Just out., August 06, 2004, Page 22, Image 22

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| U S l o u t »august 6.2004___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
LESBIAN SEX T hde CITY
ON SW IN GIN G SINGLE AND HOW TO KEEP SEX HOT AFTER THE U-HAUL
s promised, here’s the second installment in our
monthlong series on queer sex and dating in Portland.
This time we’ve turned the mike over to the dykes.
Helen Silvis talks with a number of single queer women
to find out where to go on a date and what they’re looking for,
and also why being single can be fabulous. Gina Daggett
addresses a prickly issue that comes up after the headiness of
dating has faded: Lesbian Bed Death. Is it a myth? And what do
you do if it’s happening to you?
W hether taking things slowly or steering clear of total
enmeshment, queer women today are leaving the LTHaul at the
curb and forging new paths of fun and intimacy— like our cover
models, Maro Sevastopolous and Jake Lawsyn, who favor
entwining limbs over being joined at the hip! (Their hot date
spot? Queenowned Crush on Southeast Morrison Street.)
A
Beyond the Potluck
Single Queer women weigh in
on Portland’s dating scene
by Helen Silvis
or decades, Portland has had a
reputation as a lesbian Shangri-La.
F
mountain climbing or dragon boat racing, so I
thought, ‘How am I going to meet anyone?’
There are a lot of subcultures here— Portland
has a strong young punk anarchist dyke cul­
So you’d figure our dyke dating scene
ture. It’s strong and it’s beautiful and it’s
would he as well-established and hot as
great...hut I’m 35.”
in San Fran or New York...right?
Sprecher found Portland’s animal-friendly
“W hen I first moved here, I had the impres­
culture less than friendly to romance. “People
sion that lesbians did potlucks all the time and
were walking their dogs a lot, hut were they
I had to get in on this or I would he single for­
having sex? I don’t know.”
ever,” says Puppet, a 28-year-old who moved to
Like Puppet, Sprecher took the initiative
Portland from San Francisco in 2001.
and started her own dance
Instead of waiting for that mythical potluck
^ club. Diva, which takes over
to chase her down, the for­
" the venue Holocene one
mer U .S. National
Sunday a month, opened in
Guardswoman started
o February. With its go-go
throwing her own dance
§ dancers, cigarette girls and
parties. Morphing into DJ
mix of world music and elec­
Puppet— the name is an
trónica, Diva celebrates
endearment she has inherit­
dressing up, flirting, drag and
ed from her Korean family—
other shameless displays of
she teamed up with boy pal
queer sexuality.
DJ Stormy and other friends
“W hat I want is for
to produce queer dance par­
women to get to know each
ties in otherwise straight
other at Diva and to celebrate
venues. She lays down her
their sexuality,” Sprecher says.
mix of hip-hop and house
Sprecher describes herself
Thursday nights during
as “insanely shy,” which
Booty, which is held at
might he what inspired her to
Porky’s in North Portland.
create Diva’s trademark flirt
Katharine Sprecher is
cards. See an attractive
“People were walking their dogs
another recent transplant
stranger you would like to get
a lot, Hut were they having sex?”
from San Francisco who
to know better? Just grab a
— Katharine Sprecher
feared her dating prospects
flirt card, write a witty note
were d(x>med.
“I don’t like hiking or
the Web site TechnoDyke.com
she volunteered to take part in
an erotica performance where
she met a group of drag kings.
“It opened up a whole world
to me, at least the queer world,”
she says. “So far I’ve been a
guest performer with DK PDX
as a bio-queen, and in the last
two shows I’ve performed as a
king. I’m having so much fun
with it. I love the kings.”
Wearing a black vinyl
bondage dress, pirate head scarf
and sword, Sevastopolous
recently partied at Booty with a
blond sailor in tow— literally.
O n the other end of the leash
she held was the sailor, sporting
a white and blue uniform and a
mischievous grin. The entire
scene was the result of a bet, and
not a date. But it’s clear Kith
women were in their element.
,
“I really enjoy power plays,”
Sevastopolous says, laughing. “It
was the first time I’d had anyone
out
in public as a dominatrix, hut
ilil
now I can cross it off my list.”
Kestryl Lowrey, a student at
Lewis & Clark College, points
■
to Portland’s thriving dyke hand
scene as another way to meet
potential dates.
“Most of the people who
show up to see certain bands are
young lesbians,” she says. “Take
and ask your friendly cigarette girl to deliver it.
hands like T he Butchies, T-Rexa, Drastic Plas­
More than a few hot dates have started exactly
tic, Pompom Meltdown. They’re all girl hands
this way, says Sprecher. Anti some of those
with a rock ’n’ roll and a punk sound that
couples are still an item— including Sprecher,
tends to attract that crowd.”
who met her girlfriend at her own club!
Because Lowrey is still 19, her night life is
restricted to the few all-ages venues in town.
The direct approach
“The young lesbian community in Portland
sometimes seems rather small,” she says,
aro Sevastopolous moved to Portland
“because you go to these shows and after a cou­
from her hometown of Cleveland
ple of times you recognize everyone.”
about a year ago. Compared to
Surprisingly, Lowrey hasn’t met many dates
Cleveland, she says, Portland rocks. Through
on campus, despite her high profile as coordi-
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