Consolation Cupcakes
Hi friends. It’s been a weird few months here at QFF headquarters. First there were three deaths right in a row this Spring, last month the aftermath of Hurricane Irene claimed the life of a close family friend of mine. On top of this, the closing of Re/Dress NYC, my workplace and home to much of my politics and community.
Book Recommendation: Tango: My Childhood, Backwards and in High Heels
“I think the reason I trusted her was simply because I thought she was beautiful. I was too young and stupid to realize that being pretty did not make you anything more than pretty.”–Justin Vivian Bond,
- Tango: My Childhood, Backwards and in High Heels
Vivian doesn’t scrimp on sexuality, we are privy to a lot of physical exploration, which I think is really important reading for folks planning to or hoping to parent teenagers. I think anyone who had the experience of growing up an outsider will enjoy this book and any and all parents should have this as required reading whether they are ready to admit their kid is a weirdo or not.
I Lust 80s Rock Vests
My darlings I have a current style obsession. It all started at the beginning of the summer when one of the style blogs I cruise on Tumblr, Miss Amelia Butter (dear lord she’s a babe) started posting about 80s rock vests. She just kept talking rock vest and I was listening.
Linkage, Buying Jeans and a New Episode of the Lesbian Tea Basket
ITEM THE FIRST: There is this really great article from National Geographic about Health at Every Size. It also includes a pretty great primer on the concepts of intuitive eating and exercising for fun and feeling good and not for culturally mandated self-worth. If only unlearning all of the self-hatred and doubting of food from decades of dieting were so easy to put into a primer…
ITEM THE SECOND: I contributed to Autostraddle’s article The Jeans Issue: Queer Fashion Guide For Various Shapes, Sizes, Styles and Gender Expressions using the help of my trusty friend Leslie Medlik from TLC’s Big Sexy. We talk about how to shop for plus size jeans and what to look for in trends, fit and style. We also recommend our favorite brands and some self-esteem guarding pieces of wisdom to bring into the fitting room with you.
Travel Report: Rehoboth Beach, DE
After the debacle that was our trip to Atlantic City, when Cougar and I decided to skip town for a couple of days for her birthday (9/11, never forget) I suggested we go gay. Fire Island was a possibility but with room rates hovering at $120 and above we thought we could get a better bargain someplace else.
It occurred to me I’d never been to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, despite wanting to go for over a decade. When I lived in Philly my fellow queers went often, I think it is similar to the relationship New Yorkers have with Fire Island–daytrippable and hella gay.
So we packed up the car and departed for our near-four hour journey South.
Guest Post: 20 Things I Learned From Surviving a 20 Year Flood by Natalie
My friend Natalie moved away from Brooklyn to Central Pennsylvania and shortly thereafter her new apartment flooded, she had an emergency evacuation and suddenly lost just about everything. Her thoughts within a week of the flood were very inspirational to me and I thought they might be to you, as well. Learning how to lean on folks in times of crisis is really difficult and it helps to be reminded that it happens and our communities can reach out in very surprising ways.
Brooklyn Queer Nightlife–Rebel Cupcake Salute to John Waters on Thursday, September 8th
I have a long and spotty relationship to John Waters movies. Much like certain famous authors whose work I didn’t follow in a proper order, the first John Waters movie I saw was Pecker and I hated it, didn’t understand it and I thus wasn’t interested in seeing any more, including Hairspray. I know, a fat girl with a bouffant who hasn’t seen Hairspray, odd, right? And I used to watch Divine videos on you tube but had never seen Female Trouble.
Fast forward a few years and I’ve had some friends walk me through it and now I’m a huge fan. I suggest starting with something like Hairspray or Cry-Baby. Johnny Depp as a swoon-worthy greaser. See exhibit below.
When Glenn Marla told me he was thinking about doing performance art about how many times he’s been asked to portray Divine I knew a John Waters Rebel Cupcake was just the thing.
Thursday, September 8th, 2011 * Brooklyn, NY