was born. gender for trying to figure out It was more of me tement way of making a sta myself. It was also my inine, fem r more about what’s and make people wonde s or line se how we can blur tho what’s masculine, and er. get rid of them all togeth

I’ve definitely dealt with my fair share of challenges. It’s pretty clea r we all suffer from some systemic raci sm that people of color have had to lear n how to work with in every avenue, incl uding our drag community.

I’ve seen a lot of, and I’ve dea lt with a lot of, people trying to use people of color as the token for drag shows.

I’ve also dealt with working under peo ple that were definitely not as talented or as hard working as me, but they’re whe re they’re at because they were the ‘pre tty white girl.’

Chicago is one of the most segregated cities in the country. I live in a city where most of the people of color live on the south side in imp overished neighborhoods while most of where I work, up in the north side, is not POC friendly.

It’s something I definitely think about, and it works its way into a lot of my drag.

It’s why important for me to try and use my voice, and my platform, as much as possible to speak about thes e things and try to figure out a way to bridge this fucked up divide that started way befo re us.

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What are some ways you think producers and performers can be better allies to POC drag queens?

Put more POC performers and producers in charge of drag shows. There was a thing for a long time where even if you have someone who is POC, and the face of a show, there’s someone else managing the money or pulling the strings who are using this person’s face to say, “Oh look they’re in charge!” No, I’m saying actually put POC queens in charge.

Let them create their own show, let them book their own people, empower them to learn how to make their own money, and be their own person.

Also, whenever possible, give them a chance to speak and give them more booking opportunities. Make sure you are looking at your cast and it’s not all white people. You know, things that should be common knowledge, and it is to me, but so many people don’t think about doing.

Recently you’ve been touring and performing gigs across the country. What have been some of your favorite cities to perform in?

Are there any drag queens you are gagging for right now?

One I’m really into right now is Bambi B. Banks.

She just moved here (to Chicago) from Houston, Texas. She burst on the scene a year ago, and she’s been steadily improving. Her performances are ridiculous! She’s an old-school theatre kid, like myself, so she’s really theatrical and amazing and can move because she’s 24. You know how that is (laughs). I’m like I can’t do all of that! She’s wicked.

I’m also a really big fan of HinkyPunk,, who is also pretty new to drag. She’s one of the most stylish creators of all kind drag I haven’t seen in a really long time. She makes most of her stuff.

She’s really wild!

Those are two of my favorites and they’re both new residents at my show FABITAT.

Pretty much every city I’ve performed in has been so great.

I had a fun time in Syracuse when I was working with my friend Wednesday Westwood, I had an awesome experience in Houston, and of course Atlanta!

Speaking of, are there any shows and parties you have set up in Chicago you’d like our readers to know about?

To be honest, I get really excited by going to the smaller, queer communities that are maybe still figuring out their place. Kind of how the same thing I did when I was first starting drag, they’re creating and carving out these really cool spots for people that feel like they don’t have or can be a part of a space.

Yes! There’s ‘Queen!’ at Smart Bar every Sunday night. It’s this party that was started about 5 years ago by fathers of haus music like Derrick Carter and Frankie Knuckles. It’s grown into this beautiful, amazing animal that has become THE best Sunday night queer event!

What would you say makes the chicago drag scene stand out from other cities?

Of course there’s my show, FABITAT, which is one of the longest running parties on the Westside and it kind of started my drag. It runs every second and fourth wednesday at Beauty Bar.

I think it has to do with the community in our little drag world.

But also the overwhelming amount of talent in our city! We have so many amazing performers creating brand new art together. We’re at this perfect place in our drag community where everyone has it in their head that we have to team up and work together. It’s this magic drag bubble I’ve never seen anywhere else, and I really don’t think anyone else has seen anything like it either.

I also work at Berlin Nightclub, usually promoting my parties. Pretty much anything that happens in the city happens at Berlin. It’s magic! If anyone in Atlanta is looking for a place to go in Chicago, go to Berlin! No matter what night it is, you’ll have a good time.

Last question, what’s your favorite song to lip sync to?

That’s a tough one! I’m gonna go ahead and pull out my theatre kid response and say it’s probably, “Special” from Avenue Q.

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@space.ram

IMAGES BY RAMZY MASRI

“ I A M N OT YO U R FA G G OT ” “ I A M N OT YO U R FA G G OT ”

FAGGOT”

@bookwormwonder

It appears the masses have been misinformed. I cannot fathom how, but it seems that our advancements toward equality have been misread—utterly mistaken for a lampoon. What is this misconception: the queer man? What is his nationality, his origin, and what is his place amidst a world seemingly set in stone? As we find ourselves in your world, we find our roles to be stifling and things of triviality. The spunky cosmetologist, whom women kiki with once a week to grab a mighty hand of lingo, tips, and tricks. The exonerated sodomite who leads the black church choir like the Pied Piper of immaculate mice; his pardon sustains only as long as his accomplishments overshadow his ways and his head willfully bobs in agreement when it is said that he simply needs to be “delivert.” No clique of modern day divas finds itself complete without the grand accessory of a self-obsessed, fashion forward, loud mouth caboose that is your gay man. I search my soul daily to decipher if I am all that you think of me—fear me to be. Does the catalyst for the heterosexual demise lie deep, like a sleeping volcano, within my intent, awaiting the faintest ember of opportunity to blow? And how—with what resource? Does my heart solely beat for designer, fringe, and the musical stylings of painted fish, taught to swim and sway by my own strokes, sweat and tears? Am I simply a catalogue, by which you, mainstream America, may pick and choose which piece of me you will take today to further your own agenda? Am I a faggot?

M N OT YO U R FA G G OT ” “ I A M N OT YO U R FA G G OT ”

BY

K E N DA L D E A U N TA E D WA R D S

OT ” “ I A M N OT YO U R FA G G OT ” “ I A M N OT YO U R FA G G OT ” “ I A

“ I A M N OT YO U R FA G G OT ” “ I A M N OT YO U R FAG G

GOT” “I AM NOT YOUR FAG GO

“I AM NOT YOUR FAG

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T” “I AM NOT YOUR

I began to wonder about the seat, painted soft pink, that we the homosexual race have been given at the great rectangular table of American importance. It sits to the far right between the Blacks and Latinos, and directly parallel to Women. The head of this table is, of course, the Caucasian race—America. I digress.

My cause for alarm was birthed long before I began this essay, retired only in my efforts to move forward in this world never meant for a man of my piceous tint, certainly not my sexuality.

I am now and have always been befuddled, transfixed by the American avarice; it is for shame that you blind the eyes of a people for their way of life, only to hide in front of those same useless eyes and manipulate, rearrange their actions, call it your own, and make whatever you demonized and then appropriated acceptable in your America. But if we insist on being a candid nation, then where, and whom, would the land of caucus be without their precious pillaging and cultural raping? Who dare would condemn their own way of life? The ancestors of Funny Boys of all races toss and turn, bleed and spit, claw and scratch about their coffins in distraught humiliation. Their flames

doused—snuffed out by nooses and bullets, merciless hands of every color: blood-stained by exotic fear, and shame-eyed by a community itself oppressed, only to have their crimes, worthy of brutal deaths in back alleys, riversides, and on display for the world, turned into dinnertime television merriment. What worth are their deaths now that you live their lives for them on the great American tube? It seems we are your faggots.

I fear the seat at the table has come at the high price of silence resentment. Chained now to the popular table, I believe that they believe that we must wear these abhorrent appropriations as a badge of honor, laugh with lips that should spit fire, and clap with hands of gratitude for mere inclusion and the illusion of security. This is not so. I wonder do they know all too well of the nightly struggle to pilgrimage to Giovanni’s room?

Does the liberation of Perfect Paul Peace become the Harriet Tubman to their own plantation of the mind, body, and spirit? Can they see their love lives, in glorious Technicolor, in the rise and fall

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of same bodies from the howl of Ginsberg’s plea to a rough thick-trunked master? We Do. It Does. We Can. I stand as a Queer Man of Color to tell you, my brothers of beautiful darkness, I Am Not your sister botched. I Am a man—same as you and sometimes better. I was not created to wage war with black male masculinity nor am I to be its new face. I am as far from the reason for our shorthand in this world as the East is from the West. I Am Not your exhibit A within the hollow walls and hearts of your Beulah Baptist and her members. My life is not to be used on your Libra scale for which you may find comfort in your own sins.

I Am Not your example of the inevitability of a fatherless home. You do not get to use me as a punching bag for your fragile ego and means for a quick buck; the extravagant sway of my hips carry more sincerity than your deepened gruff could ever hope. You do not get to dress up and mock me because it’s easy; the same breath that carries the joke too carries the slur. The lemons of life you’ve dealt me, without sugar, is not a fond memory in which you may find your niche upon a stage, spreading your homophobia with the acute negligence of a cold in a kindergarten classroom, all the while counting your coins on our backs. Do you not understand that for some of your brothers, that rouge lipstick you wear for farce, could be the line between life

and death for him? Do you not realize that for some of us Funny Boys, six inches erase broad shoulders and Adam’s apples; it can turn heavy footsteps into graceful strides; Bountiful inches emerge from bald scalps under the power of pride, a pride you wish to diminish. Tell me, what is the tea? Where were you when Paris was burning, and vogue was in diapers?

Can you tell me how to get to Christopher Street?

No. Then why can you stand on a stage and tell the stories of my life? You don’t know us, and that is why

you find it easy to attack us. How can one know the plight of birds when all you see is the splendor of flight? I am your brother—perpetually too, your keeper, but I Am Not Your Faggot.

Sisters, Sorors, and Fag Hags must meet: Let’s have a kiki! Lock the doors tight for I’m about to let you have it! My Povich voice strong, I declare that in the case of Queens v. Kweens: We are not your double. In this case, art does not imitate life, but life itself simply

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is art. I Am Not your mistake. I Am Not a mistake.

Martha, do not moan; do not bellow the loss of my wretched soul for if my life itself is a sin, then your contempt for me will find us in eternal summer together. Do not snare your eyes, let not your lip curl into a snarl for I’m simply quoting your bible on such matters. I do not want your man. If I can encourage him to live in his truth, then he was never yours to begin with, and it is I who should point the finger of theft at you. You and your

condemning

eyes and gossiping tongue; you, who finds a sister in my kind when you must be made beat and complete, yet we are stranger when you

witness

oppression; with

your

our you

vulgar

silence. How loud and boisterous you are while blowing our egos into the stratosphere when our talents benefit you real girls. How

many of us would still draw breath had you reneged from the safety of silence in our defense? Do you not know the fruit of your own womb? I Am Not your fan; our matching styles is not an homage.

You don’t get to accuse me of wanting to be you simply because I allow myself to swim into the deepest depths of my femininity fearlessly; the sharks of masculinity do not smell the blood of my ego cut by the rough edges of a bigoted patriarchy. Pretty girls, wonder no longer for our secret lies in plain sight: We are free. Sweet freedom rings in every blushed cheek, in every long lash, in hairy hands intertwined—bound by gold, in every popped gum and sassy, “Slaaaaaaaaaay!” We are not prisoners to pronouns; we do not long to be dictated by colors. The same leaf that covers the vagina too covers the penis. It’s all relative, don’t you see?

They are not yours to own, and neither are we. I Am Not Your Faggot.

America, The Great Gilded Jerusalem, come now and receive your portion. This land is your land, but this land is also mine. The definition of what it means to be a man like me is for me, myself to define. My origin is the same as yours; we are all

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children born under the yellow sun. My nationality comes in all shades, and like you, who also comes in many shades, I Am human. Like you, my sexuality is not my decision, but I have decided to stand firm in my truth as you stand in yours. Given the choice between fire and gate, I’m sure the simple sow would not stress to wander or take sustenance from the hands of strange men. As far back as I can remember, and further, I never found myself in deep contemplation of the marvels of club and fang. I was too busy in fear of my unnatural natural. The promises of aching bodies, a lifelong affair with fear, segregation, and death taught me to hide; these treats that Funny Boys are promised straightens the back and lowers the vibrato, births liars and kills the desire for honesty. You taught us your tradition of lying, America. You defined us without proper research, as you did the natives, African

Americans,

even your own flesh in

garbs

from

a

different land. A sin.

A crime. A secret. A choice. And now a trend. But originally, a faggot.

I stand as a Queer Man of Color to tell you,

my

beloved

land of cotton, I Am real. I Am capable of defining myself. my many shades bear

I do not need your

more importance than

opinion on which of

the next; they are all my own to share. My lifestyle is not an exotic destination for wonder bread women soon to be wed. My life is not yours to shorten with man-made viruses and balls of hot lead; it is not your place to decide whether I wear baggy jeans or a flowing summer dress drowning in lilac print.

You do not own me. Release your mind of Columbus, for you did not discover me. You have no clout of taxonomy, so you cannot name me. As Baldwin preached on the origin of “nigger,” and how all words describe its creator, I Am unshackled from the term, for “faggot” is yours. I accept no ownership for your creation. I have, and had, nothing to do with whatever shortcomings you found within yourself to be threatened by me. You may do with it whatever you please.

I am no longer your scapegoat. My voice will no longer lower its thunder so that the rain of your whispers be heard. Never again will my smile be persuaded north or south by the cut of your eyes, the snickers of jealous hearts, or the jeers of intrigued-masked hatred because

I Am Not Your Faggot.

beautiful. My culture is

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Avril Lavigne’s “Complicated” plays at AFROPUNK FEST Atlanta & everyone sings along & this is what it means to be black & this is what it means to love. You hold my hands & kiss them for the first time without conviction. Is my hand suppose to cover yours or vice versa? I hold your breathe while you stand in line, ordering us the blackest chicken & waffles I’ve ever tasted. You come back & it’s hidden & you can’t find it & maybe you forgot to ask because you know I’ll keep it safe.

This is radically beautiful & alternative. We sing together & love with an echo & a silence & You become somebody else / ‘round everyone else / watching your back, like you can’t relax / You're trying to be cool, you look like a fool to me. I use to sing this song like a sin at the bus stop on the iPod I stole & hid it in the closet among other things. I kept the volume low & when someone looked my way, I turned blacker and bluer & hid my shadow under the moon. And you fall and you crawl and you break / And you take what you get and you turn it into honesty.

This is the case for everyone here: radically beautiful &

alternative. We continue singing & loving our black & blue bodies under the moon, Is my hand suppose to cover yours or vice

Ty q u a n Morton

versa? & this is what love feels like & to love & to be loved.

Cupid

Cupid You spent your entire infancy

craving the love, you could not milk from your mother’s breasts.

She looks down & cries over what used to be an ocean.

Opens her legs. Submerges her fingers in an empty womb . in search of the engagement ring wrapped in your father ’s infidelity.

You’ve spent your entire adolescence in closets hiding from the love you couldn’t leave on your mother’s cheeks.

She reminisces over what use d to be a ravine. Grieves over what used to be a body.

Lifts her blouse in search of the stretch marks left by a lover.

Ty, don’t you know they lead

to you?

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Alok Eivind Hansen

model

photography by

Alok’s prose collection muses on the human condition, loneliness, racism, family, and (lucky for us) is archived from the last 5 years online. The chapbook, Femme in Public, is a staggering work on the genderqueer experience that has risen Alok to iconic heights in the literary artist underground.

The difficulties both hetero- and homo-normative audiences have when faced with queer individuals who are not easy to label comes at a great price to those who downright refuse to be put into a box. This has been a subject on which Alok has stood firmly and in doing so has become a contender in dealing with the explanation-hungry masses who are often downright oppressive.

Alok

@alokvmenon

In a world the pivots on definitions and divisions, it can be difficult to simply exist when defying categorization. Alok’s path has not been the peaches and cream of queer dreams, but regardless of the political and cultural climate, they have remained full of vision, light. The way they navigate hardship and rise forth in retorts of wisdom and certainty is inspirational (in fabulous frocks nonetheless).

After all, style is a political war. Since youth in a small Republican Texan town, Alok dealt with words like “faggot” and “terrorist” regularly, a factor not diminished when they moved to a larger city. The assumptions that progressive urban environments guarantee elements of safety in the queer community is a disappointment that Alok has shedded much needed light upon. Violence and judgement, the invalidation of TERFs and daily transmisogyny, are just many cruxes in which Alok has turned pain into art beyond the purpose of self-healing. Alok’s work comforts a community that needs empathy and strength, going beyond the radical nature of heels and a beard, ditching dichotomies of gender for future generations to come.

In reclaiming power, Alok sees their body on their own terms, though relishes touchstones where their femininity was validated by family. Alok’s poetry is interpersonal flow, commenting on the loneliness of the human experience, the microcosm versus the macro of communities, cities, the tragedy and tenderness time. In Alok’s 2013 Ted Talk, “We are nothing (and that is beautiful)”, their earlier tomes of academic youth challenged ideologies of success and failure.

Witnessing Alok speak is powerful. Alok’s awareness of the systems society has built is razor-sharp. A fierce fan of the romance in friendship, Wussy Mag talks to this genderqueer poetry pioneer about the state of queer adversaries.

interview by

Sunni Johnson

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You’ve been instrumental in genderqueer expression. As a fashionista, in what ways are the personal political for you in choice of clothing?

The thing about being nonbinary is that no matter what I wear it will already be politicized. If I wear clothing/accessories typically associated with masculinity then people will think that I am lying about my gender and that I am “actually a man.” If I wear clothing/accessories typically associated with femininity then people think that I am “masquerading as a woman.” There’s no space here to actually challenge why we gender clothing or our bodies to begin with! My style is the result of my intimate recognition that my body and my identity belong to me, not the gender binary! I don’t see gendered clothing -- I see colors, prints, and cuts.

I want to create beauty on my own terms.

Are there any past or present individuals or fashion houses that you admire or are inspired by for their non-binary representation in fashion?

The only representations of gender nonconformity I saw growing up were always tragic ones: the villains in cartoons, etc. A lot of what I’m trying to do with my style is celebrate the beauty and joy of gender nonconformity. I take my cues from a long history of gender non-conforming people and expressions. Thank Goddex for Prince!

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What are ways in which cis gays are holding back the queer community, especially gender non-conforming folx?

In order to gain acceptance the cis gay movement actively distanced itself from gender non-conformity and threw trans people under the bus. We can understand the ‘success’ of the gay movement in terms of how much it has participated in the gender binary and gender conformity: “We are just like you, not like them!” The decision to prioritize love and relationships rather than gender and difference was and continues to be political. This domestication of queer life has meant that it’s only ok to be queer if you’re in a loving partnership in the privacy of your home -- but what about being queer and visibly different in public? The reality is and has always been that it is gender non-conforming people, especially Black and indigenous people, who are experiencing the brunt of violence and discrimination. This is rarely, if ever, acknowledged and -- let alone -- reflected. What I wish cis gay people would understand is that their equality has been contingent on their conformity -- and that’s not true equality!

I believe freedom for intersex, trans, and gender non-conforming people will help everyone (never mind the fact that many of us are also gay, lesbian, bisexual, queer!)

In what ways are being a non-binary individual threatening to social structures both in Trump’s America to even the old school cis gay guild?

In times of political and economic insecurity the gender binary is fortified and traditional gender roles are fiercely policed and regulated.

Conformity and homogeneity are emphasized and variance and non-conformity are ruthlessly policed. The system requires easy categorization to continue working the way it does. Nonbinary and gender non-conforming expression challenge these imperatives and are thus scapegoated as the problem. It has always been easier to scapegoat a small and vulnerable minority of queer folks then to call systems of oppression themselves into question. We see this with the onslaught of anti-trans legislations that are springing up across the country like an allergic reaction.

Let’s be clear: if the discrimination and violence currently affecting trans and nonbinary people was targeting cisgender gay people, this would be recognized as the state of emergency that it is.

What are your hopes for the future of queer youth?

My hope is that every queer person can express themselves however they want without fear of violence -- that no one has to compromise authenticity for safety.

I dream not only for the end of violence, but for the creation of joy and celebration.

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Big Dipper.

Thicc boys, sweaty pits, and LaCroix in bulk.

They’re not just a list of things that you’d find in my wet dreams; they’re also featured in songs and videos by zaddy bear rapper, Big Dipper.

Interview by Stevie King @ SteevieKing2 Photos by Rakeem Cunningham @ Rakeemc

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The Chicago born, L.A based rapper is making a name for himself in the queer hip-hop scene with his exuberant style and catchy club-anthems. His music and technicolor brand have caught the attention and collaboration of big names like Rupaul’s Drag Race alumni Willam, Peppermint, Shea Couleé, and Dragula’s real MVP, Meatball. And that’s only a taste sample of things to come for Big Dipper, as he’s showing no signs of slowing down with the upcoming release of his new album, LATE BLOOMER. I spoke with Big about his bigger-thanlife persona, where he sees himself in the bear scene, and his plans for the future.

Let’s dive in and talk about your music video, LaCroix Boi. What was your inspiration for the video?

We started working on the LaCroix Boi video in early 2017 after Mike Malarkey and I wrote the song. The director, Ryan Ovadia, and I wanted (the video) to be really impressive visually. The whole focus was to make these visually appealing setups that were both playful and slapstick-y, but also sleek and designed. LaCroix Boi is a hybrid of my Big Dipper persona and musical sound, so we wanted the video to reflect that. The whole thing is super queer, but not overtly so it plays to a mainstream crowd and subverts the typical soccer mom LaCroix consumer. The color palette reflects the can design and the cast play with a wide selection of flavors of LaCroix.

I wanted every frame of the video to look like an editorial photoshoot: highly stylized, art directed, and super sleek, but I also wanted to bring the playfulness and joy into the video that I do with any Big Dipper project.

Okay, so I have to ask. What happened to all the LaCroix cans you used in the music video?

Well 95% of the cans in the video were already empty when we shot the video.

I spent many weeks leading up to the shoot chugging cans of LaCroix and to be honest a few cases even went straight down the drain because we were running out of time. We needed them to build set pieces. Can you imagine how heavy that jacket or throne or anything would have been had the cans been full?

I love the references to bear culture in your music and visuals, especially with your song Chunkita. Can you tell us the role the bear community has played in developing your artistic voice?

I love the bear (scene) because it was the first space where I felt accepted and sexualized. At the same time, I align with queer sensibilities: artistic, flamboyant, not masc for masc, so there is an internal struggle. I like to play into the sexual fantasy of some hulking masculine guy that acts like a football coach, but if we can’t actually be ourselves and talk about art and queer identity I have a hard time connecting.

I find myself constantly stradling this feeling as though I belong and that I don’t. To be honest, I get that feedback about my music a lot. People have said to me, “You’d be hot if you weren’t as flamboyant.” or “I watch your music videos with the sound off because I don’t like your voice.” I have a hard time fitting into one place. Am I a bear or a cub or just a person? Am I a queer rapper or just a rapper? Am I a performer or a dj?

A director or a producer? I think I’m all of the above and I think that’s okay.

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Am I a bear or a cub or just a person?

Am I a queer rapper or just a rapper?

Am I a performer or a dj?

A director or a producer?

I think I’m all of the above and I think that’s okay.

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Where did you come up with the name Big Dipper?

It was a joke with a friend of mine in Chicago back in 2011. Before I started making music, we were riffing on an idea for a song and I was like, “I’m going to make that song, but I need a rap name.” He suggested Big Dipper. It was pretty organic. I feel like the name really makes sense. There is a ton of innuendos and the Big Dipper constellation is part of Ursa Major, which is a big bear in the sky, so it all kind of lines up perfectly.

How would you say the Chicago queer scene shaped your creation of the Big Dipper persona?

That’s such an awesome question because I have this huge place in my heart for the queers in Chicago and the scene (there) helped me blossom. Honestly, I really became myself in Chicago and I miss it constantly. I found a group of people with whom I’m still connected to, who still dance for me at my shows whenever possible, who I still email and text about ideas and concepts for songs and videos.

I was able to experiment with performance ideas and be fearless with my friends to make new work. To dance and try out looks and be carefree and play. The scene was really playful. It was a joyful world of dance parties, pop up performances, and crop tops.

Speaking of developing content, you recently dropped a track on SoundCloud called Gorgina, featuring Peppermint from Rupaul’s Drag Race. What’s the story you’re trying to tell in this song?

I wanted to make a club song that you could dance to at a party but also listen to at home in your room before you go out. It’s like equal parts strutting through the room knowing all eyes are on you, as it is amping yourself up in the mirror, telling yourself you’re gorgeous, and all eyes will be on you.

It’s a self confidence boost at 130 bpm.

This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

What was it like collaborating with Peppermint?

I’ve known Peppermint for a few years now. I met her through our mutual friend Cazwell in NYC. I’ve always loved her energy and she’s such a rad performer. I did a feature verse on her song Dolla in my Titty Part 2, when she released her project Black Pepper last year. It was on a trip to LA that I asked her to come into the studio and record with me. We didn’t have anything specific in mind, but put a mic in front of her and play around with ideas and vocal takes. She has such an awesome vocal quality I knew I wanted to collaborate with her. Her voice will appear a few times on LATE BLOOMER (my new album) as well.

Can you give us any details about LATE BLOOMER or other projects you’re working on?

Totally! 2018 is full of new and exciting projects!

My new album is titled LATE BLOOMER and will be coming out in 2018! It’s a full length album project and I’m super excited to share it with the world. It’s fun and campy, dancey and raunchy, real, and heartfelt. I have a totally wild video for the lead single off the album, LOOKIN. The song is super poppy and fun, and the video is an artifully shot, body positive car wash full of thicc dudes and tons of soap suds. Plus I have more videos for songs on the album, including another single with RuPaul Drag Race Season 9 alum Shea Couleé.

My podcast unBEARable with Big Dipper and Meatball will release it’s second season on Revry.

We have tons of awesome guests from the LGBTQ community and beyond. Mostly entertainers who don’t necessarily fit in and who have had to make their own path to success. Plus we talk about bears and tell lots of sex stories.

I also plan to be on the road a bunch this summer performing at Pride events and clubs. I love doing gigs because I can meet and talk to people and I just love performing. My plan in releasing the new album and the videos is to push my content further so I can go out on the road more and play live shows. Getting up on stage is honestly the best. It’s my favorite part of all of this. That and when people bring me donuts to the show.

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e f i L g Livin y l l a c i t n e h t u A

With

Will Sheridan is an enigma and he’s not afraid to proclaim it. One look at his Wikipedia page will tell you the basics, but you’ll still be left scratching your head. He began his professional career as a basketball player, a forward at Villanova University. Then, not long after coming out as gay his freshman year of college (and being among the first NCAA athletes to do so), he began a music career that eventually eclipsed basketball. By 2010, Will Sheridan became fully the out hip-hop-house artist he is today. Now at 33, and a longstanding career based in Brooklyn, he’s got more to say and more to do, and isn’t pulling any punches.

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“I am an artist —a rapper— that began to deejay becaus e I throw parties . I curate parties . And I think there’s a lot of parties I go to where they don’t play hip-hop or vogue or music I like to listen to. So that’s why I started deejayi ng, becaus e I wanted to play music I wanted to listen to and people started respon ding to my deejayi ng by bookin g me.” Will Sherida n is the residen t DJ at Hot Fruit exists in the best of both worlds : where his deejayi ng is lauded and booked on its own, and music has a followi ng of its own. Though the two worlds seldom interse ct; he very rarely plays his own tracks when he’s deejayi ng.

He’s still got struggl es of his own though , but they mirror a lot of artist’s reconc iliation of art vs comme rce. “I’m still trying to debate what’s better: giving away your music or having it on Apple Music and all that. My target audien ce is everyo ne.”

The art of perform ing hip-hop live was brough t up, natural ly. Artists have a numbe r of ways of going about taking what they’ve written and perform ed in-stud io and transla ting it to a live setting , but are they all equal? “I find that mostly with hip-hop artists they either are, like, super hip-hop and want to rap all the words over instrum entals, or they just rap over songs and don’t rap all the words, but neither one of them is as enterta ining as me,” Sherida n explain s. After asking why, “Becau se it’s boring. We don’t care about your little, like, super consci ous rap that’s not about the queer narrati ve. And then some of the people that depend on back tracks usually don’t have the energy or enthus iasm behind what they’re doing. I’m like, you’re getting paid to do this, right? This is what you love to do? Put some enthus iasm into it!”

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y a l p o t d I w an te te d an w I c s i mu to e n s t i l to

With music thumping in the background of the phone call, “I’m rarely entertained by other rappers”. Will Sheridan said energized. His six-foot-eight stature could be felt over the phone, though the confidence he had over every declaration. This sort of superlative could only be responded with well, who *are* you entertained by? But the question gives him pause. “Um, I mean… I love Le1f. I love Big Dipper live. Dai Burger, Junglepussy, Dick Van Dick, all those people, and Cakes da Killa, too. Everyone else is like, a fraud. I’ve been rapping since 2009, I’ve seen a lot of shit.”

Though he digresses, “There’s no beef in gay rap. [laughs] Now you’ve got me feelin’ I’m controversial.”

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Perform it with all your heart.

And someone will start fuckin’ liking that shit.

m e w al bu n ’s n a d i Will Sher no w av aila ble s .

LexIcon i R ecor ds r o s i v d al A via Roy ON

OU T K IT C E Y! H C O TI F P S R S O ITUNE

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re , s to qu ee r cu ltu Th e su bj ec t sh ift ill W a wh ol e, an d an d m us ic as as e ce wo rd s fo r th oi Sh er id an ha s ch g up -a nd -c om in co m m un ity an d u’ re ta lk in g ga y vo ic es , “W he n yo t in g m us ic , m os cu ltu re an d ta lk n’ t ev en re al ly qu ee r pe op le do to o d if it’s ga y? It’s lis te n to ra p. An n te lis Th ey ’d ra th er m uc h fo r th em . ill W an tin g pu ss y th to Li l Way ne ea d g di ck . So I wo ul Sh er id an su ck in g in wa s ju st co m sa y if so m eo ne r m is to be a qu ee ea up , an d th ei r dr e ak th e wo rld ; m ra pp er an d to ur th u. Pe rf or m it wi yo yo ur m us ic fo r ll wi d so m eo ne al l yo ur he ar t. An g th at sh it.” in st ar t fu ck in ’ lik ar e th os e of us wh o Bu t wh at ab ou t tic en th ei r m os t au un ab le to liv e th pe op le , W ill sa ys e se lv es ? To th os r is go in g in ne ve “Wel l, m y bran d be to bi g en ou gh tim id — if yo u’ re u’ re a gi an t.” wh o yo u ar e, yo ve go t to do to “W ha te ve r yo u’ do it. If yo u ne ed se cu re yo ur life, e di sc re et to to be a lit tle m or . Bu t do n’ t be at be sa fe , be sa fe g yo u’ re no t liv in yo ur se lf up th at of l al t life ca us e th is ex trav ag an ar t he re . Al l of us st us st ar t so m ew is th sn ’t al wa ys so m ew he re . I wa [fo ot ]- ei gh t, xsi qu ee r ra di ca l, ll pl ay er be in g. fo rm er ba sk et ba ar s ol d. I wa s an I wa s el ev en ye wa s co m pl et el y ou ts id er, an d I s tu re an d wh at wa af ra id of th e fu co m in g.” is ad vi ce to ot he rs W ill Sh er id an ’s s ke ta it wh at ev er au th en tic ity. Do ll “A e. iv , re al , an d al to be au th en tic be to f ng e m ys el I di d wa s ch al le th at yt hi ng I di d so er th e be st at ev to on as ve an y re no bo dy wo ul d ha y, th al he m ay no t be no t lo ve m e. It d.” bu t it’s wh at I di

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e h t o t s ’ e r e H s r e M A E DR

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ves

By Luis Ace ly @fabuluis

I was 24 when I was first able to get a driver’s license and legally work in the United States. That’s when Obama passed the DREAM act, an act that gave a chance to live a seminormal life to the children of undocumented immigrants. The path wasn’t easy, cheap or quick but it was the first time we had a real opportunity to live here legally. My brother and I both qualified because met the requirements: arrived when under the age of 16, before 2007, had no criminal record and were between the ages of 15-31. The entire process took months of gathering up documents, meetings with our lawyer to make sure we met all the requirements and money, lots of money.

While it was not required to have a lawyer, the application still cost several hundred dollars. Most undocumented immigrants are fairly poor so I can’t begin to imagine how many of us could see the opportunity in front of them without having the means to obtain it. Those who could put together the money and were approved got minimal rights with conditions attached. We didn’t get the right to vote, we had to keep a clean criminal record and would have to re-apply every two years in order to keep our employment authorization and not be deported. We got nothing beyond being able to legally get a job, driver’s license and the ability to apply for a credit card.

For many, this was the first taste of the American dream.

Even though DREAMers do not quality for any type of financial aid or government aid, for many it was finally a way to attend university, a way to finally start working towards a future. For me, it was the first time since arriving to this country that I felt hope. When you grow up not being able to be open about your life for fear of your family being deported, it’s hard to say I ever felt like I had a chance to succeed. My entire childhood and teen years were spent dealing with the extreme anxiety of knowing that any day I could come home from school and my parents might not be there.

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When you grow up not being able to I still remember my first panic attack in school -- I was in 3rd grade. I kept imagining an ICE raid happening at my parent’s place of employment and that they were now being taken somewhere for deportation. What would I do? When would I see my mom again? How would I get to my brother who was not in school yet, how would I get us back to our parents? This is something that is happening to children all around the country right now. Children are coming home to an empty place because their caretaker has been detained and is facing deportation.

I was 24 when for the first time I didn’t have to actively avoid making eye contact with a police officer for fear of them somehow knowing our secret. When I could finally have a different future then the one I thought I’d have or rather that I could actually even have a future.

In all of this DREAMer talk, an often ignored topic

is our parents. Our parents who left everything behind, who mostly work in very manual labor intensive jobs for much less money than their American peers. Our parents who gave up their dreams for us to have one. Our parents who will never get to know what true retirement is like. Our parents who risk everything just to get to work. Our parents who are often mistreated and abused by their bosses because they know that due to their situation, they will not complain or even think they have laws that protect them at work. Mine were only 26 when they left their home and their family for a chance to get just a piece of that American Dream. People on the right paint them as criminals, drug smugglers, “bad hombres” but truth is that most of our parents are just hardworking people who live lonely lives of slaving away for very little return.

Our parents who get treated poorly in public because of their thick accent or not being able to speak English. Many of our parents do not speak English --not because they don’t want to, but because they didn’t have the option to be in school for years to learn the language.

Many of them even come here alone without their families and send most of their money back to them in their homelands. Making for a way of life that is just about survival with very little leisure or ability to thrive.

Our parents have worked for the American Dream that they were sold before coming here. A dream where hard work paired with determination is supposed to allow you the ablility to meet your own goals. Unfortunately, this is a country that doesn’t apply equality to all of their own people. The American dream is sold to the millions of immigrants who migrate to the United States in search of a better way of life; but most of them will never get to enjoy the fruit of their labor. Our parents are just as American as we are. My browner and shorter father with

family being deported, it’s hard to say 58

be open about your life for fear of your his thick accent is just as American as I am as a “passing” American. My ability to speak English with little to no accent doesn’t make me more than my mother because of her limited English skills. They have given up their culture, their family, their physical and mental health. They gave up everything just to give their children a chance for a life out of poverty, violence and corruption that poison our countries of origin.

Our parents are the real DREAMers -- they gave everything up for a dream.

happens. As threats of taking the only option many of us ever had away become a common thing, all while our parents didn’t even get that. Immigrants have built and maintained this country, Americans consume every aspect of who we are; our culture, our food, our traditions even our holidays but do not want us.

I always knew people hated us but this huge shift politically has shown us just how many of Americans don’t see us as people who deserve the chance to thrive. I didn’t write this as a way change your mind about the politics or to defend illegal immigration. I did it to humanize us -- to finally give you the face of one of us.

Unlike most DREAMers, I have the privilege of a voice and I’m choosing to use it. As we continue towards a time of uncertainty and hate, I hope that you’re able to look around and see that we (not just the DREAMers, but all of us) deserve the chance to achieve our dreams too.

Now this dream hangs by a string as the political climate becomes more and more anti immigrant, anti brown, anti diversity. We live in a time where the elected official literally bans people based on their countries of origin and refuses to condemn Nazis. A time where over 800 thousand young people who finally had the opportunity to be a part of the American society are now having to wait and see what

I ever felt like I had a chance to succeed.

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WHAT WHAT INTERSECTIONALITY INTERSECTIONALITY LOOKS LOOKSLIKE LIKEIN INAN AN INTERRA INTERRACIAL CIAL RELA RELATIONSHIP TIONSHIP Y Y C C A A J SS J TTA A Y Y B O B CHHO C SS P P P S P O PP TTO O T @J

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AC

Y

There have been many conversations surrounding interracial relationships since the Loving vs Virginia case was decided over 50 years ago. But they’ve mostly dealt with society’s acceptance of those relationships. Very few have unpacked the challenges that an interracial couple will face within their own relationship. While love, theoretically, may be color blind, the world we live in is certainly not, and nor should it be. Although my wife and I have never experienced rejection or non acceptance from outsiders because we’re interracial, in the beginning of our relationship, we overlooked the idea that we were going to have to confront racism and recognize privilege within our own relationship. Neglecting to view our relationship through an intersectional lens damn near destroyed our relationship.

My partner is a successful organizer, activist, feminist and she’s white. We started a long distance relationship and fell for one another, fast. We talked about our dreams, our passions, our families and we even discussed politics. She previously dated outside of her race, but never experienced a serious, committed relationship with a black woman. I, too, have dated outside of my race, but those relationships never became serious as well.

Identifying as a feminist, my partner understood white privilege and always acknowledged hers.

She also recognized that being in a relationship with a person of color doesn’t absolve you of that privilege. White privilege and white supremacy is not something we can just fuck away.

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We fell madly in love. Regardless of our cognizance of intersectional feminism, I think we both fell into the myth of thinking that love is the only thing you needed to make a relationship successful, especially because we shared the same politics. But relationships, particularly interracial relationships, are more complicated and nuanced than that.

Before Kimberlé Crenshaw coined the term in 1989, intersectionality was already a lived experience. Marginalized people, particularly black women, have not only been subjected to sexism, but we’ve also been subjected to racism. Yes, my partner may have experienced microaggressions and discrimination because she reads gay, but she has never been subjected to oppression due to her race.

Despite our many deep and personal conversations, we failed to discuss the importance of having honest conversations about the complexities of what our interracial relationship actually means in the social context.

Race didn’t enter in our day-to-day connection as a couple. Decisions like whose turn is it to walk the dog were Our conversations about money failed to confront not decided based on the exploitive systems she benefited from due to her our race. Because we whiteness and how those same systems affected my both came from the financial status because of my blackness. Full time same socioeconomic employed white women only make 82 percent of what class, we naively full time employed white men earn, according to a believed by us simply Pew Research Center survey. However, black women having conversations only earn 67 percent of what white men earn. Besides about finances when the disparities in wages, black Americans also face we moved in with one discrimination in employment and the housing market. another, we were doing We both knew these realities but failed to make the the work required connection in regards to what they would mean for us for a successful as an interracial couple building a life together. relationship. But race Ignoring the financial and employment disparities and its relation to between our races wasn’t the only thing that privilege shapes nearly complicated our relationship. After the murders of every aspect of our Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown and Eric Garner, we lives. Intersectionality did have discussions about police brutality and the is not only about how complete disregard of black lives in our society. I’m intersecting identities sure these conversations were similar to others in impact the way we progressive households. But it wasn’t until we got experience oppression, pulled over for a broken tail light and I was questioned it’s also about the despite not even being the one driving, that we had institutions that use to examine what overzealous policing means in the identity to oppress or context of our interracial relationship. This incident extend privilege. sparked a deep, uncomfortable conversation that white couples simply don’t have to have.

When you decide to enter into an interracial relationship, everything must shift. The way you navigate conversations with your coworkers, family, friends, neighbors and on social media must shift. Each and every time we get into an argument, my partner has to be aware of internalized racism and privilege. And we both have to continue to talk about how each of us navigates the world differently. While intersectionality was coined due to overlapping discrimination based race and gender, its application has since expanded to other identities. There have been times when I’ve had to recognize my privilege and stand in that discomfort to truly hear my partner’s concerns.

Just as we were getting used to navigating the complexities of an interracial relationship, Donald J. Trump won the presidency.

After Trump’s election, we had to deal with a whole new set of complications. Because his racist campaign rhetoric and bigoted and xenophobic policies have emboldened racists, there are places where I am legitimately unsafe as a black person. And there were people I was no longer going to be around due to their support of Trump, including members of her family. And there are places where my partner is unsafe as a person who reads gay. We gladly embraced the uncomfortable conversations we had to have because throughout the years of us being together, we’ve learned embracing them is paramount to our relationship’s survival.

I never have to worry about my partner saying overtly racist comments or ever voting against my interests. She’s a devoted ally who has my back. Being an advocate of equality while simultaneously navigating your own privilege is an interrogation of self. It’s uncomfortable and sometimes hard. White privilege is not something white people ask for. Due to this country’s history with oppression, it just is. But true allyship is learning to sit in that discomfort and learn the ways to extend that privilege to marginalized people of color.

Any person of color can tell you that being in a relationship with a white person is sometimes challenging. Sometimes the most difficult journeys are often the ones most worthwhile. There are moments when you really just want someone to see you and the pain that often goes with being a black, queer woman in a predominately white society. But then there are the moments when I see the person I love do the work, check her privilege and step outside of it to be my ally and my life partner.

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BIQTCH 64

When W U S S Y asks you to interview a you don’t hesitate, especially if you grew up a closeted kid in r u r a l G e o r g i a , watching Will & Grace, getting crushes on girls in your French

class, and having a scream marathon the first time your parents left you home alone. I first heard of the horror/drag series D R A U L A when I was eavesdropping

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on a conversation between a couple friends. I asked them what it was, and they explained it was a reality show that several local Atlanta drag queens were one of my personal favorites.

G A Y S H I T, HORROR, & DRAG QUEENS ARE A LETHAL COMBINATION I CAN’T RESIST, SO I HOPPED ONTO YOUTUBE AS SOON AS I GOT HOME THAT NIGHT TO BINGE WATCH DRAGULA. I HAD

HER CHARISMA, UNIQUENESS, NERVE, AND TALENT - BUT THAT’S A DIFFERENT SHOW. WATCHING HER STAR RISE HAS BEEN HEARTWARMING, BECAUSE FROM THAT ONE NIGHT WITH HER, I KNOW THAT SHE DESERVES

A N D S H E ’ S E A R N E D I T.

y n No @ N at h a

ONE NIGHT AT HERETIC, WHERE SHE WAS PERFORMING, AND I LOVED

No y e s b y N a t h aa nn N e s

BEEN FOLLOWING BIQTCH ON SOCIAL MEDIA SINCE MEETING HER IN PERSON

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on - including Biqtch Puddin’,

a JJ oo nn ee A nn nn a i l ee ss G l yA i Biqtch G P u d Photos d i n ’ I n t e r v i e w b @AnnaB

nationally-recognized drag supermonster,

e

puddin’ EVERY BIT OF SUCCESS -

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BIQTCH SAT DOWN WITH ME OVER THE PHONE (HER IN LOS ANGELES, WHERE SHE NOW LIVES, ME IN ATLANTA), TO SPILL THE TEA ON DRAG, FAME, GUYS ON SCRUFF, AND HOW SHE USED WHAT SHE WAS BULLIED FOR HER WHOLE LIFE TO SNATCH THAT BLOODY, BLOODY DRAGULA CROWN.

READ ON, M O N S T E R S .

AJ: Hi Biqtch! May I call you by your Christian name?

BP: Yes, you can call me by my godgiven Christian name.

AJ: You may not remember, but we actually met at a Eureka show here in Atlanta. You hit on my husband, and he was thrilled.

BP: [laughs] Damn. That was my Kathy number, right?

AJ: Yes! You performed your Kathy Griffin piece that night. I remember thinking, “Okay, this is one of my favorite queens of all time,” because I read Kathy Griffin’s book, Official Book Club

Selection, which inspired me to pursue taking classes at Groundlings in LA. I love that you love her as much as I do.

BP: Yeah, she was my everything.

I would always go home and watch her specials on Bravo and shit. I didn’t really know I was gay...she was one of the few people on television at the time that was kind of publicly talking about gay as if it was just fucking cool. Until then, there was always a very narrow viewpoint on it. She has a comedic style, but how she was talking about queers, it was like, getting me more comfortable with that concept.

AJ: I had only met you that one time, but ever since then, I keep thinking about your performance, and how you complimented my lipstick, and told me that I don’t have to wear a lot of makeup, because I already look feminine. My one interaction that I had with you made me love you, and I was so excited that you got on Dragula.

yet - I say yet, because I feel like she will be any second now; if not, then people are sleeping on it.

Or, Violet Chachki. Or even girls like Phoenix who came back and established a whole career for themselves.

The Atlanta scene has been BP: Awww! a dominant one for years. There was this iconic HBO documentary AJ: I was actually shocked when I heard that you done in the 90s [Dragtime, HBO Feature were bullied in the Atlanta drag scene and on Documentary], where it shows all these Dragula [before I watched Season 2], because New York girls, but they spend a you were so kind to me and my friends when whole chunk of it talking about we met, and obviously such a creative Atlanta, like Charlie Brown’s talent. I wanted to hear your side of that.

Cabaret, where it shows like, Shawnna Brooks BP: The Atlanta drag scene is and Raven, who was this probably one of the best in the infamous, rebel, fire-wielding, country. And how they go about sex-on-heels bitch who kind of fostering this talent is they don’t burned the place down a couple of necessarily take the “kind” approach. times...it’s this mecca, right? When It’s more like, they’ll tell you everything you first join something like that wrong about you, and never take a when you first join a team, you second to [tell] you when you actually do get a little bit of hazing. It’s something good. like a sorority of bitches that AJ: That makes sense, put you through it and read because I’m originally from the South, you, but if they’re reading and it can be a very judgmental place. you, it’s because they want you to be better - but BP: Yeah, it’s a very definitive no one’s going to tell you mindset. In retrospect, I’m thankful that. If you can grow with for my time in Atlanta. I miss it, you can become a very Atlanta, and I love Atlanta, but in versatile queen, which is [the drag scene in Atlanta], you have what I showcased on to have a very thick skin. There are Dragula. girls who will make a career out of [this].

Look at girls like Evah Destruction - she hasn’t been on a platform

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AJ: Absolutely. I was surprised, because from the first episode, they were dragging you.

As the backstory of what had happened between you and Abhora came out, it was understandable. But then you apologized profusely for it, and they just kept dragging you, and I’m glad that it seemed to become a redemptive thing for you - not only winning Dragula, but the other girls seemed to really support you by the end, even Abhora.

BP: When that happened, and I got the show, out of all the girls there, I was most excited to see Abhora. I wanted to compete with the best that I knew of at the time. I wanted to have good competition. I know this bitch, I was on cast with this bitch, and this bitch is sickening - she’s a monster. I knew that [Abohora] had a lot of animosity towards me, and it was mostly because of the show that we were on cast together. I don’t want to spill tea. I want to be respectful. But I had to convince the world who I was [on Dragula]. I had to keep my head down, and it really fucked me up.

The second episode was a great example of that.

I was really in my head. If I put Biqtch Puddin’ in a western world, she would be a fucking whore. But I didn’t do that. I was like, I need to be this fucking drowned bitch monster that the townspeople drowned in the well, and she was mad about it and coming back to kill everyone, which, no - I should’ve just been over it. I was in my head about the competition, but once I got out of that - you saw the result. I couldn’t have pulled myself out that if it wasn’t for that grueling, sorority-esque mentality that Atlanta gave me. It prepped me for a situation like that.

That’s why I’m grateful for how Atlanta raises its queens, because it helped me deal with shit like that. If

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there had been another girl in that situation, she would have cracked.

AJ: That’s one of the things that I feel helped save you.

BP: Yeah. I was bullied throughout my life, being a Navy brat. And I was a huge, flaming undercover faggot. From the jump, I tried to fight it so long, and people were calling me faggot in 5th, 6th grade, and I didn’t even know what that meant. I was always the new kid in school every two years. I was just an easy target. I thought I had dealt with bullying my whole life in different ways, and I thought, “This is the time.

I’m on a show with monsters. We’re queer as fuck - it’s the most queer shit on television right now. If anything, this is a safe place.” And it was the exact opposite. It was the same situation, but here. And I think that the universe prepped me for this in a weird way - putting me through [all this] bullying. I would love to live in a world where I can wear lipstick and go to the club and not have my [identity] questioned. I just want the next generation to not have to be questioned... if you want to wear a dress on a Tuesday, then wear a fucking dress on a Tuesday. It doesn’t fucking matter.

AJ: What inspired you to audition for Dragula?

BP: I auditioned for two reasons: 1.) when I watched the first two episodes of Dragula Season 1...it was raw, it was

online, and I just saw these queer individuals allowed to be themselves on a platform unapologetically. And then 2.) I was looking at the cast, and I was like, “I don’t really see Biqtch existing,” but I feel my mentality might fit in this realm, and I saw the scene where Loris died, like...her fucking death scene where she looks like an eighties bitch-cunt-prostitute BP: - and I was like, “Oh my God, that’s like - me.”

AJ: Yassss, that’s I can see myself in this universe completely. It’s not just my beast your aesthetic! mentality as a performer or party energy, but it’s that. They love this shit, too. I knew I had a shot. I went out

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BP: [screams] Disasterinaaaaaaa! The first day on set...it was the most beautiful thing on the planet. I bawled my eyes out when they eliminated her, because if I was going to lose to any bitch, I’d want to lose to her or Abhora.

Dragula has a live pageant. Obviously, they stopped doing the party, but brought it back for DragCon weekend. I thought I would AJ: What is one of the biggest perks to fame? compete, and I ended up being in the Top 3 with Abhora, and I

to DragCon in LA last year - I like Atlanta, but I was ready for the next thing. It’s hard, as a queen, to find the next city you’re going to jump to [especially since] Atlanta pays its queens so, so well.

won. But it wasn’t an automatic in for the show. The Boulets were like, “We’ll message you.” I definitely felt like, “This is it.”

AJ: Okay, let’s switch gears a bit and do some quick, rapid-fire questions. Favorite horror movie?

BP: Silence of the Lambs. Without a doubt.

AJ: Greatest fear?

BP: Heights. I don’t know why. There was a person in the 90s who died on a roller coaster, and I was there.

But I still ride roller coasters.

AJ: Favorite drag queen (besides yourself, duh)?

BP: Getting clocked on Scruff.

AJ: What is one of the biggest drawbacks to fame?

BP: You have to make sure to take time for yourself mental health is very important. Especially when you’re a drag queen and give so much of yourself all the time and have to constantly be on. You have to take time to do your laundry.

AJ: Stars and drag queens, they’re just like us!

BP: [laughs] Yes, exactly!

AJ: They do their laundry, it’s just more bedazzled. Okay, who did you feel was your biggest competition overall on Dragula?

BP: When I got to set, I immediately was like, “Abhorra,” because she knew what I was capable of. I may not read as ‘monster,’ but I have shit and tricks that I can apply that these girls don’t [have].

But I will say, Victoria, Episode 1 - first day, level awesome. I thought I was going to be the body girl, but I was like, “Oh my God, she’s padded, and her tits look amazing, and she’s scary as fuck.” I was like, “Damn, I’ll be lucky if I make it halfway through.”

But then I realized that the girls didn’t have what I have, so I started celebrating that, and that’s when I started kicking ass.

AJ: What’s your go-to makeup

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i es h t g e i n a li k e

biqtch -c u n t-

prosti tute

AJ: What’s your go-to makeup item in your bag right now?

BP: L’Oreal Voluminous Smoldering Eyeliner Pencil. It’s this smoky eye pencil, the blackest of the black, you can put it on your waterline so easily, you can apply it in the crease, use it as a shadow, all over the lid - it’s amazing. I’ve had it since I first started my career in drag, and I keep buying it over and over again.

AJ: I’m going to go out and buy it. Do you have a Drag Mother, and if so, who is she?

BP: [laughs] I don’t necessarily have a correct drag mother, but I do have two mothers that I would like to identify: one is this girl named Kiara she’s from Virginia Beach. When I saw her perform, I was like, “Drag can be that?” She transformed the whole room to look at her. She was doing this weird song that no one would know, and it was like you were teleporting into this video game world. It was fucking sickening.

In terms of Atlanta, I will say Celeste Holmes really helped me out in a variety of ways, and has constantly been my cheerleader. She was one of the few ones that was like, “Biqtch, you’re sickening, keep going, don’t listen to the haters.” I love her for [that].

AJ: What was the messiest moment on Dragula that didn’t make it onto the show?

BP: It was during the first episode. Shit was being spilled backstage, and everyone was blaming me. So, it was messy with that, but it was also messy when we got to the bottom. It was me, Kendra, Erika, Felony, and Monikkie. Right now, it’s comical, but in the moment, I was like, “Oh my God.” Felony is rocking back and forth and mentally trying to prep herself. Erika is freaking out. Monikkie is like, “James Majesty is in the top? What the fuck?” and through all these interactions, you hear Kendra Onixxx saying, “It’s a Trump America.” [laughs] It was reality gold, and I don’t know why there wasn’t a camera on it. It was messy, but it was really fucking funny.

AJ: Plug time! What’s next for Biqtch?

BP: I’m trying to come up with music. I just want to come out with some honest, fun songs.

I’m working with a couple of different artists right now - I don’t know if anything will come of it. I’m launching my Twitch channel around or after DragCon. I’m trying to get DragCon done. I’m going to switch to video games and have fun online. I’m going to do the European tour with Dragula, dates to be determined. I’m very fucking excited about that.

AJ: That all sounds awesome. Thanks for letting me interview a Biqtch today!

BP: Aw, thank you!

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C O L L A G E S BY SARAH BARNHART

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A Queer-Owned Creative & Experiential Agency

FORALLHUMANS.CO

WORDS BY Sunni Johnson

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QUEERS 81

Lethabo Mailula, sometimes known as Litha, is a South African writer, activist and teacher on gender studies currently living and penning up a fury of magick in Tshwane. Her blog, The Weaving Room, muses on subjects ranging from the heteropatriarchy, violence, “corrective rape” and other intensities. Sometimes informed by her academic studies, her writing is more often than not a result of personal and collective experiences: “My research focus is on the symbolic and material erasures of queer blackwomxn in South Africa investigating particularly the genocide and ostracization of black lesbians in South Africa. This looks at the positionality of Queer blackwomxn and their lack of access to society as full citizens as a result of their social location.”

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gu n _ e n I G @mamas_machi Despite the seriousness of her writing, she finds motivation and empowerment in everything: nature, creative spark, daily ritual, her own embodiment. “I had to find a way to leave my head without interacting with people and worrying about my quirkiness.

I’ve always been ‘alternatively’ beautiful and strangely stylish. So writing became a way to fall in love with myself and to acknowledge my sexuality in terms of my desire and pleasure,” she muses. “A book formed my identity and I lived in stories that coloured the dullness of everyday life. I’d look at a raindrop on a leaf and mouth words to describe it, to augment to reality and make it dance with words.”

There’s no shortness of what keeps her inspired either, whether it be compulsively reading others’ work (while enjoying Chai lattes and milkshakes) or visiting the ocean to cleanse and reflect. Writing short stories and working on a novel while pursuing her Masters of Law in Jurisprudence must require a degree of anchor and focus, but also an artillery of joy. Looking ahead, Litha hopes for a better world especially for queer youth: “I hope they watch TV and encounter black lesbian Womxn, I pray for representation that will hopefully translate to safety for queer blackwomxn who are hypervisible and exposed to violence in public space. I pray that queerness can cease to be the vulnerability that attracts danger but the magic of existence.”

PHOTOGRAPHY Noni Poni

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A V I V SHALEM As Asis D’Orange, the juicy drag performer incorporates political art and kitschy glamour. Outside of the performance moniker, Aviv Shalem leads a very rich life that challenges the status quo. As genderqueer identity remains confusing for a country with a language that does not even readily recognize they/them pronouns, Aviv challenges even the popular Tel Aviv gay community’s view of gender fluidity. Flexible sexuality is another issue not readily accepted: “You can say I’m multi-sexual, polysexual, pansexual, bisexual. Long story short, I am attracted to many body types regardless of genitalia, pronouns, looks. I’m part of the trans community and feel that it’s blessed and very empowering to have connections with people in my tribe.”

Aviv’s interests run wild: they are a raw vegan fruitarian, street-fashion maven, sustainability advocate and free lover raised in a traditional Yemenite Arab Jewish family, though does not practice Judaism. Aside from an intensely androgynous sense of style, they’ve actively challenged many separations from the very established homonormative gay mecca in the city in which Aviv has roots.

“One of the hopes I have for queer individuals in my region is what I have for all of humanity: to live free of fear, connected to the true selves that we are, to our hearts. That we can express our loves and difficulties, our sexualities, without being exposed to so much violence,” Aviv explains. “I wish that we all as humanity could accept one another, and the revolution we are trying to create can see the importance of everyone’s needs. There is a lot of sorrow and pain, especially for my Palestinian brothers and sisters.”

With a genuine openness matching their sultry sensuality, Asis’s tre cool composure is undeniably magnetic. Combining these qualities with a cutting edge fashion sense, Asis is a genuine open-hearted queer wunderkind with much passion to change the way their community views the confines of religion, sexuality, identity and borders.

I G @a viv_a s_

is

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Nona Chalant

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Moving to Tel Aviv at the age of 22 and discovering many artists in the queer-friendly Middle Eastern mecca, the first year as the new incarnation Nona Chalant was spent photo shooting. You would be surprised any shyness was even present as the performer now exudes confidence, packing out venues and inspiring new performers. Nona Chalant’s agenda supports troves of young queer people in Israel with encouragements that drag will save the world. “Take your art out of the closet” and live to the fullest, regardless of the surrounding stigma, a factor not unknown in the religious expectations of gender and sexuality in the country.

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IG @nonachalant

It wasn’t long before she was recognized as fashionista and makeup artist with a refined and sleek style—so much that she caught the eye of Italian Vogue. With slight leanings towards the golden era of McQueen, regal Isabella Blow accessory sensibility, Nona’s flirtations with lush, religious motifs and gothic high-fashion fetish fete makes the performer an unsurprisingly popular figurehead in the Tel Aviv drag scene.

As a child, Ronny Chokron lived amongst fashion: with a mother who did export with clothing from Paris, working in a leather factory, the teen spark of a to-be Nona was deconstructing clothing to create new outfits. Combined with a love of painting and transforming said art to make-up, the conceptual creativity of a future performer found a true formation when getting into full face during the Israeli Halloween in 2011. “There was this electricity.

People didn’t recognize me. This feeling was very fascinating for me!”, Nona says of the early days.

New York and American drag has also played a big role in the ‘nonchalant’ fashions of this bold performer. “When I started I was really inspired by the early seasons of RuPaul’s Drag Race because

PHOTOGRAPHY Jude Mosco

I found my inspiration in those personas. So big and so out there!

In Israel, the local drag queens are also big and out there but I loved the fashion they bring into it.

For me Nona, all of her essence is New York. Nona, she is very classic, she’s got an edge, she’s always in style or making new style and that’s the fun of it.”

All of Nona’s sides are expressed, with many faces, yet remains branded, cohesive and conceptual.

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end, you r end?”

mmunicate h approach to co us imager y. munity, religio m co r ional Edging” ee qu e th de” and “Emot on Bl e th g in ad Le anarchi e “The Blonde d bent through an ed ch en With tracks lik dr , vocals Her creativ indecipherable signal context. to n Oblivia’s often io ct fli in e iv the aren avily on emot rfect sense in pe es ak effects, rely he m s chao electric ghos ted loss turned entranced with t ub K-hole of lamen do a t ou invente . Oblivia is with d murdered, re an s ie or of performance em m by untesses cruxed ares. of screeching co blackout nightm in s ng so rl gi d sa all the pieces lost and found, is a musical project, birthed afte ey would put on H l r making a film titled “Year of ca Lo at r way for the opriate th in which performer princess Loc … what bette er th ge It is only appr to ce an al Honey dissected pop culture m a “rock oper e, and perfor a hood (a la Beyonce) and dec O e something of music, narrativ ak m ide an d it th wa s tim so e to give life to a bli or tive cre e to do diva of her own. As a drag per ey and a supp viaer, eer clandestin on W form H qu l ca Lo , m she touches wavelengths h n in a 23-mi ling it The Botto an ore is a Lynchian femme and, suppor t and resurrectio Even better tit en nm ted do an m d by”the we ab irdo of d larcen tale in us punk artist scene fic d rleans, comfortably falls into neon-lit lust an ts actualized a e tis th i ar w tio absivtrac an c th r a he a ot t tionh,i despite of na l a clear love of ationed in no for me to crea ography. Mixing electro am l dwithood ch p proj Da nce showdown, st as important w e iv at rr i h of bie har ct na sh i fle noi e ct vid re va ct s a perfect (a erfose wa he abstra h to communicate harprowNed d humor while Las Vegas. “T of ced Lsy influen bir laby pai rmn, ,add ty, tragedy, an ili ab op ew tale er te a ln n ea vu cr h s ictio pres ted to r community, religioaus icogerOy.rle chia er o Beyo er p thed n, continue to ex itness to. I wan w pp ima am I at r th n n w a n a in time. At th of reality o ro t r at the same ne new harshness ac gra ns, c femm n. A ce) a cess fter w do l ks like “The BlondeheLea ta to in ma h tthe Blo qu ding p o”mand “Em s a nal nEdg uplifting yet a e much how I th d ingL”, W o c hynde e that was both . M for andotio which is very dr de ocal king e, often indecipher nc le ith e vocerals, va abl bi al o t am erbi b tab t thro co drench cidic H mm edixand , s ughaganarch ben O tra a fi about the prov e day it’s abou is th m i t o of “I . u n e l p ns ai ly heavily eon bem y pl n liv otiv ex m p g c d er ictiounn tounsign p falt. Her orld,” Honey in order to r alele tex for e it w ey d lm ti ffe ia’s eksinfl ativ lik ls or tcre approach the w ity icate con e has to get to c on t at m ctsturned lamentedK loss l e th i t s o e i e w s a lo r t , r perfect nto d b er wes s you star t o ase in -ho , r ftechaos“T makes eli har sen the arey na , sh s tim ecte d “Y The depths. The Lo on. Where do si n es h pr e m a de d l ance. oOb g e an e r l i e d f plivia ois wityhou ow h bie bst the ioced e e t na B entran les in mania bt po ar th us wit ra sts w tou to f l hea dedou gho of em-self. It dabb ed elecntric of nteesse cip lond rfos cru c ing cou c p a i e g e c m t v t xed scr ir io h h h ries eand mu a redta,l reinven i mo rm me byilme d, your end?” c l ge uereach the en egirl es withtedn, , d do p es w ve li ultyo angs nte y on erab Lead rde ec son u undo,stsad r y. fe re infl ha e c in bla u d ckout nightm h a an l i It d f ing e. O los emo e voarens.g t ue rsh spite nk a vele to a c h i s c n b n s ropriatoeu thatouLocalli Hontu tiv r als app no e a c on nd ise cle tist s gths put d , d allBlothe pieces eof nte via eyrn woeuld u i , b n n a e c r i rrasitive w c, , lyand s flic en y s wether… e d de r persad anc se e tog na app form ” ay for a pai as a love ne wa ion betchter edes gir s cr itho chaowhtat e r c tine rrto n r n d do o p so u o ,a d s of to u ething an ope x som lan ativ pri thanl somake ck dd erfe f Em ? d b “ra” ate n ed t a d mak a s“ro e rbetitli i c g ict , Locgals i Honbyey and tte ngdeitst The, aBottom o o enw oftio es porntive ion t al cre ine nd tha rt n b me ubat sup t th p n ed c , a caliz tale i e of a t aba en n inrfa on tua tlin lac resmurre p ndonment and ro t tra ec23tex ute ug l Edg g o d erfo Loca ko orie ctio lizioned t s min h o otherrmthanl the neo n no u t n,, stat ed it in i s . ce larc t n-li Th an and so He ana ng” nig t lust an Ho stae abs d w eneny a t trac se of e , d “Th r r n t c t nar h mu to cre e s imp e ith ateinto cre chic “T tion ale Bot ratihve an wa nt tfor ma me tog yorta t he resesdvulnoera t r a o e h w exp d res f bility, medy e tiv m trag e ere lec ou or wh the hum .ile refl ecti pr s abs in n aban , Lo ake , and ld d, ngtrica aren e nes r tra lity othat I dam wit es of rea c … g pduto create rei a ss to. sv ct oth onm alnes a wo nvrk hos t a Ho omeI wawnte uiftin f r upl oth n h t g e yet e l t a s tota a e n n l h dow l a n ea rt le.t At the end te n ner at the rr lity uteraam ha t an ey a ingsamte btim d, tiv nce bil bivaale fit’s ett he tin abo n o , n wh ich d is e ver t y f mu p d ch e ha ity, how I g thin t k r and i r h wa a es e t I eytr exp y e wo w eces ur utathe s i s. “Itneis abo t a ” Hon am erld, am ag lain oc biaalybottom rec supppro“rver o m e k bi Lowtest The fo of. d ti pohas nto o wsi tha ota low tiv er oto n in rord r t -lit get oto tn yt, one p rebr uild o val l a a

sh it wa musric wavel bstr Wh hoo her ow in,r prin , su tobliavia iswa uches iva ecided h ha h pbeyrfoprame and o t d n t cene f d i i e e d o h n O s d s l a m ar tist s er, m ce” in wehnicced an iva ce) fal k m e , n n n r d f o u ” y o e y f l l i p r e g n of e e b B b or np do flu na ia ta ar love Eddrgaig ic by the weir o amWhtales ain hood (a la a le r l fictio id Lynch comfor c s t a a A c . e n e el Oblivia espit ed d div av r owntio arcohr ted erfisecat music ns, ixing harrow an er y. l diva of hned “Emoe aungdh, saunpp tive bstraction, d of D as a p rlea w M O e . is o a y a o m w a n g ato Whore” h ioinn,which te e h a ion em r addict fa r llcsrein nace with hars of N nydnec”hiand fbent thtably grap munica ious im fict , e o in o l a H L n p B r e id n by fo xt. ico and diva hood (a ar ien com elig ogf Dthaev chle edaa ns, clocmonte eleicntrtoheamb sts s influenced pop ity, r h to din r n c n a O e u g a o a e le r e in a w L o h n t m s e d r fictional diva , sipghy. Mcix c egd oaflsN g”, of h sen nde app eer com rtoriw ora n otg l Edgin fe utnicatteh h treyd., aDavid e Blo ble voc picic elaerc r o n u i n h e t io q T t e e p of Lynchian o i g “ v pinofl ina im es mm w the archic hera like nd “Em hkto cotrancedy, reliegreiodu, sre gh anOrleans, ecip emotive paporsoamca nde” a ouNew acks d r lo r of h it B n t t i d n n t e a u r n e h h tive h u c t mm be n gt en Wit r crea ly o s oft Heiconography. ned heaqd eoeurb co s and m londe Leadin esreonfched and i ’ u r . t v a u x i pop a t e t v e t t n cd e ena hreeBs. Obli , rely h ted loss ocpaiels, r ato signal co thou memokrsi like t“mTa the ar i v e in le w h b t e a s s s h o to ct sts byith tracut nig indecipuhterall ia i y icftion ? men hOocom ct senapproach afl dW effe ctric gcommu ”akes perfe bliv, i of la e. Obliv ko’s often uld p n emeottteivr ewin erm le a e ruxe blavcia e c h l the queer it o s c ps o b o n dw oo nted w K-h tesse ongs inObli cckha eavilywhat turn“erd einveW rma otf entrance y r h n o hore o , e u f d ly n r w e e o b r r s e c sos f a reou rde felctHs,o etheer…

“T of p girl ecfa hing ntedinlo oivuet ac d inutreies and mu With tracksalike d c h t g o it r m n a e d L g w s la o e di r , tof th blivia sisupp memo at e le e . h o s m t 3 c h e m of sc d found r y Oblivia’s often ind 2 n O Ka te ficctieos noa e asnoce. anf dtheaes crunxiendab ceonuyt onfightma pie krm an pria perform pem a e o t f o h r o s t o s r y k r r s i c ea t e o e ll p t “Y a l f nm titledHogncouisn a musical a a film Orely heav oa bliovfyia ra toafterldmaking ap rec ongproject, ut effects, nd s ind blla birthed “Ye a Dfaois surre vid hin pdcu o tah filscLroeceaclOblivia wtitled ou p reltu l slust an eanteey w rWof ea, ftaer mdaokisng octn,lybir th ed r ir e t v g t c i o e s t p d n i f b je , K-hole lament ed a t a o a o ro ct s o ing Local hofroeN ad, in which i a rpo at disse Whore” usicalItp to p”eew performer dissected e ctal Hprincess arr ntun whHoney onetyom in on-l d efo Oblivia is a m tinseLocaTlheH Bot losd ic, ern pridnc “aroncdk lifneetoiaatnet tfhoar t mLo refletcot gethrekr… ses t oaenm srm e e iv a e g u of performance.

O h f to fo t er n o p m w tim n d o e e r ivcrgive g was time p etop hich it ed it fwaabsa phood il anc aand a tas (a lafw w decided an adiva ropng iceohno cla andtlidnec g id pm orth rhm pve tnhand r nc oBeyonce) Whore” in w r tivo mdethin it of o o o e r r e r le s t p e i e) ly e o e a p p t e i a e o w l fi u u s o h ey k screeching cou c s e B d m he r n t ti a e e performer, op u n2a anhof d (a la q maivin a -dwa own. p3lro e,nden was tivdiva ette gzepderafotarmern, nshoeItotoisuc vefictional and a she touches to carnAsmat drag cah e dher and diva hoo ip,unnkarara i tesdo th e. o tic Acatlh Hoannedy enAbs a tdura li nofinDa rtyis, tasc o n v a io a n. t lost and found, sa d w r E c o a o d o s r r e t a e n rd he u r v e ei f e r L id w n c a th o m e w c m u of David Lynchian femme and, supported by the weirdo punk ar a i e e , g k r L o iv n s a I th in t y d q t i y l e m n u la n a b s t r e . er ts , sup,psotarted ct der slotove of hesaBmoetto fictiona thi t and ,r trcalaclnea . t faNnedw tyeite straio aretisando iuliep wonIfalls menbinto ttom wn od astbra -liItt luissodespite eleaa hian femm n,radb gat ittct hTe comfortably qes itnr etsitOrleans, O n r of New abstraction, a cle o h only appro n ct c o n li e e d w a o b e n h a t h b l W to c w n of David Lync a e ith track mbeew tteas aneprerfe tayle m ofu ho ly falls in“T vul rsah rbia an ethbeuild ant fopr om eI naispop iconreowas w lized aver Mixing ctp ns, comfosrtab Vegas. iepnc iconography. harshpO noise narrative, r impowith flgera reesswithitha rooelectro r t music, th Etvno tvheer thtambience dco p l o y a s o x b n, of New Orlea u i e ilbelivia a m n tio s t a e t ic n h l o d r h s tr d a a ’s t a o in e w ec h a a , e L el t o o a s in r c g t h t a p e t w d i in p d o p r e is ix y u rby h oacpain, w ndinfluenced f um phy. M hatto enyce communicate esaic artive star t tales etdaarbt approach anbo ctonianrroharrowed ca tinrruoewed eclandestine eo,wwn, stIattotiio rcets ta ssleos influ a h queer ff s c pop iconogra n e c , e g y u o o n t , n n d u a m re c i ha e r e d t d th h t t lw “ e absge quiseeartitling rag ho anbtlievebetter tlh ivsa o yy,otimagery. communicate w hars erthy. uplif the religious ins. community, h s to I wEven cAotm Kt-h O eia approach to pelgaqueer amb oele.w eious imsagbo eeraebdilit imin ss to. aing”,s vW as. e“Th hficlh x e t ln n o h n e u u it lig V m re , o w y g a s sW s n. ” nEd munity na reio roeactualized wa ith thi otio I am oneLamWith ho t otlo s ab e” exeplike at theartists W ftrhpaoecw khsoIlirm the queer com “The the and ha sshi tin rf y that Leading that adin nerBlonde” okdea ,” aHnd “Ew ythite’ Bloond uetracks h“Emotional litBlonde r rc w c d c s a a o g l t u p e d r n a r d na m e l a o f Le iv h c a e o O y anbdliovdfia’s erstatio ug lf l w d and thro d dhnoften ess oindecipherable a totvocals, drenched e nc e “The Blond of the h tdhre is ver showdown, oeftbceahia socthrough and bent vre oin heLowest bennt Oblivia’s nin a ahnarser efting yet iw With tracks lik e pnra cls, tiv which div ca h ea t , l e a vo cr li e t le a n p b e c e o u H u ra ff n t. r o t h e he Las Vegas.

“The m io ex r o tss,t raoenrly ab fictclo ehnHer indecip ivale infliction . nT to silegsna both heavilyt aon inl conteffects, rely context. app infli mbemotive hsio d ?t ”was th tct . “It isto signal invid d foecuhan y s Oblivia’s often na d L p o u re in t b a a e n o e e h t la tiv b t b o e e K d p g -h r seK-hole sttn continue nse in a leasense it’s a ofoItD avily on em The oto omu ey ex chaose makes s to perfect y lamented fo la It da perofeuct yexpre Honturned leea e d of n rin sld,”loss effects, rely he st reisedw thel on ha Oly ho ch-saeolfs. maekeesnd, y eharshness o g f t r n h ic ed o tr a o rn o ec tu h W f a t w m p ss p .

N new o ith lo e s n frfowith om w the th t entranced wof performance. rmanelect ented sio the lo h s Oblivia is without a doubt entranced c e h t a r a s c r c ub e p o e o . g r d , e u a K-hole of lam w a o s p ed d ic nt ut o n e p , o L ve d o r a ith n in n a w o re ic e rr , f scprwas h a ed ths. Tcountesses that eoep both e. Oblivia is you ania a by memories and ing hcoup and murdoferscreeching cruxed re ou qmurdered, ueech of performanc c ndtab by memories rrocait’s les in m he dep T ed b la lo ux b cr s a p ” t e es d of the day a ? ss p n a s. counte lf. It sad girl and r end in blackout nightmares.

-sefound, Evednfobueunttede,r scao ousongs out nightmare lost y m ck of screeching la e , b h d in t s n e ng e q f r tit hes o the the wo Itapproach d, sad girl so is tin chietce ll threeap lost and foun slytsall appropriate that Local Honey wouldaorput the would putIt ayisouonly ptu a p y c r ne o k o a pzs a H c r li l a fo The depths.

The ca r Lo music way ht better narrative, W sh, onw e is only appropriate that adritbetter whatmusic, h r and performance together… what w r… a t ti he o et v w f g e n to , , It o ’ssota a dabb ance quthem-self. ck opera”? liItvia eeLrasclaO b ear f a “roclandestine oqueer e ic, narrative, and perform r ng n hi d et V u to do so than make something of a “rock e m e t s g so l ti a n e s ke us f . u e a r o m m “ c , t T n ew you reach the end h s a Evenc bett effect so th rtive cr op suppobetter a ona esupportive nd a Even estine to do a r ti o nd y titling it The Bottom, Local Honey and n ti a t u ne cl tl e o in H er f to l g e ue e ca o q f m, Lo ar tisn a 23-minut -holeexitp tsea ve li tion inactualized hs better titling it The Botto wctu aoftale of abandonment and resurrection a2 haKrs lizhein nd resurrecartists a ngtEv t en en e l nm y o e en nd showthdow of pndeersafsotro of aba and larc le e st ta lu a n wav lit ed a e nn liz o t , c ne showdown, stationed in no other than the neon-litwlust ctua assta tio la band tist s artists a ther than the eate to Las V f oscthrneeued me to cr ome for Vegas. k ar love of down, stationed in no o oef gth a nt s a . rt o e “ p Las “The abstract narrative was important for T d im h a s y eitt’saato wa nsd ar sheocwt b contia ct narrative le reflecting a ra hi los ba n st w u b r a e o f m a cle p to he r p hu “T ro e e s. nd continue to express vulnerability, tragedy, and humor while re x a a a c p eg y, p h V r ed e s th g s a rk La s a o tr , w w v ty a o s ili n b te , e a ea w a er n cr ed to is o ersdhenpeth ew express vuln . I want ictio new harshness of reality that I am witness to. ThIhawanted ssstoo .ItfTcreat d reealL h add continue to e en am witness to th I th t t a , A a th e. t y n w lit tim i a a me was both uplifting yet a total downer at th s same usic b em s of re pa m -soeth that the lf. uIttime. pd wner at the sa liaftbinbAgl o new harshnes d nd l a ta k to in o th a f I t th w eyoduare h hoday eet ymuch ry mofucthe g”, both uplifting ye it’s about is very how aitc’sh ath beoqueutnId e, which is ve ttom.ambivalence, which dthgaint wacs o nc a,m b a le l E a p ia iv p l b rb r m ve o a a ro a ch th ep Even out th cehi day it’s about e b ion a r approach the world,” Honey explains.

“It is about the proverbia t w is t o a “I o r th ld s. f ld o n in ,” H pla The de Em order to rebui gh a d,” Honey ex ve ths.toThin to indepths. ar tis The Lowest lows that one has to pget s to get The e Lorder hrou racpreparotiach the worl ha t o n ne o w t he t a estt w th th n rt a s e st w e m u lo e t a yo -s es o e H d w n lf Lo re . e e he .

It sho Th t W r d s. n. a them-self. It dabbles in mania and depression. Where bdo bleyou ex ressio s in st heeadepsth you reac m s ania and dep cont e in tTh m t in s le h b o b th a e end, y La you reach the end, your end?” gh ns -self. ,It d em e c th i s o r u t r t end?” d ec elec coe enatech the end, your with , ryo inuvre e d e c 92 red n de mur

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Oblivia is a musica lp r o Whore” je c t, b ir thed aft in which er makin perform an d g e a d r iv fi p a lm r in hood (a titled “Ye cess Loc la Beyon al Honey ar of the fiction c a e d l ) is d a s iv n e d a c te of her ow decided d pop cu of D it w n. lture A a a s s v id a ti m d L y e r ag perfo nchian fe to give li rmer, sh mme and fe to a of New e , to O s u u r c le p h p a e o ns, comfo s r ted by th wavelen pop r ta gths e b w ic ly e o ir n fa d o ll o g s raphy. M punk ar ti into abstr ixing ele st scene action, d approa c tr c e h o s p a to it m e c b o a ience wit mmunica clear lov the hh te e of q a h u r a e s r h e r r o n wed tale commun o ise was a ity, religio s influen perfect ced u With trac s im b y a p g a e in r y. ks like “T , addicti on, he Blond Obli e v ia L e ’s a d o in ft en indec g the Blo ipherable nde” and effects, v r “ o e E c ly m a o ls h ti , e onal Edg drenched avily on K-ho ing”, em an le d o ti b v o e e f n la t in th mented fliction to rough an loss turn archic signal c f perfo e d r o m n c te a h n a x c o t. e. Oblivia s makes Her crea f sc per tive is w r fe e it e c h t c h o s in u e t n g counte se in the a doubt sses entr ar a st and fo e a c n r n u c x e e d d with elec by memo und, sad tric ghos ries and girl son ts g m s u in r is d b e la red, rein o c n k ly o u appropr t nightma vented, iate res. th sic, narr a t Local Ho ative, an ney wou d perfo ld e r p r c m u la t a n n a d c ll estine to e togeth the piec er… do es of s n better w o h th a a t n make better w titling it somethin ay for a The Bo ts tt g o a m o c tu f , a a L o li zed a ta cal Hone “rock op le o y er ? a a f n ” a d down, s b a a n s d uppor tiv onment tationed e crew o and resu in no f r egas. “T r o e th c ti e o r n than the in a 23-m he abstr ne ac inute o t n n -l a ue to ex it r r lu a tive was st and la press vu impor tan rceny of lnerab arshness t il it fo y r , tr m a e to cre gedy, an of reality ate to d th h u a m t as both I o r am witn while re uplifting ess to. I flecting a yet a wan day it’s to te d ta l to d c owner a about am reate a w t th ork b e iv a s a le ch the w m n c e e, which time. At orld,” Ho is ver y m the end ney e u x ths. The c p h la h in o w I think s. “It is a Lowest lo bou and w t th s e th . p a It r t overbial d o a n b e b h les in ma as to ge bottom. nia and t to in o h the

e r d a u g h t s n o i v o b l i d . c o m / u o l c d s o u n

on ve per l d ne t n a an lus in dab ey blelesncin ma a” d asion onia ss dep a 2youcrstar do hu t f.o Wht ere to. res ex e, w wn and ? e a t wh oew end en w n 3 hic ?”er a I w mor r m d la -m lai r end s t ,pyou of i e n t n a h h rc w s. u a n th t ia i an t on “It s ve e sa ted hile o cr eny te i t e e d r s o o c refl m at y ” f a h de pr as t bou muc e tim reat ecti e to es sio o ge t the h ho e. A e a ng a w n. t p w t W to i rov I t the ork e he n en rb hin re o do rder ial b k an d o d yo u s to re ttom tar bu . t w ild he n

cal project, birthed after making a film titled “Year of the h performer princess Local Honey dissected pop culture a la Beyonce) and decided it was time to give life to a her own. As a drag performer, she touches wavelengths n femme and, supported by the weirdo punk artist scene Obl ivi Oblivia comfortably falls abstraction, a clear love of is ainto mus ical project,despite Wh a is a m birthed after mak o ing a film titrleed” “Y hore” ambience u y. MixingWelectro with harsh noise was a perfect in which pe r ofsicthael p rform in ea and er princess Local w roje Ho h d an ne d y ich diva hood mmunicate harrowed tales influenced pain, addiction, fidissecte ivd ct, b a hpop cu (a la Beyonce)by ltupre ctio e o an ir th r d de o f cid ed o n d ia is areligious it ficutio w r as a na tim m unity, imagery. l ( di e l m va er p ed afte ve sical proje of her own. As a dr of D to dgi lifeatolaaB i v a ag c rinc r ma t, pe avid rformer, she touc bir thed aft of h eyo e” in wofhic David Lynchian ess hesLyw king erd,m nce) egt o av el femme and r en a The BlondehLeading Blonde” “Emotional Edging”, performthe f k hs in L n an o N g o chia wn. a fil and cal ew iva hoo ofdNew Orleanes,r princess Loc supporatefidlmbytitltheedpw ei n rd “ m ti O A o H Y pu e dec feen sa one afa (a la comforta tist sc op ai r of thrnk l lls f leeaar vocals, and bent through anarchic H odecipherable m o tle e bl n Beyondrenched y e i y d m d y in n d to c is c e ab r e s s e str o e ) d a ac c d a al divapo , te tio n n n, p d d i a g ssec d “Year decidecontext. nogr ougre it w nd, om apppode p sp aphy. Mto oemotive araclear clo perf f hico cuite d lt e ix a vily on infliction signal Her creative ve r in it g of o f el t w w ec a s o ed p r tro o a n p . As a dra ambisentice upp o o c s tim r tab Year the hy. mewto ad m iththgha ap pr Lyuof g perform oa op or te rmer, s hliafe ivrs ch chaos M nohto nscic l e ise a to e y h l co w t ia as p m e i o m n a r ? un o x pe f fe ted loss turned makes perfect sense in the arena t ica c ” rfe je e a m og acom d by que aop culture cmt,ebairnth in ct he t ult shta l e le tosucinhflu de, dsuapftpeorte harrowr,ed ive wrlheicahth ouc es en mun g elect ls into O r cpa the wacevd ee r com rlig ted eleeby m life in, ad m o h ,equ akus unity,entranced binyg f nsepis n a fom crwithout r W di g o olife w m e cti Oblivia a doubt with electric ghosts i th re th r o on b m c s e fo , io s e weo w a a r e i m r s ta imag to a film p irtidtloedpunk th tr brlyinfa w t i to a te h erey. unit cellss in noogdra(a Lotoand “Yeaarro arro mbienc raction rdo pun avelen caal bHsmurdered, tiafsctth y, re phla ycruxed ksseceline O ith tr Btra .M eix onaecytiodnis, dereinvented, untesses by memories yck , o sg b nute W e in lik n w e g k c “T d l l e he e i i ) k w th le avelengths Bl e v g e on a cntrdo a ar ti pd e “T itepao cleia d ta spit ah otof hcoer cste ith h ious ading thseeBl a’rs lo dm ecbidieede st sc on ndceLe pan he B ea ede orfvm m oiv ” f Obl l c mwia a w e o it u f d e i n u “E it ad girl songs in blackout nightmares. lt ’s o m f w n . h s t u of r f y ot ic A e h e a io n s e a n e a na s in s te cl de rseh to age influ n in l Edlgi h ahdarrr tim ne scene onng tchatses, r no rable vocals, aogcip nrtist is o e few wpeehe de”,L rchco ia red dec r y. drfo aKg ence noise w ear lov ta eplnt fe m Yech rle life mser,insflhuteeitnlecddr“en um onef fe n my,e,re tm de abe -iv yearfhtheero cts it ip ead hoan to c t aly e re nlidg,he ug d h aate love av h a e ily an to d l r o io e ar ear of on s opriate that Local Honey would put all the pieces of e u ch u b u s i by p emotiv ic av l s pim f p heoy film pcsig e flicticon orategdein auin n cKsoto ,leaolndfg pfw o hofoler ta vltena y on rable vo ng the B dlth ain, a perfe k rbygy. athe win aicnt ks sgli,ka ont., iHe co paefor m lam mloass bly e “m stiex cdteodppuway en r e te e The Bof a ir r e e l d fa r c cr c s t ea o s,tpin ahand perfect f performance together… what better a a ll f n e tiv t is a t s tu a e lo o rn n d in d m t ed n l d to abHsotrnaey chaos miv ed fetist rma s, dr d ed e Leadin dict onefkes otiv M irlethan ixcintrfo k je rfe s sennse ctinodn, dee to g ak slicarrepe ftweyon.rof ion, gberm the Blo ench e” and e in aglia csomething e in lothses tar ecens ce ctrco .sm acoaddiction, OLboblie o dpe eso thcct c,ip iv s . do than make of a “rock opera”? e en e p im g a ” is a t h it s ltopmrin w u n “ fl e e O c ith e e n ra s ou a d le ceoam E r h b i t a d l a “ e c le c in n do b E n o le v m w r m i c ub v a t e u o a n t o p a e en l s r c n i w ti it d tra a i of lo ic o w o o r g t ls it nc n v d sc n n lye heerafvoilrm aete ddrenchhehdarsh n to tion w l Eved iaci gh acrew es d cfoith hang ch id ndt a cHoney un rrnoco ndeegoin yre ete gu”n,telectri sse,es nhboem onudcm The Bottom, supportive oecnhi ta crand al E sfcoeof eed ux mghh e) m sign bent th mitupnelo hea by ta eis od aLocal aro neor tiwvd esse s wos le rstsisu tw ,useed um ithtso aos ma it r s th dgin a a ie y e e in d in , n an I p c k r n st fl fl d e t m e n la r an g ic a n r r d a li ur h d fe ti o m g o de u fo o o n a y e c un re io f l ktale s n , u n p c i f t n d, d, r e e a u k u te s re to sa o d e rc s o B in g” t c d d s ve c h gi p e g im s b d e nt rl din a of abandonment and resurrection in a 23-minute lo ic ig o a ed y a r v ir agger y. song n o , s h p a e u s n d lo a in l turn a la m. sss a read n in bl c w r d x ac o p t a d lea(Edging”, , ko nateni ext. lydear girl oub ed b erfe narc , d the meut chao gh cxle t.aH tm ic y “noTch A o ti es b s u t a . o r . t m n e c e d n s t it t , s re a p .

B c H c e It k b O p lo y a o h t w i esnp, lust isbno ent t se r the neon-lit nvdia c, n a peof lion esecand er c rfpe tive oned larceny ngs i oria ly eother mem edrf Ldeap phop her oin uitinthan f anarchic sdpr nse sin arrtha ropriat ,aw reat c qtne gpou in b Local Ho eaou tht eate atctio ilhdme anis uisseeeeynwsw orie ranced turdat uus nhon drcem dbloosth Bimportant gabstract e i , ip ocbfu e n b n o i a t a n l v n re ld n i a e e e r te o ic, n m pu io v n r ” t s t e s tr a h t a narrative was for me to create to na e w s t a c s“cEeEmdowit cl,aaddic e, al he a an sd n en ebslerr cru adarn vat it atecLes of kout oa xcivlla d pe ee, harnia h hnan anl dthe thpi rfoitrm lsin veyge ,ban dyrem le nhin rena hd ce a aerel … ilrcreative to trw nigh d mur h electr nnecand oca ein tably f tragedy, ntiporeflecting cm icsha Endcdg th rm ,tyqu heeow oee gn”ht, obe sw oeir ri a n b f d e ie t p b s tavd s r a b i g m g ts cla d a ess vulnerability, humor while a n d e n l nd o e e d o l m tte d i es c t c s ti r b tin a c r e o e m w m v t , n e e n ay e H u s t f to g n e o r rd a fo the arena s t r e do n in o g u r t th in e e a a t so o fl c fl re r r r r ic o h btila d, r det res. inigthan mak tisetos so ntedEvloss ing ele n ugm ,are man ocntkato oto. d leustsIig trlcivnhegic nhitaiin n nte einv osts en ng hltmco turtte dTh of pppreality na ach of that wanted to create ce t ey wo ro asnre tit ” , “roocsko op . pM eIrdham lin yghosts gad riix sx tuaal work ogowsitem . abe rawitness c e i er in te te nth r h h a” e t u g Bo ? atric a n o tto t d t. o m l h T a E , ted, g H d Lo t l Ohbar w e cal Ho h etio an t Local gHeaorknye.s pe rythe ethe aatu livm cnan ne dm raiezaedend put iauts nisic ow tidvaaesu aeinvented, oAt ac ticvoem plifting yet downer at same time. rofe m w pp ey the atale of iceorBtiv aloiz otetocrew ittotal r , tis c E h ed L h t w im c a “ a … a n s r n a u e a s d u d t a t n k ld of , u n a s a p s n ab l e e an a puen e so a l m, L in le o untesh ” nm wha Vt etg lirfgoiormandcoeubtot enBtrlo edo th aan g ll hd ah d eustsu ssow rxen, n th ensitdo ap ,w tand rore rie rr eioncec met oca ebout n which very how stinm ef aab23 t be the pie cmuch edcw ncearestio thaeot esd sta euambivalence, hgeeno tfivin tis ow ne tocyrduo r… .think -m aon beenleatcIsttr dg in bthy tio in l e it h a ut n d h e d in m “ i ces H n h t t d e he n a o r a t T i m r a aodmLa t th d i e n er w one ok an d g o hHha ris Laen m“It etteteexrne ic.w ethe ie onm uebth eo-li ehe gon lHoney sVe a of oenga nd lurastraenan eonmcdehth tlinggirsit orld,” proverbial edsabout y an f a yastts s.explains. g rsa nin m nto e tbottom.

“T nnado o fo a Bslo b u o in la e , e ab r rc c d en y str ls b T s w h n e l y ac h la a of r T t e t a t e na e c c “ t g r d B rr h “roc xveperin th act da atsivigenhw ottaobmle, kvLoout nigh for oafas r“ero and er t kentinof a, im in o po t co r e n rta c s c tm pzsrpieces te r nt k a k a s n n s n ue l s fo e h s d a t o Lowest lows that one has to get to in order to rebuild r t H e h to eliia , resu u psevra moes ato dtea ta otio ehsna.dt rfect nses express vu n eyilirty, fl eaactip te an a lnicer dle oLfhoacb ab inth aege rrec ppor tiv opera” pw n?ehra rracrtiea aealmnH nw ctricul”g way for toivneemyin pp, oan ve w to the n assuyou dy le tene oddepression. kfes tra rittisdhvoeehu obles fwhen a ? t m e e cr ha o afn , i or r n m rs b mania and Where do start c o d n t w b hn e re w e w hi tid a es e s o le onin n t s o w o n in o re p i of o d d a eaedvrilfo re o e th u ld re cting aas i alcity n-lit liin ha thuat suutthrr ew vef n lityfle inyrm noces pam e t a noanocth I e y r e d , e c t ti r h e w a m a n itn keto opera”? d ll , n n e t p e t r e s d in o r ly toie r gtheathnerth douab t athei up u to lust p 2 age f s tup teudtetohacr 3sif-m da.ecI2reelw hd, tan bosth t ea ethyour ionfg dat in a pntr-loit ndy m ow I ate b t’s ra a…e nehpoata liftin and 3-minu stoend?” wordky, a or tant easd a cth t lo ma a yet nn a att lu arrm lb ithwogutyet aTwhto do mthesentr s s e e crew of b w t c a ne f w t a la ti ie w r a e h l o v n n e r at o r k e f d a is of th o e w r a d u saymeo time. i e theresa.y la rce daylivit’ias aboutsam oams im pt re em Thses vBuo.ln m to At hum m p ogernc in s olf thetnen ta am wor forcrteanm va m tp e ttOoebm d byebith ode, le ra,bLiloitcyac, rltr thi fneig bpivfie ces ta or w e to cr ny of ncoa aw rro 23-minute apr dow ds to. I uHxaoegn ch thfo “ e n h is l t ve d t to ap rom h c a ry s s k u e m , e c uc e e ta h o . l re o ch d h ” s t ea e y e thse world,” Hoybne wan hile ,aackdm wnocIre th flereoaf liao nerd The up ll ”a H?te -usai buanth toeara onetoaho ahpl nted cty f , awink an o.pro. uw pab ao ted refle te to uemlpns s in laynyondex a t nI m gde L g y arceny of f a “I h t in ld n t m il is y e r h e o ti n w w c Th w s ou t re I v h t e it t e he s to c exerpbial”?boitto w t da e creflwbeeecsottith nndet srsestou.ruoI rnw irle Lowaes pr hsd. gTh udpliin ch mi . ftinngdo,pt etiaaycnte a ov ttfenleorgw reat cting a ame yosea eceat rains at s ve s rth th t ear tothta bhto ohon d n etin lea alwH to un-sel er… create to opela clo ha2bw e o c s a o l f re s k s a n L d . th c ge o em r h t t th te w o t to 3 “ i i r y n e t sd in -m a a f. h n e m tr e “ t It datebbtle boauctt anm It isild h s in m neran f bu arterowtoore oancia muc t-l gdseam end g oinf uate e. A a work mwaonrk orhde th o t e a it r b ia r e iv lu a r an a ti a p e le v t de n c , n h in bou eflecting apr t the a iativae es hsio ndeti yW tm e ha paro eencwea, sewrim e. n. how uerre he aapac fhour icrpm usth hoen t the ovou eepfnpre ndudsta rlyo ruo eonrdo en dly,” p yo rista nln vnm e uscom larcdeAnaoty en e”tray d yo krm Hboilnitheeyy,thetr urttewsheton d d, n I thi in d? fo a m d p h e n m x n h te a work 3 a p ? a p r e o a la g 2 g w iv h ove ed in ”a nk a d ressf y creIath et to ys,.so rat “nIttdishaubou l Honeto in a in k te nath n a o r n d o d i io to b ersa t cliL,otyw n o a m t c t ia lo Iw d n. W in o am wto e ilperorvreerb wh rceny surrleb At thenend aittneosnseBto m, Loocrt th rder l bottom destinseth here tingt olu ttsot ma.nd la t andeflecia e oh.tato Iswtoangte o n t h t am in r yscela a e T e egle e t m t to it a t to . n li a n d d o ta ia gao to in o yo thinkteand nw creo rebu d ndeerpre ando neao to cre r nw te toore r titlinl d eard sbio u st ,mybboeivut a ild ens.aeW rkfbour ilm le oaf tasth de aren dth ga a r n h t h le t e in t e m n n t a a d n r c e c ? e a e ” ti r d , t o m h fl al bottom. e which is no ot t wh e. im orsetar t w hile re Aytoputh Hsotsneaycteualiz v s e h in k w e e a r e r n y dor n n w mautiv xpla ioned a wo hum to rebuild r che how Iy,thain nd create n, staint s. “Itsis t onuat rth a o w k c t b d o a d a lo e r n d d n t w d g e e w t s a b otart when e tr that Tohnee a t the I wan “ has tolnegrability,provernbeia ssl btoo.ttom. ame time. A u e it neiagaasn.d v t and to w s s s amsaV in e m I think edxepprression.ty that I a order ntoerreabt the w o t o h e u h li Where d al dow m. oenntdin?u” of rea to you sta is veilrdy muc l botto o s t ia s b e a r n t e h e v r ht y ars en the pro build 93 , whic whb lifting new h r to re a out alence e oth up d iv b is r b s o It m a “ in w s. hen ta

A queer Filipinx in the midst of Detroit’s bubbling creative community, RV Mendoza’s soulful vocals and musical sense of genre blending

walks

alongside

his unapologetic authenticity and rich personality.

Whereas one moment he appears an indie ingenue with an angelic voice, there is also the sassy party boy with a deep love of Chromeo and Carly Rae, a strong encourager of acceptance and love of oneself, and a

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PHOTOGRAPHY Tony Lowe

IG @rvxmendoza

“I’m held captive by my need to feel authentic in everything I do,” Mendoza explains.

“It’s actually a lot of work constantly reconciling my feelings with my situations.

But in the midst of that, I’ve somehow been able to move through the world without losing myself. I get to bring my analytical personality and my big heart to the table.

In my efforts to be real with myself, it inspires others to be real with themselves.”

hilarious cutie cutting up and making the most of whatever he’s doing. It’s hard to bare down Mendoza’s work as just that of a musician; ignoring elements of his work as a mental health warrior, a queer advocate, an immigrant artist and so much more would undermine his multifaceted radness.

His cheerleading for self-love is evident in social media and videos, often lit with humour (“I weaponize mvty thiccness for the forces of good”) and a foundation of openness, tenderness and support.

One can’t help but love his beautiful spirit.

“People were not kidding when they said that the things you push away about yourself will soon become your biggest asset. As I’ve gotten older, when I look in the mirror, I’m realizing that I’m becoming the adult I’ve always needed,” he says.

With the March 2018 release of Uhaw Island, putting discopop to the forefront, featured on Buzzfeed for “doing the most” and recently having an artist residency plus performing at Fringe Arts Festival in Manila, growth for this young artist is on the ups.

“I’m becoming the representation I’ve always craved.

I’ve transformed into the kindness I never let myself have access to. Getting to that place come with tears and perseverance, but at the end of it all, being queer is one of the greatest things I’ve ever found out about myself.”

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PHOTO COURTESY OF VH1 Beauty Bar

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Thalia Almodovar is more than a super glam goddess (who just also happens to strongly resemble Kim K). As a makeup artist of considerable skill, Thalia’s boldness and pride in who she is an extra fine highlit beam of self-love and confidence femmes of the world dream to be doused in. It’s a manifesto of hard work she lives by: “I’ve always been a strong woman. I’ve had to bust my ass to get to where I am. It’s been a struggle but today I know what I bring to the table. People need to believe in themselves, love themselves and live their life and no one else’s.”

Manhattan’s House of Dolls, located in the Dominican Republicrich Inwood neighborhood, is home to VH1’s Beauty Bar where Thalia’s already making waves (and sometimes starting fires).

Amongst her station mates are many strong personalities.

Thalia’s honest and open banter has been a subject of salon drama at her full-service fab workplace. As quite the beauty traditionalist (with two Celfie lipsticks devoted to her), offering advice to co-workers who amp natural hair and androgynous aesthetic has been controversial but not without reward.

If anything, the growth Thalia experiences through conflict and challenges on the show has only helped her love herself more. And as a transwoman in the public eye, many young queer people have reached out due to the media exposure.

“I never thought I could be a role model”, Thalia explains. “I’m no Sylvia Ray Rivera.

Why would anyone care about what I think? But I get these messages from young people in the LGBTQ+ community who are all fighting to be who they want to be when everyone else is telling them to be something else. For them, I will try to be the best I can be and give a good look to the trans community. I’m not perfect. No one is. But I’ll be as close to it as I can get.”

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CHEEKY MA

“They can enjoy their youth, being loved for who they are.

IG @cheekyma

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The cutest queer couple at the moment very well might be NYC’s Cheeky Ma and Nar Angel Rokh.

Repping slick gear from fetish wear to avant garde street suits, Cheeky is “a self proclaimed ‘multitalented freak’, a model, hair stylist, and artist among other things”, born and raised by an artist family NYC. Her alienoid elfin beauty shimmers with slight ice princess steeliness from afar, but is visibly melted, even thru the spectator’s view of social media, in the mere presence of her partner, Nar. LA-raised Iranian-American Nar has been a multiinstrumentalist since 7 years old, a visionary match for Cheeky’s innovation look-creation and electric eclecticism. From grade school orchestra and jazz band to music theory in college, Nar eventually toured the US and Europe before finding solidified full time work doing what he loves: producing and DJing. Along the way the couple met and have been attached since.

The young couple have both started collaborating with other creatives more recently in the past year. Cheeky has modelled for Ashton Michael, Kaimin, John Yuyi, amongst others, all in pieces and photoshoots that challenge the cis male gaze and reject and reinvent beauty standards of glam accolades of yore. Charli XCX texted Nar to partake in her performance of “Boys” on Jimmy Fallon as a backup dancer. Nar, who is transmasculine

@callumwalkerhutchinson

PHOTOGRAPHY Callum Walker Hutchinson

IG @narrokh

Wrapped in glorious cellophane emerging dewlike and glittering, latex clad alien babies, sweet and cooing forth in a nest of love, this queer power couple are the stuff of New Queer Cinema dreams, Gregg Araki’s 90’s cocoons of tender intimacy.

NARROKH

Both individuals express their artistry thru social media airwaves, another platform that Nar believes is important for queer voices to use. Cheeky’s vision for queer youth is based in freedom... “They won’t have to fear for being themselves. That they don’t have to try to blend in to feel safe. They can enjoy their youth, being loved for who they are.” Nar feels similarly: “My hopes for the genderqueer youth are that they can openly live as their truest selves without fear and/or violence. That they can become widely accepted throughout mainstream society and have protections and shelters in place, just in case they don’t have a home or family to take them in anymore. It’s already hard enough to be queer but even harder to exist within a society that have institutions in place that are meant to crush us from succeeding and/or find happiness”.

“My hopes for the genderqueer youth are that they can openly live as their truest selves without fear and/or violence.

identified, performed alongside Charli again for her POP2 performance in NYC. In his personal music creation, whether thru headphones or in the booth, Nar’s selects are hard hitting, haunting, yet ethereal and atmospheric. Abundant samples of Middle Eastern music in an almost trippy experimental montage have padded the posting of fire tracks for 5 years on his Soundcloud.

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s x u a e H t r A r e Que g a m Y S S U W @ EVERYWH

ERE.

Nightime Nightime Fishing Fishing with with David David Lynch Lynch There is a handcrafted jag, bag, curve and .png to every memory. They don’t need light so why do we try to make all of the pieces of our lives fit together? We do don’t we, I ask myself. Regardless of correct, last night two men made only of moonlight hung our heads, up on swords.

A celebration followed unrehearsed music from my dream— In the vision, I am trenching through a shore plagued with poor quality .jpeg images of my former selves.

Your arms are draped around my bony shoulders like beds of seaweed washing up and outwards onto cock dry land.

Away from the sea, rotting fish killed by toxic waste like toxic people.

Closer, there you are.

A joint of hashish suspended from your mouth like a glimmering bait, vainly trying to lure in one of the fish already dead.

I remember now.

by Benjamin Stevenson 101

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Once upon a time, in the shiny farcity of the All American nuclear family, a beautiful baby princess was born. Placed under a curse of arriving in an untrue form, she lived quietly in a box waiting for, and wondering how, she would transform.

Words by Sunni Johnson

Both her body and room encapsulated her inside a cocoon she couldn’t emerge from, held together by the threads of dreams she had no idea she would possibly reach.

Photography by Mateus Porto @orograph & Giovanni Peschi @giovanni_peschi Harness by @creepyyeha

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Giovanni Peschi

M A L G M A L G

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R U O M R U O M R M

any of us know the legendary Amanda Lepore as a fierce nightlife diva who holds her own in tre magnifique composure without blinking an eyelash at any naysayer. No one would suspect as a youth she spent much tick-tock hiding, encased with fear, dreading haircuts and other dreary expectations suited for little boys.

The Queer Gods looked down upon the once timid babe and sent little blessings. Intimate moments with femininity snuck in unseen, dancing joy upon her little suburban hub in 1970’s New Jersey.

These sparkling glimmering rays of light enticed her, showing Amanda what life could be like. While father’s command was callous and mother was often hospitalized for schizophrenia, a sweet nanny blessed Amanda judgement-free frolicking, teaching her the skill of sewing. More importantly, Amanda got to make merry with a true talisman of glamour: a razzle-dazzle-riffic dolly, who just so happened to also live in a box, by the name of Barbie.

While family reflected society, Amanda’s mother would sometimes protect her; sometimes Amanda protected her mother from her own mind. Her brother was buried in apathetic airs, so Amanda had little support while fellow kids harassed her. Determination is one personality trait that continues to forefront everything Amanda does and since a very young age she knew she was meant to be a girl.

Discussing defining moments, her response is lighting speed, religious, undisputed, absolute: “My sex-change operation”, Amanda says.

“Becoming the person I was meant to be.”

Dreams became destiny, though the financial assistance she needed for surgery came through an abusive boyfriend’s father, a situation juxtaposed by salvation and slavery. After escaping, she found work in other forms, mostly through beautification, though a bit in sex work. “When I worked as a Dominatrix, I was told that the clients would not be happy to find out I was not a ‘biological woman’ and get angry,” she explained. “I was always a bit nervous not knowing how they might react.” There was risk in an occupation that was thrilling in ways: to be worshipped, feeling powerful, whip in manicured hand. Amanda Lepore’s command over her future grew momentum, though fame “was not something I anticipated”.

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I

t’s impossible to separate Amanda Lepore from her club kid days, yet there is no doubt she has remained relevant regardless of changes around her. As one of the few people who has had a specific knowledge of her own personal style, even with different time frames of experimentation - cherry red hair, baby bangs, Vegas showgirl from outer space each era of Amanda’s aesthetic journey has been none other than her own. While the NYC Club Kids pivoted on reinvention, Amanda never really had to. “When working with others, I let them know that I like to stick to my own style,” Amanda says of her early past to even the most current of events and photoshoots. “I need to be myself. It’s how I am most comfortable.”

Giovanni Peschi

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It’s surprise to many that Amanda’s not a fan of drugs; she was a constant fixture of a whacked out trope of fashion freaks that pivoted on them.

And as the story goes, the excess of the Club Kid’s heyday crashed and burned. “Don’t do drugs,” Amanda warns, also noting the most senseless horror to boot. “Don’t murder someone.” Many outcasts who found a home to express their eccentricity saw their stomping grounds quickly turn into a ghost town. Bombed into a dusty void, mostly due to Michael Alig’s maniacal actions, clubs underwent an entire interrogative lock down. Queer fashionistas that found a comfortable coven to be themselves saw their party come to an end. Such freedom and fantasy meant a lot to Amanda who gained her first taste of large scale recognition and respect.

Amanda did have a few true blues in paving new avenues, sticking closely to trans sister Sophia Lamar and Richie Rich, catwalking Heatherette runway shows in the early ‘00’s. Her presence in club culture continued. Nightlife energy and its music influenced Amanda to make tracks of her own and she has continuously released cheeky dance numbers since her debut in 2005, Introducing… Amanda Lepore.

“Cazwell influenced me to start making music,” Amanda affirms. “He wrote a lot of my songs, based on things that I actually say and do, and my personality. I thought it would be great to perform.”

As one of the few popular gay rappers, Cazwell brings just enough of his own technique to the production but makes room to truly amp Amanda’s own sonic imprint. His contributions to Amanda’s vision mirrors her adoration for disco and glam, which her latest EP, LEPORE., reflects. Covering David Bowie’s “Jean Genie” is not just an homage to the androg alien icon but a way to touch on Americana rock’n’roll kitsch.

Clubby remixes of “Champagne”, a banger about drinking bubbly morning, noon and night, shows the natural progression of incorporating music into her venue vamping: “I love being part of the nightlife scene and I feel that I am able to give more by performing.”

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f course her lyrics are full of sex appeal, flirtatious escapades and GLAMOUR, GLAMOUR, GLAMOUR. “I love glamour, old Hollywood, Pin-Up Girl, Burlesque,” she concedes. “I just saw Dita Von Teese while she was in NYC for her recent tour – I really admire her and love her live performances.” Amanda has never been shy about her fem crushes.

She truly adores and supports other glam goddesses with sweetness and salutations. Past beauty heroes are worn honorably on her bejeweled satin sleeves. When we asked what her favorite film by the legendary actress Marilyn Monroe is, she responds without pause: “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes – of course!” And, like the Hollywood Babylon babes of yore, Amanda has a voracious appetite for a handsome man or two or few, the most important qualities in a gentleman being, “An attentive man - I like a lot of attention!”, she laughs.

Her eloquent knowledge on the art of beautification was learned in teen years thru older neighbors with a home salon who would hairdress and discuss movie starlets plus techniques practiced by Elizabeth Taylor. It was Marilyn Monroe that affected Amanda most. When Amanda got her hands on some bleach, her foray into outer enchantment was lifted to new heights - literally. Just like Norma Jean, Amanda transformed from brown to white blonde and the glow already stirring inside shone brighter. Fast forward decades later as Dave LaChapelle’s muse and a star is born! Amanda found further fame thru his candy-coated pop princess photography, lifting her to icon status in gorgeous glorious heights with his lens.

“David LaChapelle actually nicknamed me ‘The Most Expensive Body On Earth’”, Amanda explains, referring to her plastic surgeries, joyfully. “I am flattered, of course!”

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lipping the script beyond the trans narrative of yore, as a maven of nightlife she built a realm of light and love around her, a task seemingly impossible. Amanda’s cool and collected bubble has been made most effective by her complete disinterest in frienemies. When asked how she deals with toxic people and difficult personas, she replies, “I don’t. I keep myself surrounded by positive people and influences. I do not let others’ negativity affect my life or my happiness.” Furthermore, her approach has come with deep practice, the simple yet effective mantras struggling queers can benefit from. “Keep your head held high and always be yourself. Keep yourself surrounded by positive people and the people who support you”, she adds.

Lepore in private is a practitioner of boundaries and clean routines that feed her body and soul. “I cherish my fans and seeing people happy! I am always occupied with things I love to do: performing, working on my outfits and accessories, eating healthy and doing yoga, not focusing on anything negative,” she says.

An overall sense of Zen is the lynchpin to being Lepore. Old age is not a worry either - according to Amanda, “It’s not something I think so much about as I prefer to live in the present. ” She only peers a little into the future, taking delight in the little things that come her way. Whether it’s the Louboutin Sample Sale or fan mail, these are the little indulgences atop her self-love sundae: “I do a lot of online shopping, so I am always excited to receive packages, especially when I am out of town. I come home to lots of packages!”

Mateus Porto

Regardless of an unhappy childhood, the perils with parents and the patriarchy, facing fearful situations as a woman in love, thru objectification by power hungry scenesters and haters galore, Amanda Lepore has somehow found peace within a world of chaos and craziness. Amanda is so much more than a beautiful femme fatale with an appetite for men and money. Her body has been a battlefield. In her beautifully penned memoirs, Doll Parts, Amanda Lepore details how she has discovered her strengths along the way of shaping (both literally and figuratively) the person she wanted to become.

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n the queer history books, there are many a fairytale unfulfilled. We look back at Candy Darling, a goddess and muse of Andy Warhol’s, one of many outrageous NYC wild childs who culminated into celebrity. The premature death of a trans icon like Candy was often viewed as a side note to Andy’s intense fame, when in reality what would he be if he wasn’t such a shifty manager, a slumlord in the cult of personalities? Without her and so many others, he wouldn’t have his fame. And too many times has a trans woman been a side kick or side note in the past.

Amanda is the center of her own fairytale come true. She has reached beyond perceived limitations into a destiny she herself didn’t even know would be real. To some she is seen as plastic, both by TERFs and contemporary trans activists who ironically look down on a woman’s right to choose what she does with her own body. Amanda has been a muse in a carnival of creative chaos. Michael Alig corralled the beautiful weirdos that would grab the attention of the queer underground and in a sense helped create the street fashion, nightlife celebrity and widespread voodoo of club culture that today is relevant and massively accessible thanks to social media.

LaChapelle, who deeply respected Amanda, put her into the spotlight, a more glamorous gaze that she rightfully deserved. Their adoration for one another is evident, a creative collaboration that was beyond mutually beneficial. Above all, Lepore was not made to be someone’s play thing, unless she wanted to be, in all her love of the stage, for the camera, or after hours in bed. Lepore has rightfully transcended the focus of the golden boy artist as central, those Ego erratics who make and tear down their models. She moved that spotlight to the Muse, herself, a realm built for Icons, most unknowing where the real turning point was in making her a legend. Thank you Amanda Lepore for being yourself and doing whatever it is you damn well please!

You deserve all the best xo

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20 A Questions

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QUESTIONS BY On a scale of 1-100, how much are you enjoying your experience on RuPaul’s Drag Race?

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What is the biggest hurdle you have faced while on the show?

In one word: inconsideration.

What is your favourite snack to eat after a performance?

Ramen noodles.

Where is your favourite hometown locally owned restaurant?

Of everything you have worn during the season, what is your favourite piece?

that rhinestone bodysuit for the dragcon challenge

What is your favourite city to perform in?

i love chicago

Where is a city that you haven’t performed in but would be your dream?

p-town

Barry Brandon

@THEQUEERINDIGO

What is your favourite flavor of ice cream?

Banana pudding

Who is your favourite designer?

Thierry Mugler

Who do you look up to and why?

Rupaul because he is one of the first examples of a successful LGBTQ man of color who has built an empire from the bottom up.

Do you prefer cats or dogs?

DOGS!

Truluck’s in Dallas

How high is the highest heel you have ever worn?

5½ inches

What is your favourite word?

What is your favourite thing to order from that restaurant?

king crab legs

Pre season 10 of RPDR, who was your favourite contestant on the show?

alyssa edwards

yes

What’s your favourite trait in a human being?

Compassion

Who is your celebrity crush?

Seann William Scott

Do you prefer summer or winter?

Summer

Do you prefer coffee or tea?

Coffee

What is your favourite thing to do for self care?

Being around dogs.

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@miz_cracker 126

Miz Cracker Interview by Juan Aguas

@ j uanaguas

Use 1 word to describe how RuPaul’s Drag Race has impacted your life Answer: “Exhaustion.”

“I think If you go to bed and you can’t sleep, you’re not living life right. I fall asleep when I sit down on the train now, so I think that means that I’m living life well.”

Who is your closest friend of the cast of Season 10?

Answer: “A split between Vixen and Blair. The two most opposite people on the cast.

They’re complete opposites, but in their own way they’ve both help me find different parts of myself. Both very fierce queens with a lot of “grit.”

Butter or mayo or mustard on her cracker?

Answer: “Mayo. Cause Mayo is everything. I’m obsessed.”

What does RuPaul’s makeup look like up close?

Answer: “Girl, I have no idea. She is all the way over there on that judge’s booth. She looks, in person, like she looks on TV because she’s at that regal distance. I’m sure if I got up close I can clock a few things. But, from where you’re standing—she wore this Onyx eyeshadow with pieces of gold in it and she just looked sensational. I just remember staring at the gold was glistening on her lids and it was truly mesmerizing.”

Are you a Saltine or Ritz?

Answer: “She is a Ritz. Technically a Maza cracker because she’s jewish but a Ritz is fine.”

Where is your favourite place to eat in NYC? Answer: “Favorite place to eat in NYC is called: “Atlanic Saphire” with one P because they spent it wrong. It’s Senegalese food and I love it because I spend about a month of the year in Senegal and I have a lot of friends there. It reminds me of my second home.” I speak the local language and French. I learned both of them there.”

What is your favourite city that you have visited in drag?

Answer: “Boston, oddly. Just a fierce amazing audience, great venue, great promoters.

I had a fucking blast there.”

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What is your favourite city you have visited out of drag?

Answer: “The most beautiful place I have visited is Ashville, North Carolina.”

What was your favourite moment of your rise to fame?

Answer: “When I became one of the top two girls on Instagram. I’m like almost double the girl behind me. When I first surpassed the last bitch,” she jokes. “that was a really great moment for me. Instagram doesn’t matter in life but it certainly matters in drag and since drag is my life, Instagram matters in my life.”

How much do you gag over Atlanta’s Evah Destruction?

Answer: “Caitlyn and I have this joke that we always say-- we say-- that no matter what the conversation is, we always say “But what about Evah Destruction.” Because it’s impossible to be in a room with people who care about Drag and without them saying “But what about Evah Destruction.” We are set to hate her because we hate things that everyone likes but Evah is the most wonderful person. We have a great time with her. I’m always very happy to see her.”

. t ee f y m t a e . bs m u r c y eat m What has been your best experience as a drag performer?

Answer: “Before Ru Paul, I worked at this bar where the management hated me. Hated me. It was also one of the top Drag venues in the city. They always had me format the show their way. However, one day I decided that, since I knew they were going to fire me anyway, I was going to do the show the way I wanted to do it. I got a standing ovation that went on for a long time.I just remembered thinking, “Wow, life is just so awful, every minute, but this is what I will always have and this is wonderful.” I was fired from that place and that moment only lasted 5 minutes, but Goddammit what-a-fucking triumph to be myself and for just a few minutes escape my life.” Usually when I am doing things the way that I want them, I am happier.

What is your favourite thing to do after you leave a performance?

Answer: Eat. I love to eat a burger. Almost every time I am done performing.

With EXTRA Mayo.

What does Michelle Visage look like up close?

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Answer: Oh My God. She looked like hell in the first few seasons. But these days, her hair is laid. Ru is face, but Michelle is fucking hair. Silky, beautiful-- she is stunning. I got to see her for a couple behind the scenes moments up close and out of makeup, and she’s just a beautiful person. She is smart, clear, strong and direct.

It is really Michelle Visage’s Drag Race.

Who is your preferred Golden Girl?

Answer: It is so hard because the flavors of them working together makes the Golden Girls. However, I am definitely a Sophia.

What’s the best advice that Bob the Drag Queen ever gave you?

Answer: Um, a lot of good advice. If I had to narrow it, it would be to not be afraid to spend money because it will come back to you. If you are investing in yourself, for the purpose of success, do it.

What is the worst advice that Bob the Drag Queen has ever given you?

Answer: I was asking for advice on how to succeed on Drag Race and she was like “Well, I just came in and I won, all the time, I could have done things differently, but if I had then maybe I wouldn’t have won.” I was like…”Thank you, Bob. That gave me nothing” So for anyone that thinks that Bob groomed me for Drag race, IT IS A LIE. Bob gave me absolutely no help. Not a word, not a glance, not a glue gun. Nothing.

Which city around the world have you not performed in yet but are dying to do so?

Answer: I really want to perform in Kampala, Uganda. There is a group of Drag Queen’s there and it is illegal to do Drag there but they do it anyway. Goddammit, I am dying to go join them.

What was it like for her growing up gay in a Jewish family?

Answer: My family is very eccentric. While we were a very Jewish family, we were also very odd. So, the “odd” part about me did not standout too much. It was fine. The most problems that I had were with myself. My expectations for myself and what I wanted to be. Those were the hardest to let go. My parents didn’t give a shit.

Did you enjoy your time in Atlanta at WUSSY’s SPRUNG Party? Will you return for more?

Answer: I LOVED Atlanta so much. I have family there, and they came out. The party was beautifully handled, I had a great time. Atlanta was one of my favorite cities to perform in, honestly.

Do you have a type? If so, tell us everything!

Answer: I don’t have a type. A lot of people joke that I did, but I don’t. I like people that are the complete opposite of me in the way that they approach the world because I am so restricted. I need someone who’s the opposite of that.

If boys that met you at SPRUNG wanted to give you their number to bring you out on a date, how can they get a hold of you?

Answer: On Instagram, goddammit. I check every single one of those DMs. Also, if you’re going to bring me something to a show, bring me cheese because I have ALL of the crackers. The stinkier the cheese, the better.

What does it feel like to win season 10?

Answer: It feels like finally stomping on the faces of the people that should have been at my feet all along.

Eat my feet. Eat my crumbs.

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interview

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interview BY

barry brandon

PHOTOS BY

with photographer

SHOOG

@thequeerindigo

@shooglet

Where were you born, how do you identity and what is/are your preferred pronoun(s)?

I was born in T a l l a h a s s e e F l o r i d a ,

and now live in Gainesville Florida.

I am a fat, southern, to ot h l e ss

gender queer

fr eak tranatee.

I like they/them.

Tell us a l llllllll about “Queers Nature� - how did that come about?

in

Ever since I began hashtagging #queersinnature i knew I wanted to make it into a book. I just felt like it deserved that. I now mostly photograph strangers, but back then, in 2015 it was mainly my friends that I photographed.

I wanted my friends to have something to hold in their hands, a token of appreciation for them and who they were, and a thank you for letting me take photos of them. So yes, it was an expression of love and gratitude and it was also cool that other people wanted to buy it as well!

What inspired you to start Queens of Nature?

Queers in Nature came out of feeling like the best photos I would take of my queer friends were when we were together in nature, and understood it to be related to relaxed and happy feelings.

Queer and trans folks I have photographed and interviewed for this project have drawn parallels to their gender expression and the wildness of a tangle of vines, feeling free to be themselves without being clocked, labeled or discriminated against, and having a relationship to something that loves them back unconditionally. I wanted to document these connections because

I felt them beautiful and important.

What kind of feedback have you received thus far?

As far as I know, people really seem to like my content! I of course get trolls from time to time, but I do my best to ignore them and keep it moving.

Words like “fat” “femme” and “queer” seem to be words that humans are taking ownership over and using them in a positive way. Is it important to you to use those words and maybe others in your work to begin to have positive power rather than negative?

Heck yeah! When i started IDing as ‘fat’ it really changed the way i viewed my body and my position in the world. I feel powerful when i use this word that has been used against me all my life. I can’t speak to the reclaiming of ‘queer’ because it was already cool when i came into that identity. I also can’t speak to femme because I am not, but alot of my femme friends seem to find power in that label as well.

Did you have a specific vision of how you wanted humans to receive the images or was it more intended for complete interpretation? And either way, was there a different in which your work was received?

I def intended for the viewer to feel something, all my work is about feeeeelings, haha. I aim for feelings of liberation, freedom, empowerment, otherworldliness, magic, and beautiful confusion. I am sure my work was and continues to be interpreted in many ways, and I have received many varied critiques.

I am always open to hearing what I am doing right, wrong, an how I could do it better.

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Here are some random quesitons that I’m dying to know!

What is currently on your playlist of music?

Iron and Wine Beast Epic Cardi BInvasion of Privacy Lil Uzi Love is Rage Early 60’s for some reason Valerie June The Order of Time Kendrick Lamar Damn Old Gillian Welch My friend’s soundcloud mixes If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?

Right where i am haha FLORIDA 4 EVER What is your favourite 3am snack?

Icecream or candy Who is your celebrity crush?

Lol um i guess Jenelle Monae currently Who is your biggest inspiration?

Fat artists that came before me, such as Laura Aguilar

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Last but not least, we figured we would ask because humans love to know, can you give us any hints about what is next for you?

Bodies like Oceans! This project is about fat nude bodies, majority queer and trans. I have been working on this project for over 3 years and I desperately want to get it published! Self publishing was really hard for me with Queers in Nature and I want to make something a little more expansive this time. Looking for a publisher now!

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Fencing by collin kelly

I didn’t come here, in freezing weather, for conversation. I came for sex: a stranger’s hands handling me instead of my own.

You’ve left the door unlocked and I find you naked and sprawled in bed, a computer monitor strobing the room with silent pornography.

I strip off and climb in next to you, suck your balls on command.

While I’m down there, I sense a shadow rising, an eclipse, and when I look up, your massive cock towers skyward.

It’s impossibly long and thick, a California redwood I could carve my initials in or climb like King Kong to swat down planes from the head.

You claim to have never measured, but you’re a liar.

If I had a dick this big, I’d check it daily, build shrines to it, take it to candlelit dinners.

You want to put it inside me, and I feel my hole pucker in doubt of accommodation.

The Magnum only reaches halfway down the shaft, you hold it in place, try to shove in.

I parry, you thrust, we are corps-a-corps.

I tell you it’s never going to happen.

You offer me poppers and coke to loosen me up, I decline. “Let me just put the head in,” you whine, before suddenly ejaculating, your face contorting in surprise and too soon pleasure.

The condom, heavy with jizz, hangs like a chrysalis from a log as you suck me off.

We clean and dress while you make small talk and I think about asking your name, but there’s no need; I’ll only remember your cock.

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The Armory – Atlanta, 1990

by collin kelly When you could still get past security with a poorly altered learners permit, when you still needed a quarter to call home, tell you mom you were spending the night with a friend, when thirty miles was another country, I got drunk for the first time.

While a drag queen lip-synced to “I Touch Myself,” I let a frat boy buy me drinks, ply me with liquor to loosen me up. But I didn’t need alcohol for that. Before I puked in the parking lot, I taught that Beta Theta Pi that I wasn’t some dumb country ass to pump and dump in a dark dance floor corner. I flirted and cajoled, taunted and teased, led him by his dick with cheap bourbon bravado. Even when I splattered his Sperry’s with Varsity hot dog and frosted orange, he couldn’t see past me. For the next three months, he’d be waiting at the bar, by the coat check, hover near the toilets, his fatal attraction turning him into another ramblin’ wreck. When he found me giving one of his brothers a blowjob in the stall with no door, my victory was complete. I was going to be the faggot your preacher teacher screecher warned you about. I have never been so cruel, so out of my head, so far from home.

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MATT JONES MATT JONES MATT JONES M AT T JONES @ ILLHOESTRATIONS arts activist atlanta illustrator

MATT JONES MATT JONES

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@WUSSYmag @WUSSYmag @WUSSYmag @WUSSYmag

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