This story was originally published March 19, 2018.
Wigs, heels, and bras went flying at the second annual OUTLaw Blood, Sweat & Heels charity drag show on March 16.
A crowd of over 70 people showed up to Ottawa’s premier gay bar and nightclub, The Lookout, to support University of Ottawa’s OUTLaw charity event. The event was held to raise funds to sponsor an at-risk LGBTQ+ refugee couple moving to Ottawa this year.
“OUTLaw is the University of Ottawa’s LGBTQ+ Law Student’s Association,” Says Executive Member Ryan Beauchamp. “Our mission is to create a safe space for LGBTQ+ identified University of Ottawa law students and their allies where they can engage in discussion, network, and promote awareness within the law school community.”
OUTLaw is being mentored by the Capital Rainbow Refuge (CRR), a non-profit organization that specializes in LGBTQ+ refugee sponsorship, to help select its candidates for sponsorship.
Selecting an application for sponsorship can be very challenging according to Lisa Hébert, a Coordinator for the CRR. “Choosing who we sponsor is much like the movie Sophie’s Choice,” Hébert says in an email statement. “We had a group pick from two people with HIV, with the knowledge that the person they picked would survive and the inverse might not be true for the other.”
Blood, Sweat & Heels was created to be a community building event and to create awareness of issues faced by at-risk LGBTQ+ refugees overseas, Beauchamp says. “This agenda is particularly important as there are currently 76 countries that criminalize same-sex action,” he explains.
“I get an email every day from someone somewhere whose life is at risk and they are making a plea for sponsorship,” Hébert writes.
The show featured drag queens and kings performing to pop gems like, “Work Bitch,” by Britney Spears and burlesque performers stripping to sensual songs like, “The Pink Panther Theme.”
Performers Adrianna Exposée, Jessica Z Wolfe, Kimmy Lee Dymond, Zoe Catrina Knights, Tanya King, Bam Bam Cliche, Tommy Ten Inches and Lucky Doubloon all donated their time and talents to support the cause.
“There’s two rules to a drag show,” host queen Jessica Z Wolfe told the audience. “Number one drink lots, because the more you drink the prettier I look. Number two, go back to rule one.”
Notable highlights from the night included Adrianna Exposée snatching her own wig, Kimmy Lee Dymond telling the single men in the audience to hit her up on Grinder, and Lucky Doubloon stripping down to nothing but a blanket.
“Drag is not just a spectacle for entertainment, but a platform used to promote activism against sexual oppression, homophobia, transphobia, and more,” Beauchamp says. “We believed [a drag show] was the perfect avenue to meet our goals for the event and support the LGBTQ+ community.”
The final donation amount has yet to be determined but the positive audience reaction can categorize the event as successful according to Beauchamp.
Blood, Sweat & Heels showcased drag culture to an audience, both familiar and unfamiliar with it, and left them all, like Adrianna Exposée, with their wigs snatched.
used mainly by LGBTQ+ individuals and allies, “to express excitement
when their divas have done something amazing, shocking, or gives life
by any means.”
Keith Bennett 