Arts & Entertainment
ClexaCon brings focus to queer women in entertainment
Annual convention kicks off March 3 in Las Vegas
Editorās note: The Blade is a sponsor of ClexaCon and will have a reporter in Las Vegas covering the convention March 3-5.Ā
Conventions are a popular way to bring die-hard, like-minded fans together ā 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 āDoctor Whoā and āThe Walking Dead.ā
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 Ballyās and Paris in Las Vegas. The name āClexaā comes from the fan favorite couple Clarke and Lexa from the CWās āThe 100.ā Lexaās death on the show sparked outrage among LGBT fans who felt Lexa was the casualty of yet another āBury Your Gays Trope.ā 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 āBury Your Gaysā 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.
āWe 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,ā 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 (āPerson of Interest, āAngelā), show runner Emily Andras (āWynonna Earp,ā āLost Girl), Lynn Chen (āSaving Faceā), Gabrielle Christian (āSouth of Nowhereā), Ali Liebert (āBomb Girls,ā āLost Girlā), Mandy Musgrave (āSouth of Nowhereā) and many more.
These actresses will bring together some of the most beloved lesbian couples in fandom. Spashley (Spencer and Ashley on āSouth of Nowhereā), Shoot (Root and Shaw on āPerson of Interestā), Wayhaught (Waverly Earp and Nicole Haught from āWyonna Earpā), Hollstein (Laura Hollis and Carmilla Karnstein on āCamillaā), Bam (Bianca and Maggie from āAll My Childrenā) and a reunion of the cast from romantic-comedy āSaving Face.ā
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.
āThis event is for the LGBT+ person sitting in their small town feeling completely alone and alienated,ā ClexaCon organizers say. āClexaCon 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. Itās time our community felt that. Itās time we are the change we want to see in the world.ā
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.
Books
āMean Boysā raises questions of life, death, and belonging
New memoir wanders but enjoy the whiplash
āMean Boys: A Personal Historyā
By Geoffrey Mak
c.2024, BloomsburyĀ
$28.99/267 pages
It’s how a pleasant conversation is fed, with give and take, back and forth, wandering casually and naturally, a bit of one subject easing into the next with no preamble. It’s communication you can enjoy, like what you’ll find inside “Mean Boys” by Geoffrey Mak.
Sometimes, a conversation ends up exactly where it started.
Take, for instance, Shakespeare’s āKing Lear,ā which leads Mak to think about his life and his inability to “cull the appropriate narratives out of nonsense.” Part of that problem, he says, was that his living arrangements weren’t consistent. He sometimes “never really knew where I was living,” whether it was Berlin or California, in a studio or high-end accommodations. The parties, the jokes, the internet consumption were as varied as the homes and sometimes, “it didn’t really matter.” Sometimes, you have to accept things and just “move on.”
When he was 12 years old, Mak’s father left his corporate job, saying that he was “called by God” to become a minister. It created a lot of resentment for Mak, for the lack of respect his father got, and because his parents were “passionately anti-gay.ā He moved as far away from home as he could, and he blocked all communication with his parents for years, until he realized that “By hating my father, I ended up hating myself, too.”
And then there was club life which, in Mak’s descriptions, doesn’t sound much different in Berghain (Germany) as it is in New York. He says he “threw myself into night life,” in New York Houses, in places that gave “a skinny Chinese kid from the suburbs… rules I still live by,” on random dance floors, and in Pornceptual. Eventually this, drugs, work, politics, pandemic, basically everything and life in general led to a mental crisis, and Mak sought help.
“I don’t know why I’m telling you all this,” Mak says at one point. “Sometimes life was bad, and sometimes it wasn’t, and sometimes it just was.”
Though there are times when this book feels like having a heart-to-heart with an interesting new acquaintance, “Mean Boys” can make you squirm. For sure, it’s not a beach read or something you’ll breeze through in a weekend.
No, author Geoffrey Mak jumps from one random topic to another with enough frequency to make you pay close to attention to his words, lest you miss something. That won’t leave you whiplashed; instead, you’re pulled into the often-dissipated melee just enough to feel almost involved with it ā but with a distinct sense that you’re being held at arms’ length, too. That some stories have no definitive timeline or geographical stamp ā making it hard to find solid ground ā also adds to the slight loss of equilibrium here, like walking on slippery river rocks.
Surprisingly, that’s not entirely unpleasant but readers will want to know that the ending in “Mean Boys” could leave their heads swirling with a dozen thoughts on life, belonging, and death. If you like depth in your memoirs, you’ll like that ā and this.
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Digital Media
āOur Queer Lifeā chronicles diversity of the LGBTQ experience
Series fosters understanding and empathy among viewers
WEST HOLLYWOOD ā In the bustling lanes of digital storytelling, where narratives burst and fade with rapid clicks, Matt Cullenās documentary series āOur Queer Lifeā emerges as a poignant chronicle of the LGBTQ+ communityās diverse experiences.
With 200,000 subscribers on YouTube, Cullenās series stands out not just for its breadth of voicesāfrom celebrities to street hustlersābut for the depth with which it explores the moving lived realities of queer individuals.
Cullen took time out of his busy schedule to give The Blade an exclusive interview about his fledgling hit series.
Born and raised in Northern California, Cullenās early life in a supportive, albeit traditional, family environment shaped his sensitive approach towards storytelling. A curious and open child who loved musical theatre, Cullen always had a passion for interesting stories and how they are told.
Cullen worried about coming out to his family, but said that he is eternally grateful that the nerve-wracking experience involving a letter left on the kitchen table for his parents to find, fortunately ended in acceptance and love, with his parents ultimately embracing his truth warmly.
āIt was a scary big step,ā Cullen reflected. āComing out to my family or my really close friends was scary because I was worried if they didnāt accept me, I would not know how to handle thatā¦ It was more about accepting myself and embracing who I was and saying, this is my life now. ā
Cullen said that he knows that the familial support he received as a newly out high school senior contrasted sharply with the narratives of many he would later spotlight in his series, providing him with a profound appreciation for his own comparatively smoother journey.
āThe stories that I tell are very heavy,ā Cullen said. āBut I still feel so inspired and motivated by the determination of these people to keep living and to keep going in spite of everything. Their drive and their willingness to live for themselves and nobody else leaves me invigorated and inspired.ā
Cullen, who initially pursued acting after college in New York, found himself dissatisfied with the roles and scripts that came his way. āI felt like I was just regurgitating somebody elseās words,ā he shared, highlighting his discomfort with being constantly typecast as over-the-top gay characters.
The turning point for Cullen came during the COVID-19 pandemic.. Trapped in his apartment, feeling isolated and longing for interaction, he envisioned a new creative outlet. āI felt like I needed to talk to new people,ā Cullen said. āI was craving a deep connection with strangers, and I wanted to hear new stories. That deep desire was what the impetus for the series.ā
The combination of Cullenās artistic empathy mixed with his own feelings of entrapment led him to think about how difficult life must be for other queer individuals stuck in societal ecosystems that inherently reject their queerness.
āI thought about a lot of fundamentalist religious groups and how difficult it is for people to be gay there,ā Cullen remarked, pinpointing the acute need for representation from these underrepresented groups.
Cullenās first interview was with Rob, a man Cullen had found through a Facebook group and who had left the Jehovahās Witness community to live authentically.
āI am still so grateful that Rob felt comfortable to be the first to share his story with me,ā Cullen said.
Robās story provided a raw, unfiltered look at the challenges of adapting to the outside world after leaving a controlled religious environment. He discussed not only the doctrinal and social shackles he escaped but also the practical challenges of integrating into society, like finding employment without real-world skills.
This encounter didnāt just enrich Cullenās series; it set a precedent for the type of stories he wanted to featureāstories of struggle, resilience, and the search for identity. Each episode aims to foster understanding and empathy among viewers, broadening their perspectives on the complexities of queer life in various contexts.
āOur Queer Lifeā thrives on its intimate portrayal of its subjects. Each episode delves into the hurdles and triumphs of individuals within the LGBTQ+ community, aiming to destigmatize topics like sex work and address the misrepresentation of trans people. Through his conversations, Cullen not only exposes the challenges faced by his subjects but also celebrates their resilience and humanity.
Mousie, who had lived through unimaginable challenges, from serving multiple prison terms to surviving on the streets of North Hollywood, became one of the earliest and most influential subjects of Cullenās series. Her willingness to open up about her life provided āOur Queer Lifeā with a narrative that encapsulated the struggles and resilience of a marginalized individual fighting for survival and dignity.
During their first meeting, Mousie shared her journey with Cullen, detailing her life in a $67/month apartment and her experiences as an intravenous drug user and sex worker. This episode alone drew over 300,000 viewers, resonating deeply with audiences and humanizing a community often relegated to the shadows of society. Cullen revisited Mousie a year later, further exploring her day-to-day experiences and struggles, adding layers to her story that emphasized her humanity over her hardships.
Mousieās influence extended beyond the screen; her relationship with Cullen grew into a deep, familial bond. In her final days, confined to a hospital bed, she expressed her heartfelt connection to Cullen, telling him, āI was her brother and that we had great things to do together.ā Her passing was a profound loss for Cullen, who felt her spirit continued to guide his work, inspiring him to pursue stories with even greater dedication.
Reflecting on Mousieās role in shaping āOur Queer Life,ā Cullen credits her with helping him gain the credibility and trust necessary to navigate the complex landscapes of street life and sex work. āMousie was the one who broke this for me,ā Cullen remarked, acknowledging how a TikTok video of her story garnered 30,000 views and messages from viewers expressing how deeply they related to her experiences. This response marked a turning point for the series, illustrating the power of storytelling in building connections and fostering understanding.
āI feel like she is still with me in everything that I do,ā Cullen said. āShe told me before she died that I was her brotherā¦I can literally feel her.ā
As āOur Queer Lifeā continues to grow, so does its creator. Cullen remains hands-on, involved in every aspect of production from filming to editing, driven by a personal touch that resonates deeply with his audience. While he contemplates the future of the series, possibly on larger platforms like Max, his priority remains the authentic representation of his subjectsā lives.
āI will always refuse to do anything exploitative where we donāt ask about (the subjectās) lives and their desires,ā Cullen said, underscoring his commitment to creating real and nonexploitative narratives. āI want every person who clicks on a video to leave that episode feeling a connection and relating to them.ā
The series is quickly becoming a vital part of the cultural conversation, reaching people across the globe and fostering understanding and empathy among its viewers. For many, it provides the first intimate look at lives they might otherwise never encounter, bridging gaps and building connections.
In a world where divisions run deep, Matt Cullenās āOur Queer Lifeā offers a beacon of unity, celebrating the shared human experiences of love, struggle, and resilience. Through his lens, viewers are reminded that despite our vast differences, the desires for acceptance, health, and happiness are universal.
Out & About
Film festival to highlight Polish trans womanās story
‘Kobieta Z’ screening at Landmark E Street Cinema
The Washington Polish Film Festival will screen āKobieta Zā (English translation: āWoman Ofā) on Saturday, May 11 at 8:45 p.m. at Landmark E Street Cinema, Theatre 6.
Having premiered at the Venice Film Festival, this Polish film breaks new ground. Starring Malgorzata Krzysztofik-Hajewska and Joanna Kulig, the movie is a sensitive and intelligent story of gender identity in a cruel world that cannot accept it and the personal love that ultimately does.
Tickets to the festival start at $20 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.Ā