long post about the queer bodies weekend
May. 25th, 2004 12:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
besubversiveI'm still in a rather talky mood, so I'll go ahead and recap my weekend.
Friday:
I took a train from Wilmington to Philly and walked to The Westbury, the bar and restaurant at which Drew is working. It was about 6pm when I got there; there being at the corners of 13th and Spruce, smack dab in the middle of the Gayborhood. The establishment is frequented by mostly gay men, and several sweet ones greeted me when I came in and let me go into the kitchen for a bit to talk to Drew. Afterwards, I was set up at a counter in the front window with a glass of water and a barstool, where I sat and was eventually served a Christopher Street sandwich. I sat on that barstool for the next 5 hours, reading an entire novel in one sitting over the distinct and festive din of loud club-music. Needless to say, although I'll say it anyway, my ass was numb by the time we left.
We arrived at Drew's loft around midnight. Said loft was an EXTREME mess, which is understandable, I suppose, as he had just moved in the week before. Although the space is gorgeous, it was rather unsightly with the table in the middle of the room, and everything else pushed to the edges of the room and clothes/crap coating the floor a few inches thick. Yeah, that bad. We hung out and gnoshed and then slept.
Saturday:
Drew and I got up and I threatened to endanger his life if he didn't make me breakfast. Thus, I was served sausage, eggs, and toast. And an orange soda. TeeHee. There were showers and then we departed to gather up Drew's younger brother, Jason, at Suburban Station where his train was arriving. I adore Jason for his adorable smile and laugh and his own gender complexity. A new trio, we waltzed off to drop off some of Jason's things at the loft and then minced, paraded, and swaggered over to the William Way Center.
At the Fat Flea Market, I scored a hott button-up silk shirt that has grassy green and sky blue vertical stripes and also a little executive burgandy dress that is a tad tight, but in the best of ways. Then we all attended a few rounds of Queer Body workshops. During the particular workshop that dealt with intersections between fat, queer, trans, and differently abled politics, I fell madly in admiration of Jeremy, this adorable wisp of a trans-gentleman who knitted as we talked. He said the most insightful and amazing things... and also lots of things that made me blush. He brought up the fact that Stormy Leather calls their plus sizes Extra-Lusty as opposed to extra-large, etc. He asked how we felt about that and added that if any of the ladies wore an Extra-Lusty corset, would we please come over to his place so he could see it. That cued many giggles of delight from me and others. :)
After the workshops, we stood in front of the WW center, talking to Josh, the most gorgeous and friendly and laid-back transguy, nay, PERSON that I've ever met. Both Jason and I promptly devolped crushes on him. We heard drumming down the street, so a girl named Christine joined our ranks and we all walked a few blocks to a check out this Brazilian percussion band doing there thing on the sidewalk. They had two dancers with swishy skirts who frequently pulled people from the gathering crowd into the space between us and the musicians. It happened to me a few times, and the message was clear: Dance! We did dance, for a half-hour or more, I'm guessing. Next door, a newly married couple came out of a church. They were adorable in their wedding finery, and their photographer snapped at least a hundred photos of them dancing in front of the band. We shouted our congratulations when they left, and eventually returned to the William Way center to see the Body Image themed Cabaret.
The show was supposed to go on at 7:30, but queer people being allergic to On Time the way they are, it wasn't until a bit after 8:30 that everything was underway. There were several drag performances, some comedy, and lots of hottness all around. Short after, we deposited Jason with Charlotte (or Uncle Craig, as she asked Jason to call her) and then jetted back to the loft for some freshening up. I did a quick jump from one pink outfit to another, and then we caught a cab to the Makeout Party.
The Makeout Party (Saturday Night):
Art Nerd Porn was putting on the party, which was being held in this absolutely stunning apartment(/house?) that was decorated as if it were straight out of an IKEA catalogue. It was set up like this:
First Base: The first floor was basically a living room space with snazzy red couches and a huge TV, a dining room space that served as a gathering and snacking area (as well as the space where was began an impromptu game of Spin The Bottle), and the kitchen where one could find alcoholic beverages of all sorts. There were Makeout Bingo cards all around and platters of condoms, lube, dental dams, mints, hershey kisses, and fresh strawberries. ::giggle::
Second Base: Up the stairs was the second floor, called Second Base, and appropriately so. While on the first floor there was much kissing going on, there was more caressing and fondling to be found on Second Base. At one end of this floor was a room converted into a dance floor, complete with a kid DJing from his/her computer and a corner filled with throw pillows for lounging and relaxing. There was much provocative bumping and grinding. At the other end of the hallway was The Office, a pretty nifty room with a big executive chair and art deco rugs and a supply of ties (yes, the kind you wear with shirts) that could be employed in an assortment of ways. It was kept pretty dark in that room, which worked well for everyone.
Third Base: Hands down, my favorite floor. The third floor was home to The Hotel, a clean and bright room complete with mints on the pillow and a bible in the drawer of the bedside table. Also in the bedside table was every safe-sex supply under the sun. This room was "rented out," by signing up for 15 minute time slots during which you could have the room all to yourself, or all to the two or three or four or more of you. At the other end of the hallway, my VERY favorite room, Room 469. This space had a very stylish, minimalistic look, with absolutely lovely brilliantly white bedclothes on the handsome light-colored wood bedframe. (Please pardon all the adjectives... I'm getting excited. ::blush::) The purpose of this room was basically exhibitionism. On a dresser, one of the hosts had set up a video camera, which was connected to the TV on the first floor, providing viewers there with a live feed of the action going on in the bed in Room 469. This was fun for the exhibitionists who romped and licked and bit and spanked and cuddled, and fun for all the voyeurs on the first floor. Pure genius.
After describing the set-up, I really don't have to go into detail to describe the kind of night that was had there. Amazing Sex Positive House + 70 queer kids from all across the gender spectrum = WOW. The best thing ever was the fact that the bio-boys there didn't seem to have any staunch hetero-orientation, or any gross misconduct in the presense of girls making out and more. They were just as fabulous and non-touristy as the queerest of the bunch. Boys kissing boys and then kissing girls... hott. I had a few rum-and-cokes and thoroughly enjoyed myself. Drew and I trudged home after it started winding down around 3:30am, and dropped wearily into bad around 4am.
Sunday:
Drew had to work again, and I wasn't really in the mood for The Westbury, so I stayed home and plotted to fix up Drew's apartment. First, I kicked all the crap into piles and rearranged every piece of Drew's furniture to make it look less like a dorm room and more like a space someone might make a life in. Soon after I did that, Jason's "Uncle Craig" dropped him off, and he helped me clean the loft top to bottom, as well as do several loads of laundry. By 8pm, the place was nearly gleaming, and when Drew got in at 10:30, he was more than just a little happy about it. Eventually, we all crashed again, and slept like a bunch of queer, fabulous, exhausted ROCKS.
Whew.
Friday:
I took a train from Wilmington to Philly and walked to The Westbury, the bar and restaurant at which Drew is working. It was about 6pm when I got there; there being at the corners of 13th and Spruce, smack dab in the middle of the Gayborhood. The establishment is frequented by mostly gay men, and several sweet ones greeted me when I came in and let me go into the kitchen for a bit to talk to Drew. Afterwards, I was set up at a counter in the front window with a glass of water and a barstool, where I sat and was eventually served a Christopher Street sandwich. I sat on that barstool for the next 5 hours, reading an entire novel in one sitting over the distinct and festive din of loud club-music. Needless to say, although I'll say it anyway, my ass was numb by the time we left.
We arrived at Drew's loft around midnight. Said loft was an EXTREME mess, which is understandable, I suppose, as he had just moved in the week before. Although the space is gorgeous, it was rather unsightly with the table in the middle of the room, and everything else pushed to the edges of the room and clothes/crap coating the floor a few inches thick. Yeah, that bad. We hung out and gnoshed and then slept.
Saturday:
Drew and I got up and I threatened to endanger his life if he didn't make me breakfast. Thus, I was served sausage, eggs, and toast. And an orange soda. TeeHee. There were showers and then we departed to gather up Drew's younger brother, Jason, at Suburban Station where his train was arriving. I adore Jason for his adorable smile and laugh and his own gender complexity. A new trio, we waltzed off to drop off some of Jason's things at the loft and then minced, paraded, and swaggered over to the William Way Center.
At the Fat Flea Market, I scored a hott button-up silk shirt that has grassy green and sky blue vertical stripes and also a little executive burgandy dress that is a tad tight, but in the best of ways. Then we all attended a few rounds of Queer Body workshops. During the particular workshop that dealt with intersections between fat, queer, trans, and differently abled politics, I fell madly in admiration of Jeremy, this adorable wisp of a trans-gentleman who knitted as we talked. He said the most insightful and amazing things... and also lots of things that made me blush. He brought up the fact that Stormy Leather calls their plus sizes Extra-Lusty as opposed to extra-large, etc. He asked how we felt about that and added that if any of the ladies wore an Extra-Lusty corset, would we please come over to his place so he could see it. That cued many giggles of delight from me and others. :)
After the workshops, we stood in front of the WW center, talking to Josh, the most gorgeous and friendly and laid-back transguy, nay, PERSON that I've ever met. Both Jason and I promptly devolped crushes on him. We heard drumming down the street, so a girl named Christine joined our ranks and we all walked a few blocks to a check out this Brazilian percussion band doing there thing on the sidewalk. They had two dancers with swishy skirts who frequently pulled people from the gathering crowd into the space between us and the musicians. It happened to me a few times, and the message was clear: Dance! We did dance, for a half-hour or more, I'm guessing. Next door, a newly married couple came out of a church. They were adorable in their wedding finery, and their photographer snapped at least a hundred photos of them dancing in front of the band. We shouted our congratulations when they left, and eventually returned to the William Way center to see the Body Image themed Cabaret.
The show was supposed to go on at 7:30, but queer people being allergic to On Time the way they are, it wasn't until a bit after 8:30 that everything was underway. There were several drag performances, some comedy, and lots of hottness all around. Short after, we deposited Jason with Charlotte (or Uncle Craig, as she asked Jason to call her) and then jetted back to the loft for some freshening up. I did a quick jump from one pink outfit to another, and then we caught a cab to the Makeout Party.
The Makeout Party (Saturday Night):
Art Nerd Porn was putting on the party, which was being held in this absolutely stunning apartment(/house?) that was decorated as if it were straight out of an IKEA catalogue. It was set up like this:
First Base: The first floor was basically a living room space with snazzy red couches and a huge TV, a dining room space that served as a gathering and snacking area (as well as the space where was began an impromptu game of Spin The Bottle), and the kitchen where one could find alcoholic beverages of all sorts. There were Makeout Bingo cards all around and platters of condoms, lube, dental dams, mints, hershey kisses, and fresh strawberries. ::giggle::
Second Base: Up the stairs was the second floor, called Second Base, and appropriately so. While on the first floor there was much kissing going on, there was more caressing and fondling to be found on Second Base. At one end of this floor was a room converted into a dance floor, complete with a kid DJing from his/her computer and a corner filled with throw pillows for lounging and relaxing. There was much provocative bumping and grinding. At the other end of the hallway was The Office, a pretty nifty room with a big executive chair and art deco rugs and a supply of ties (yes, the kind you wear with shirts) that could be employed in an assortment of ways. It was kept pretty dark in that room, which worked well for everyone.
Third Base: Hands down, my favorite floor. The third floor was home to The Hotel, a clean and bright room complete with mints on the pillow and a bible in the drawer of the bedside table. Also in the bedside table was every safe-sex supply under the sun. This room was "rented out," by signing up for 15 minute time slots during which you could have the room all to yourself, or all to the two or three or four or more of you. At the other end of the hallway, my VERY favorite room, Room 469. This space had a very stylish, minimalistic look, with absolutely lovely brilliantly white bedclothes on the handsome light-colored wood bedframe. (Please pardon all the adjectives... I'm getting excited. ::blush::) The purpose of this room was basically exhibitionism. On a dresser, one of the hosts had set up a video camera, which was connected to the TV on the first floor, providing viewers there with a live feed of the action going on in the bed in Room 469. This was fun for the exhibitionists who romped and licked and bit and spanked and cuddled, and fun for all the voyeurs on the first floor. Pure genius.
After describing the set-up, I really don't have to go into detail to describe the kind of night that was had there. Amazing Sex Positive House + 70 queer kids from all across the gender spectrum = WOW. The best thing ever was the fact that the bio-boys there didn't seem to have any staunch hetero-orientation, or any gross misconduct in the presense of girls making out and more. They were just as fabulous and non-touristy as the queerest of the bunch. Boys kissing boys and then kissing girls... hott. I had a few rum-and-cokes and thoroughly enjoyed myself. Drew and I trudged home after it started winding down around 3:30am, and dropped wearily into bad around 4am.
Sunday:
Drew had to work again, and I wasn't really in the mood for The Westbury, so I stayed home and plotted to fix up Drew's apartment. First, I kicked all the crap into piles and rearranged every piece of Drew's furniture to make it look less like a dorm room and more like a space someone might make a life in. Soon after I did that, Jason's "Uncle Craig" dropped him off, and he helped me clean the loft top to bottom, as well as do several loads of laundry. By 8pm, the place was nearly gleaming, and when Drew got in at 10:30, he was more than just a little happy about it. Eventually, we all crashed again, and slept like a bunch of queer, fabulous, exhausted ROCKS.
Whew.
