Lynn Chen is one of many actresses and other queer women in entertainment taking part in ClexaCon. (Photo courtesy of ClexaCon)
Editor’s note: The Blade is a sponsor of ClexaCon and will have a reporter in Las Vegas covering the convention March 3-5.
Conventions are a popular way to bring die-hard, like-minded fans together — from the star-studded Comic Con in San Diego to the D.C. Awesome Con, which has featured cast members from fantasy/sci-fi shows like “Doctor Who” and “The Walking Dead.”
ClexaCon, the first con created by queer women for queer women, will unite a more specific part of fandom culture that has been demanding attention for a long time.
ClexaCon is a three-day convention for queer women in entertainment from March 3-5 at Bally’s and Paris in Las Vegas. The name “Clexa” comes from the fan favorite couple Clarke and Lexa from the CW’s “The 100.” Lexa’s death on the show sparked outrage among LGBT fans who felt Lexa was the casualty of yet another “Bury Your Gays Trope.” A petition was started to spread awareness of the treatment of queer female characters in media and to raise money for The Trevor Project.
The con strives to rectify the “Bury Your Gays” trope and to celebrate LGBT characters in media as well as to encourage queer women to create their own content that does justice to the representation they want to see of themselves on screen.
“We want ClexaCon to be a place where fans from around the world connect and form friendships. If we can impact just one person’s life positively, then we have accomplished our goal,” ClexaCon organizers said in a statement to the Washington Blade.
Organizers say they are expecting thousands of attendees during the three-day event. The lineup includes a bevy of celebrities, panelists, journalists, artists and other fandom contributors. Top names expected to attend include Amy Acker (“Person of Interest, “Angel”), show runner Emily Andras (“Wynonna Earp,” “Lost Girl), Lynn Chen (“Saving Face”), Gabrielle Christian (“South of Nowhere”), Ali Liebert (“Bomb Girls,” “Lost Girl”), Mandy Musgrave (“South of Nowhere’) and many more.
These actresses will bring together some of the most beloved lesbian couples in fandom. Spashley (Spencer and Ashley on “South of Nowhere”), Shoot (Root and Shaw on “Person of Interest”), Wayhaught (Waverly Earp and Nicole Haught from “Wyonna Earp”), Hollstein (Laura Hollis and Carmilla Karnstein on “Camilla”), Bam (Bianca and Maggie from “All My Children”) and a reunion of the cast from romantic-comedy “Saving Face.”
Panels will include Bring Your Own Bulletproof Vest: How to Write Damn Good T.V. for Women, Creating an Original Web Series, Diversity in Comics, Fanfiction and the Art of a Good Love Scene, How to Raise Investment for your LGBTQ Business: from Crowdfundraising to Venture Backing, and Transgender Representation in the Media, among others.
The ClexaCon Film Festival will screen films, web series and documentaries from queer filmmakers. Other special events during the weekend will include Cocktails for Change, a one-hour event that gives attendees the chance to mingle with celebrities at the con while raising money for the Tegan and Sara Foundation, and Speed-Pitching, the chance to pitch a television series to professional TV writers and creators on the panel.
“This event is for the LGBT+ person sitting in their small town feeling completely alone and alienated,” ClexaCon organizers say. “ClexaCon is for those of us who have placed our hope in a fictional character just to have been let down. We are powerful and we are important. It’s time our community felt that. It’s time we are the change we want to see in the world.”
Single-day passes are $50-$55 and three-day passes are $135. Tickets for autographs and photographs are sold separately. For more information, visit clexacon.com.
