Lesbopalooza returns after 6-years to celebrate women

In a crowd speckled with drag queens, IU students joined community members to celebrate feminism Saturday at Lesbopalooza.

Bloomington has not seen a Lesbopalooza festival in six years, but OUT and the Women’s Student Association brought it back at Collins Living-Learning Center with music and paintings from local artists, drag performances and workshops.

Event coordinator and junior Kadie Dunkel said OUT wanted “to get away from the huge gay stereotype of LGBT life on campus and do something targeted more toward women.”

She described it as “a women-centric, feminist-centric festival.”

Organizers also said they tried to make the event more inclusive than past Lesbopaloozas, which focused mainly on lesbian relationships.

“It used to be an event that created a somewhat wrong depiction of women, so it’s our goal today and from here out to recreate the event to be more inclusive with no restrictions on entertainment or what a woman is,” Bloomington resident Chanel Cartier said during the Lesbopalooza introduction. “A ‘woman’ is a social construction term and is subject to one’s understanding of gender. ... It’s no one’s right to tell us who we are, and that’s what today is all about.”

The festival opened with songs from the Bloomington chapter of the international organization, The Raging Grannies, which “dedicates itself to spreading equality through ... non-violent protest songs.”

Local artists the Ladyquakes! Naomi Rae and Onward to Iowa also contributed to the musical performances.

Drag queens and drag kings also put on individual shows throughout the festival, one king coming all the way from Kentucky to perform. The show also included reigning Miss Gay IU Britney Taylor.

“It’s (about) feminism, but what really defines feminism?” asked Joshua Sutton, junior and president of OUT. “Which is why we had the drag queens. Because they’re men who are imitating women, and that makes feminism look powerful – that somebody, a man, is wanting to imitate a woman.”

During the performances, an art gallery featuring work from current and former IU students was open for viewing. Lesbopalooza also hosted a Stitch N’Bitch session, where students came to knit or work on other crafts and were free to complain to others about anything and everything.

Planned Parenthood educator Larisa Niles-Carnes also gave a sex talk to students, going beyond pregnancy prevention and focusing also on safe sex between women.
The event concluded with a poetry workshop by the lead singer of the Ladyquakes! and Onward to Iowa’s performance.