Community
Damn These Heels Film Festival: Lady Valor: The Kristen Beck...
In 2013, former Navy Seal Christopher Beck came out as Kristen, a transgender woman. After 20 years of serving in combat missions in war zones across the world, her new mission—to find inner happiness and to raise awareness of trans issues in the military—has been one of her most exhausting and most challenging. … read more
Princess Kennedy: Damn These Heels!
In addition to Pride, one great party I did this year was a big Pride weekend kick-off with the Utah Film Center and Damn These Heels!, their official LGBTQ and A (IDK what half of those mean) film festival. We brought out my ghoulfriend Peaches Christ, Drag Queen of the Macabre and filmmaker extraordinaire. Anyone who reads my rants knows that I am super invested in the Film Center. … read more
Pride Festival Recap
Love equals love. That was the theme at this years Pride, and it couldn’t have been more fitting. The theme calls back to the 17 days—from December 20, 2013 to January 6, 2014—when same-sex couples could legally marry here in the state of Utah after Judge Robert J. Shelby struck down Amendment 3 as unconstitutional, and it draws attention to the current legal limbo same-sex couples have been stuck in as the appeals process against Judge Shelby’s ruling slowly grinds forward. But the love equals love theme does even more than that: It also calls to how things should be, how everyone should be treated and how important equality truly is. … read more
Ghouls and Dolls: A Bad Kids Pageant @ Metro Bar...
Another year of Utah Pride festivities (un)officially kicked off at Metro Bar Thursday night.
10 contestants, each of whom earned a spot in the competition after a tough preliminary round, performed for Bad Kid Collective titles: Wicked Kid, Ardent Kid, Avant Kid and Baddest Kid. … read more
Contributor Limelight: Christian Schultz
Christian Schultz started writing for SLUG in October of 2012, and his prose in all of his work is utterly spellbinding. He also joined the copy editing team this spring. His cerebral yet gracefully constructed sentences and his adept editing skills have been surefire signs that he’d make an excellent Digital Content Coordinator, and we’re beaming with pride to have Christian in this position! … read more
Creature Feature: The Bad Kids Collective Enters Their Terrible Twos
Since the summer of 2012, the Bad Kids Collective has shaken up Salt Lake’s drag scene, made connections with the global genderfuck community and established a home for queer artists at Metro Bar. Now, at “terrible” 2 years old, SLUG catches up with founding braintrust Cartel Chameleon Fenicé and performers Jezebel Jet and The Bearded Femme about where they’ve been, where they’re headed and why their approach to gender-integrated performance art is a vital force in queer Utah. … read more
Creature Feature: The Bearded Femme
“People who are too comfortable freak me out. I feel so uncomfortable and indecisive all the time, so I’m always questioning myself,” says The Bearded Femme. … read more
Ghouls and Dolls: Bad Kids Pageant Preliminary #1 @ Metro...
Faced with an overwhelming response upon the announcement of their second yearly pageant, the Bad Kids decided to give every applicant a chance to compete, splitting the pageant into two preliminaries before the actual main event, to be held on June 5. … read more
Local Review: The Hung Ups – Against The Wall
As most pop punk goes, I’m very selective. Most bands sound like Blink-182 or The Queers rip-offs—trying to stick to a formula and not really trying anything new. … read more
Creature Feature: Jezebel Jet’s Bad Kid Origins
SLUG’s bi-monthly online column, Creature Feature, has followed the Bad Kids from their raw, youthful days to the brilliant, thriving queer constellation it continues to be. They are a vital force for queer voices in the face of today’s hesitancy toward all things goofy and sexy and weird and fun. For its sixth installment, SLUG spoke with Jezebel Jet about becoming her comic book alter ego and being the Bad Kids’ first female performer. … read more
BADKIDS @ the UMFA
Look who is at the museum—The Bad Kids! As multi-media selfie-installations and gender integrated performance art, I think they’ll feel at home here. … read more
Art | Art and Fashion | LGBTQ+
Sundance Film Review: Love Is Strange
Love Is Strange is a much-needed breath of fresh air blowing away the cobwebs of a tired romantic dramedy genre. In this truly unique story, partners of 39 years, Ben (John Lithgow) and George (Alfred Molina) lose a coveted Manhattan apartment after their official marriage results in George’s termination from his job as a music teacher at a Catholic school, forcing them to temporarily move in with separate family members. … read more