BLOG IN FULL ORDER Hey! You! Get Out of My Way! Part1 I love New York. Don’t get me wrong, I honestly love New York. I think that I liked it better when it was scary and full of crime though. It kept you on your toes. Not to mention all the day to day drama. The looking over your shoulder to see who or what might be lurking in the shadows. This was the 80’s, the fabulous 80’s. Back when I had a Flock of Seagulls hairdo and people knew what Kajagoogoo meant. Back then when someone was [...]
On This Mother’s Day We Celebrate a Mother of the House
This Mother’s Day we celebrate by remembering the Amazing being that was Heavenly Angel Octavia St. Laurent Manolo Blahnik or just Octavia St.Laurent. A Transgender powerhouse who ruled the Harlem and New York City Ballrooms from the late 1980′s thru to the new millennium. She started in Paris Is Burning (documentary) 1990 along with Pepper Labeija, Dorian Corey, Anji and Venus Xtravaganza. Octavia was featured in the movie The Saint of Fort Washington in 1993 starring Danny Glover and Matt Dillon. Miss Octavia’s last film was How Do I Look (documentary) 2006 which also starred Willie Ninja ( the Master of Vogue). [...]
The Club 181 Lesbian Drag King & Gay Drag Queen Cabaret 1944 – 1953
“The Club 181″ located at 181 second avenue was the most infamous lesbian & gay night club in New York City during the mid 1940′s up until 1953 when it finally closed. From the crafty mob influence, to the most elegant top performers in Drag & Drag King attire, to the elegant decor, The Club 181 was the “It” club of Manhattan and catered to a large queer audience. Once the Club 181 closed in 1953 it resumed in a new location better known to most as Club 82 and known today as the Bijou 82. Pictured below is an [...]
Welcome to the “Legendary” House of Aviance 1989
Born Eric Snead in 1968 and raised with seven siblings in Richmond Virginia. When Eric was young his influences were Grace Jones, David Bowie, Boy George and Punk music of the 1980′s which set his underground style of his future career in performing. Eric moved to Washington DC in the 1980′s and worked as a hair stylist in his off time he would do drag entertaining at the local clubs of DC. While living there he met Juan Aviance (Mother of the House of Aviance founded in 1989) after being inducted into the house he adopted the name Kevin Aviance later he would move to [...]
Divine Gets Lusty 1985
The great Devine (1945 – 1988) sings “These Lips Were Made For Kissin”. From the 1985 major motion picture Lust in the Dust starring Tab Hunter (1931), Cesar Romero (1907 – 1994), and Lainie Kazan(1940). The movie was Devine’s first film appearance not directed by his friend John Waters who was asked to direct the film but refused because he did not write the script. Divine sings THESE LIPS These lips were made for kissing These hips were made fro blissing. These arms were made for squeezing you tight Everyday, olay everynight! These lips were made for selecting These hips were made [...]
National Drag History Month 2011, Real? or Faux?
January is National Drag History Month? I wonder if this is a true event that Logo TV is initiating? or is it a marketing scheme to promote the season opener of RuPaul’s Drag Race. Not that we’re knocking Ru’s hustle ( We Love you Ru!!) but it is important that we praise the founding “Mothers, Daughters, Sisters” and not just current drag starlets. We should never forget where it all began and in most cases it was before Stonewall. Lets remember Logo that people like Mother “Flawless” Sabrina, Marsha P. Johnson, Charles Pierce, Crystal Labeija and all the other Legends and Divas who have paved the way [...]
Back2Stonewall Activist Marsha P Johnson 1945 – 1992
LGBT Pride History – Remembering Marsha P. Johnson The Original Transgender Activist (1945 – July 6, 1992) Marsha P. Johnson (was an African American transgender activist and a popular figure in New York City‘s gay scene from the 1960s to the 1990s. One of the city’s oldest and best known drag queens, Sometimes she worked as a waitress, but usually she worked the streets. She was known for helping other transvestites and street people and was regarded as a drag mother. Johnson participated in clashes with the police amid the Stonewall Riots. She was a co-founder, along with Sylvia Rivera, [...]