Arts & Entertainment
California bakery blasted for making transgender Ken doll cake
A California bakery sent Facebook into a frenzy after posting a picture of a cake with a Ken doll in a dress.
According to FOX 40, a group of friends ordered a custom Ken doll cake from Freeport Bakery in Sacramento, Calif., for their monthly dice game. The cake was made with Ken wearing a dress made of buttercream, a sash, tiara and jewelry. FOX 40 reports the customer is not transgender and was not trying to make a political statement with the cake.
Co-owner Marlene Goetzeler decided to show off the handy work by posting a photo of the cake to the bakery’s Facebook page. But, not everyone was impressed with the cake.
Goetzeler noticed people began unliking the bakery’s page and negative comments came swarming in. The post received more than 1,000 reactions.
“Naively, I guess I just thought this is a really cool cake, and look at how great they did with the butter cream,” Goetzeler told FOX 40. “What’s wrong with a Ken cake?”
Goetzeler deleted the negative comments, but wasn’t swayed to take the picture down.
“In the beginning, I thought ‘What’s the big deal?’ but now I realize how important it is to take a stand if you believe in something,” Goetzeler told FOX 40.
Goetzeler posted the photo again and urged people to share. The post was captioned “Facebook Friends, After posting this we had a ton of people unliking our Facebook page. I deleted the rude remarks, thank goodness not too many. Our customer was thrilled. Share this for us!”
Celebrate the start of Pride month at the Queer Magic Dance Party at the Black Cat on Saturday, June 6. Doors open at 9 p.m.
There will be pole performances and demonstrations, a free photo booth with glitter bar, a queer vendor market, tarot readings by Skye Marinda Tarot, a drag performance by Sapphica, and dancing to a blend of smooth R&B, Afrobeats, hip-hop and pop by Slammer & Saba. Tickets are $20 at the door or $15 (plus fees) in advance, purchased here.
Local queer journalists will celebrate Pride this weekend at the annual NLGJA-DC Pride Happy Hour event at Trade (1410 14th St., N.W.) on Saturday, June 6, 3-5 p.m. Admission is free.
Out & About
DC Front Runners Pride Run 5K set for Saturday
Annual event held at historic Congressional Cemetery
The 14th annual DC Front Runners’ Pride 5K run/walk is set for Saturday, June 6 at historic Congressional Cemetery. The race starts and ends at the cemetery (1801 E St., S.E.) and passes through scenic D.C., along the Anacostia River trail and the fields at RFK campus. Registration ends Friday at 11:59 p.m.
Runners can pick up their race packets on Saturday from 7-8:30 a.m. at Congressional Cemetery; the race begins at 9 a.m.
The fee to run the 5K in person is $65 ($35 for those under age 20). Proceeds benefit local LGBTQ nonprofits, including Thrive DC, Wanda Alston Foundation, Blade Foundation, Ainsley’s Angels, SMYAL, and Team DC. Visit DCFrontRunners.org for more information.
