Betsy Snow White Bibliophile

Tag: LGBTQIA

  • Hallowest 1: District Of Darkness

    Hallowest 1: District Of Darkness

    On Friday Night, we ventured down once more to District West where we passed through the cobwebs and curtain festooned hallways to enter into the haunted world of Hallowest 1: District of Darkness. This show was a coproduction of Virginia West and Krystal Something Something, and as always it did not disappoint. It was 2+ hours of non stop entertainment that ranged from campy to scary to just straight up hysterical.

    The opening number featured Virginia, Krystal, and the full cast as Zombies. Riley Poppyseed gave us a magical striptease as a conjure man. Selena T West as the scariest of all horrors, a Karen. Then after being served a PSL by an unsuspecting Barista she evolved into Mega-Karen, complete with onscreen level up graphics. Robyn Daculture was a masked demonic prom queen. Virginia gave us the Kiss of the Spiderwoman. Krystal and Cast were Zombie Strippers to Living Dead Girl.

    Bootsy Lefaris, a former protegee of Virginia who was in town to preform in The Sanderson Sister’s: Witch Perfect the following night, sang Sweet Transvestite from Rocky Horror in a guest spot. The absolutely beautiful Bianca Debonair paid tribute to The Bride of Chucky. Amanda Sue Punchfuck (one of my favorite drag names) was the fly on the VPs head. Virginia West as Nurse Ratched with her cast of nurses and doctors danced through “Blood in the Cut” by k.flay. Followed by Brent Fabian belting out Metallica as Pinhead from Hellraiser.

    V. Master Chad rocked their Trick R Treat themed segment. Followed by Terrence Brown as the (Sweet Sugar) Candyman. Krystal Something Something was a murderous teen in a Sleepaway Camp parody. The amazing, but super active so it was hard to get pictures Boyonce led a Sabrina the Teenage Witch piece. Then the W Girls danced their way through Wonderland, but were also difficult to photograph. I did catch a shot of the amazing Maria Hypes as the Red Queen showing off her flexibility. Sexy werewolf Alexander Chang-Reavis rocked out with his pack.

    The Bride Virginia and Brent’s Frankenstein Went through some of Streisand’s greatest hits. Brent’s facial expressions were killing me. Krystal got exorcised, and Eris Grey channeled Kathy Bates for an Annie Wilkes piece. The final two Sanderson Sisters closed the show with Tammy Spanx singing “Creep” by Radiohead and Tina Burner, complete with Rhinestone pea soup vomit, preformed an Exorcist based piece.

    The quality of the shows by the West Family never ceases to astound and amaze. I cannot wait for the next one!

  • Ta-Tas and Tequilla – March

    Ta-Tas and Tequilla – March

    March 1st we went to brunch at Local Cantina for their Ta-tas and Tequilla Drag Brunch hosted by the fabulous Virginia West. Her guests were Anisa Love, Mary Ann Brandt, Demonica Hunter, Candie Panties, Catia Lee Love from Arizona, 6 from LA and Axel Andrews from Orlando. It was a fabulous time. My mother, sister and I drank a pitcher of margaritas and a pitcher of mimosas. Then we walked and shopped a bit in an attempt to sober up a bit. Oops! lol. But I bought this amazing fish ring!

    Here are some photos of the gorgeous queens we were lucky enough to see and meet!

  • Go Big. Be Kind. Go West. Columbus Pride 2019.

    This past weekend was Pride weekend for Columbus. The official grand marshall of the pride parade was our own Nina West fresh off of winning Miss Congeniality on Drag Race Season 11. Nina has been such a shining example of what Columbus is, and the inclusivity of the Columbus drag scene, especially in the West family. I attended the Best of Axis II recently at Axis Night Club, and Virginia West (Nina’s Drag Mother) revealed that in the West family they have performers who are Gay, Lesbian, Transgender, Straight, Poly, and more which is part of what makes them amazing.

    It is estimated that half a million people were in Columbus this weekend to watch the parade and attend pride. My husband and I walked in the parade with Planned Parenthood. I met a lovely Columberino (Columbus My Favorite Murder fan) who was also walking with PP. Virginia West, who was the parade emcee, was so passionate and ebullient when we reached the judges that it legitimately made me a little weepy. “Women’s Rights are Human Rights” and the crowd went nuts. The cheering as we walked was uplifting. On another note, my employer had an amazing turn out as well with over 400 walkers including our CEO. I later found out that Planned Parenthood won the award for Best Non-Profit Contingent.

    On Sunday, Geek Girl Brunch Columbus had a brunch/lunch outing to Bat n Rouge Baseball. Local celebrities and local lgbt advocates dress in drag and play a game of baseball/softball. I had never been and it was seriously fun though one of our members got really bad sunburn on her legs. There were people dressed as: Liza Minelli, Nina West, Chyna, Doris Day, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Game of Thrones characters, Real Housewives, and more. It was a great time.

  • On Choice, Birth Control, Pride and Being Afraid

    On Choice, Birth Control, Pride and Being Afraid

    In my home state of Ohio the rights of women are under attack. The Heartbeat Bill that has been passed by our state legislature and signed into law by our backward facing heel of a Governor is a disgrace, and has left me feeling scared and occasionally powerless. The even more draconian bills that are following would make many birth controls, including the one I am currently using (Mirena IUD) illegal in the state of Ohio.

    I am trying to keep myself grounded and remember that this and similar laws in other states are unconstitutional based on the ruling Roe v. Wade, but with the most recent additions to the Supreme Court I feel like there is a very good chance that Roe v. Wade could be overturned.

    I have personally never had to make the choice to have an abortion, but I have been on birth control since I was 15. I have known almost since that time that I did not want to have children. I have been blessed that my birth control has never failed, but I was always reassured that if the worst (for me) happened I had the freedom to seek an abortion. Having that taken away from me, and my husband who also does not want children, is so upsetting.

    The whole situation has me wanting to quickly having tubal ligation, or a salpingetomy which is what my little sister recently got, so that I don’t have to worry as much about the possibility of losing access to birth control and getting pregnant. I called today to make an appointment to have my IUD removed because it is time and to discuss my options. I am 38 year old so I am hoping that I don’t run into the same push back I received when I was younger.

    My mother, sister and I are planning to walk this year in the pride parade for Planned Parenthood of Ohio to lend our support to a super important organization in our community. When I was 15 I had my very first gynecological exam at the Planned Parenthood in Newark and got my very first birth control. The doctors there were lovely, and so non-judgmental. I will always support them for that reason.

    I will also always fight for LGBTQIA rights. I have always considered myself to be bisexual as I find myself sexually attracted to both men and women, though nowadays I might consider myself closer to pansexual. My being currently in a heterosexual monogamous relationship does not change this, but does make it so that I am not personally effected by homophobia, etc. I am painfully aware of it happening, though, and its effects. Until this is no longer an issue I will continue to fight.

    I am planning to attend some rallys and protests as well around these issues, and to become more active in local politics to try to encourage change. How do you get involved? Would you run for local political office? Why or why not?

    img_20170617_0933263677300205813227026165.jpg