Break out your cowboy hat and vampire teeth for the Lavender Menaces’ Cowboys vs. Vampires Sapphic Dance on Feb. 25 from 7:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. in the Viking Union Multipurpose Room.
The WWU Lavender Menaces is a club that prides itself on creating a safe space for queer women and nonbinary people.
“Sapphic” is a widely accepted term for women and nonbinary people who experience attraction to other women and nonbinary people.
Chloe Reed, the vice president of the Lavender Menaces, said the mission of the club is to give sapphics a space to freely express themselves and celebrate their community.
“I think typical dances can induce anxiety or dread among sapphics because of how gendered traditional high school or middle school dances were,” Reed said. “We wanted to create a dance that celebrates sapphics and heals all the horrible experiences many of us share from our youth that stem from school dances.”
The theme of cowboys vs. vampires comes from the historical association of these themes with queerness. “Brokeback Mountain” and “Carmilla” are just two examples.
The dance will have food and drink available, including vegan and vegetarian options as well as a photo booth. The event will also feature two performances. One performance will showcase a burlesque routine by a Lavender Menaces club member.
“The other performance is actually all of the club officers,” Reed said. “We planned a little dance to go along with the cowboy theme, but the song is a secret. Y’all will just have to come to the dance to see.”
Tickets are $5 and the proceeds will go to funding further club activities.
“We’re a fairly new club, so we’re practically broke,” Reed said. “If the event is a success, it’ll make it easier to create more events that the club members want.”
Reed wants to be sure that people of all identities feel welcome to come to the dance.
“[Our dance] is open to the public, and we encourage everyone to come if they think it sounds fun,” she said.
Aubrey Black (she/they) is a second-year news-ed major at Western. She enjoys making Spotify playlists and perusing used bookstores.
You can contact her at aubreyblack.thefront@gmail.com.
