|
|
|
PASSAGES Social-justice activist, dominatrix Mistress Velvet dies
by Carrie Maxwell
2021-05-21
|
|
This article shared 4111 times since Fri May 21, 2021
|
|
Social-justice activist and dominatrix Mistress Velvet (who used they/them pronouns) died by suicide May 9 in Chicago. They were 33.
Among Velvet's other occupations were Black liberation practitioner, sex and pleasure educator, and "communist hooker." They were also a Sex Workers Outreach Project (SWOP-USA) executive director as well as an education and training director for Resilience, a not-for-profit organization that supports survivors of sexual violence.
In a recent interview with Huffington Post, Velvet talked about their journey as a professional BDSM dominatrix where most of their clients were white straight cisgender men. What made their sessions unique was assigning Black feminist theory essays like Patricia Hill Collins' Black Feminist Thought, Audre Lorde's Sister Outsider, Michelle Alexander's The New Jim Crow and related authors/works to their clients. These clients would have to read the essays outside of the sessions and then be ready to talk about them at subsequent sessions.
"Brave Space Alliance (BSA) is devastated to confirm the passing of Mistress Velvet, an icon in our community, and a pillar in the fight for Black, trans and sex work liberation," stated BSA leadership in a Facebook post. "Velvet was one of the earliest supporters of BSA, even serving on the first iteration of our Board of Directors. They should be remembered as a revolutionary African feminist, an ardent communist, and a guiding light for many in our collective struggle. They were many things, to many people, and they will be sorely missed. Rest in power."
A memorial service was held May 15 at First Lutheran Church of the Trinity, 643 W. 31st St. |
 |
|
|
This article shared 4111 times since Fri May 21, 2021
|
| ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE |
|---|
| 
|  | WORLD African efforts, HIV in Amsterdam, Donatella Versace, 'The Queen in Me'
2023-09-28
A new attempt to prevent the recognition of and equal rights for LGBTQ+ people in Kenya through a constitutional amendment has been introduced in Parliament, The Washington Blade reported. The move was in response to this ...
| 
| | SHOWBIZ Outfest, Halo, 'Sex Education,' trans singer, 'Doctor Who'
2023-09-28
Outfest announced that it will honor Oscar winner Shirley MacLaine with the James Schamus Ally Award and trans actress Trace Lysette with the Trailblazer Award at the 2023 Legacy Awards presented by Genesis Motor America, per ...
| 
| | NATIONAL Bisexual politicians, DADT, NBJC awards, crimes, Buttigieg
2023-09-28
For Bi Visibility Day (Sept. 23), The Advocate ran a piece titled "35 Bisexual Politicians You Should Know." Just a few on the list include trans Montana state Rep. Zooey Zephyr, Nevada Assemblymember Cecelia Gonzalez, U.S. ...
| 
| | Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoes some LGBTQ+ measures and approves others
2023-09-26
For California's LGBTQ+ community, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has made things interesting over the last few days. Late last week, Newsom vetoed three progressive measures—including an unexpected rejection of a ...
| 
| | PASSAGES: Chicago musician, producer and DJ Don Crescendo
2023-09-24
Queer Chicago musician, producer and DJ Rodney Donovan Taylor, a.k.a. Don Crescendo, was fatally stabbed on the evening of Sept. 12 in his Avondale neighborhood apartment building. He died Sept. 15 at Illinois Masonic Hospital after ...
| 
| | Lambda, TLDEF urge 4th Circuit to uphold rulings protecting gender-affirming care in NC, WV
2023-09-21
--From a press release - (RICHMOND, VA - Thursday, Sept 21) — Today, a full panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit heard arguments in two cases involving equal access to health care for transgender people. State ...
| 
| | Arrests, fights punctuate battles across Canada over gender diversity in schools
2023-09-21
Arrests were reported in the Canadian cities of Ottawa, Halifax, Vancouver and Victoria, among others, on Sept. 20 as opposing groups clashed on how schools address issues of gender identity and how teachers refer to transgender ...
| 
| | WORLD French fund, mausoleum, Abrazo Grupal, Biden, Billie Jean King
2023-09-21
French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna announced a fund to help promote the rights of LGBTQ+ people, French24 reported. She made the announcement at the 15th anniversary of an LGBTQ+ group at the United Nations at the ...
| 
| | NATIONAL Sarah McBride, TIME100 lists, Kentucky clerk, suspects arrested
2023-09-21
A poll showed that Delaware Democrat Sarah McBride—who is bidding to become the nation's first openly transgender member of Congress—leads her primary opponents by a wide margin, The Hill reported. In a survey of likely Democratic ...
| 
| | 19th annual Andersonville Arts Weekend Sept. 29 - Oct. 1
2023-09-20
--From a press release - CHICAGO (September 18, 2023) The Andersonville Chamber of Commerce (ACC) is pleased to welcome back its 19tn annual Andersonville Arts Weekend, with the neighborhood transformed into a "walkable art gallery" ...
| 
| | Marge Summit's life to be celebrated Oct. 15
2023-09-15
--From a press release - A celebration of the extraordinary life of Marge Summit, the legendary Chicago bar owner, promoter of live music artists, political advocate and much more who passed away on May 16, 2023. Born Sept. 3, 1935 in ...
| 
| | WORLD Quebec lesbians, violence study, Rugby World Cup, Ugandan bill
2023-09-15
The hidden history of Quebec lesbians is being explored, the CBC reported. Between 1985 and 1996, a group of lesbians leased the Plateau-Mont-Royal school and ran it as a community center. The school was also home ...
| 
| | SHOWBIZ Kim Petras, LGBTQ+ movies, TIFF, canceled shows, yachts
2023-09-15
Video below - Ahead of her Feed the Beast world tour, Grammy-winning international trans pop singer/songwriter Kim Petras has shared reimagined, symphonic, seven-piece string-ensemble performances of fan favorites from her debut album Feed ...
| 
| | NATIONAL Lesbian politician, Nancy Pelosi, bomb threat, politician dies, Lyft
2023-09-15
Kathy Kozachenko—the first out politician elected to public office in the country—will be honored with a statue on the 50th anniversary of her historic election, per The Advocate. The city of Ann Arbor, Michigan, will honor ...
| 
| | MAP reports on obstacles trans people face with healthcare, legal recognition
2023-09-15
--From a press release - Today the Movement Advancement Project (MAP) released Banning Medical Care and Legal Recognition for Transgender People, the fifth in MAP's report series, Under Fire: The War on LGBTQ People in America. The report details how the ...
| | |
|
|
