beautiful stud and femme models will showcase talented designers’ garments in this highly anticipated event. amongst the myriad of prizes, the models will also be featured in Hard Candy Calendar.

i have had the pleasure of meeting a few of the models in the show. they are a great group of womyn and there’s no way 2 even tell who will come out on top. even though one past Hard Candy Calendar model is in the show (VJay) ;) i must remain neutral and not have a favourite. my excitement is high to see which model that the judges will choose. the suspense is killing. me. :)

TAKING OVER THE RUNWAY is Saturday, July 3, 2010 at 7pm at the DuSable Museum. 740 E. 56th Place, Chicago IL. Don’t Miss IT

coming up in this blog will be interviews with some of the models and designers as well as the creator of the event, Milon herself.

The mission of the gala was to raise money for the building fund for Jackie’s Place, a temporary women’s housing shelter for victims of unemployment, sexual assault and domestic violence.

A silent auction took place to further help the cause with incredible items donated by local artists around the theme of shoes and ties.

The highlight of the gala for me was live entertainment which was provided by Grammy nominated rapper/actress Yo-Yo. She gave a spirited performance that had the keep the crowd moving. She took the time out to show her support for the LGBT community and womyn particularly. Taking special note that she is an “advocate for everyone”. After the performance she stayed for pictures and to enjoy herself on the dance floor.

I could probably go on and on and on about that nite, but I think it would be best to just show the pics….check em out on facebook/Hard Candy Calendar or myspace

Gladys Bentley carved out a place for herself, playing at rent parties and the legendary speakeasies of “Jungle Alley” at 133 between Lenox and Seventh Avenue. She would transform popular tunes of the day with raunchy naughty playful lyrics. Dressed in her signature tux and top hat , she openly and riotously flirted with women in the audience. Although on her recordings she did not dare have lesbian lyrics , she certainly played up this image in the clubs and in public.

Bentley associated with many famous gay and lesbian African-Americans of the time, including author Langston Hughes, poet Countee Cullen and comedian Moms Mabley, and was rumored to have had an affair with singer Bessie Smith. She lived for a time in a Park Avenue apartment, complete with servants, and tooled around in a beautiful car, when she wasn’t parading down fashionable 7th Avenue dressed in men’s clothing.

Bentley was such a colorful cultural figure that characters based on her appeared in numerous novels of the time. She was also fodder for the gossip columns: Lois Sobel, a wannabe Hedda Hopper, claimed that the outrageous singer had even staged a “bull dagger wedding,” marrying an unnamed white lesbian lover in a ceremony in Atlantic City. Of course, Bentley was the one wearing the tux.

Beyond the wild aspects of her personal life, Bentley is an important historical figure for the way she integrated elements of lesbian and gay desire into her public performances. In 1930, a performer named Gene Mailin created an act in which he appeared as an openly gay man, igniting what came to be known as the “Pansy Craze” in New York’s speakeasies. Prohibition audiences, emboldened by their disregard of liquor laws and titillated by sexual differences, had an insatiable curiosity for nightclub novelty acts. Bentley rode the wave and flaunted her lesbianism in shows such as the Ubangi Club Revue, in which she was supported by a chorus of men dressed in female drag.

Audiences of politicians, European royalty, and high society followed Black and gay customers from Greenwich Village to Harlem just to experience La Bentley from 1925 to 1940. Then McCarthyism swept the United States and Bentley’s trademark lesbian act became a liability. Bentley , who for so long had been one of THE most open as regards her homosexuality , was of course a sitting duck for persecution. Out of desperate fear for her own survival( particularly with an ageing mother to support) she started wearing dresses , and sanitizing her act. In 1950 , Bentley wrote a desperate , largely fabricated article for Ebony entitled “I am Woman Again” in which she claimed to have cured her lesbianism via female hormone treatments and was finally at peace after a “hell as terrible as dope addiction”. She claimed to have married a newspaper columnist named J.T. Gibson ( a man who soon after publicly denied that the two had ever wed). These desperate attempts to survive do not diminish her previous accomplishments. For many years ,on a daily basis , she took risks that would not be common until the Stonewall era. Living as a lesbian must have been hard for a Black woman at that time. Near the end of her life Bentley became a devout member of The Temple of Love in Christ. She died of influenza in 1960.

There are free valentine’s day e-cards on the Stuff page of the site.

As a special treat we have some additional photos from this years shoots on the slide show on the home page. During the sessions, I would experience little glitches with my settings and get these wonderful “red” pics. I thought now would be the best time 2 share them with you all. Seeing as how red is the colour of Valentine’s Day and all. Please check them out and let me know what you think.

In addition to that, I have designed a few items for Kinetic Cards & Gifts for the holiday. There’s still time to order and get them for the weekend.

I Love You bear. Decorative words with interlocking venus symbols give a message in a message.

Titled “Our Love” this exclusive artwork using my signature style is displayed on pillows, greeting cards and tile coasters.

There is indeed someone for everyone. This all inclusive greeting cards shows a message of hope no matter what your romantic preference.

There’s more Valentine’s greeting cards & gifts at the Kinetic Cards & Gifts online shop.

so what’s the big deal u say? absolutely nothing. and everything. it was there as it should b. no big deal. gay a couple pictured right next to a str8 couple and an interracial couple equally. shiny, happy smiling faces. not controversial. not sensationalized or stereotyped. not sexualized or pornographic. just two womyn in love. yay! that’s all i ever wanted. just to be.

it was no big deal at all. there was no controversy. well, i’m speaking 2 soon. the issue just came out. who knows. essence might get letters. but i’m hopeful that they won’t. and as small as it is, i noticed and it mattered. it’s a small step. but it’s a step indeed.

now i don’t read Ebony and Essence cover 2 cover each and every month. so i can’t say with absolute authority that this isn’t a regular occurence. it’s just the one that i happened 2 catch. and i’m happier for it.

Largest Bikini Parade-Kellogg Company sets world record

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa–287 bikini-wearing South African women paraded down 1,690 meters of Melrose Arch Boulevard-setting the new world record for the Largest Bikini Parade.

With high spirits the women led by SABC1’s Live presenter Bonang Matheba celebrated their femininity by making a difference in creating awareness for breast cancer in South Africa, as Special K® made a donation to the non-profit breast cancer awareness group, Pink Link.

Other local celebs there were 5FM’s Grant Nash with his radio co-host Anele Mdoda there to show the girls their support.

“As a brand, Kellogg’s® Special K® understands the importance of assisting women to look good and feel fabulous, no matter what their shape or size.
We were delighted to see tall, short, boyish, curvy, pear and apple-shaped women all have the confidence to do things ‘their way’, and participate in the Largest Bikini Parade,” remarked Sarah Mansfield, corporate spokesperson at the Kellogg Company of South Africa.

“We decided to front this initiative to break the Guinness World Record™ for the Largest Bikini Parade as we believe in the celebration of women and their bodies, and all the participants most certainly celebrated their femininity, whilst making a difference for breast cancer in South Africa.” concluded Mansfield.

The previous world record for the Largest Bikini Parade held by America stood at 281, but Kellogg’s Special K and cancer awareness group Pink Link managed to attract 287 women in bikinis to Melrose Arch in northern Johannesburg.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could get something like this going on here in Chicago?;)

Peace, Love, Joy, Hope Greeting Card available at Kinetic Cards & Gifts

actually, i did more than worry. i cried. i know i shouldn’t. i know that with early detection, a woman can beat it. hell, i’m living with a survivor! but that didn’t stop me from feeling scared. that didn’t stop me from thinkin about the radiation. the chemo. and all the things that those treatments do 2 a person. i know my aunt is a strong person. she’s come thru many other obstacles in her lifetime. she will come thru this.

so yet another woman i know affected by breast cancer is in my prayers. this time it’s my blood. so now when the doc asks me do i have family history, i’ll say yes. not looking forward 2 that. but it’s not about me. this calendar isn’t about me. it isn’t about vanity. it’s about them. it’s about love. it’s about peace. it’s about Hope. things we all need this holiday season.

-Jenn-