What would your Mama say?!
by Devon on Dec.29, 2008, under Bisexuality, Humor, Identity, Positivity
It never ceases to amaze me how many little details I forget to blog about. I keep fretting, thinking that I’ll run out of interesting stories, but then a patron will ask me something or do something and I’ll remember there’s so much more to tell. So, people ask me fairly frequently (worded in various ways): “Does your mother know that you dance naked in bars?”
Here’s the short answer: Yes.
Actually, everyone in my family knows, on both sides. It’s not a problem for anyone that I know of. And how could it be? Some people come from a long line of doctors… I come from a long line of entertainers. My sister has danced in clubs, and so has my mother. My grandmother has spoken of the days of the Burlesque.
At any rate, it’s not nearly as scandalous as many people assume. I was just at my families’ houses (divorce does that) for the holiday, and people from both clans were asking me about my performance schedule, was I making good money, and are you getting enough rest? Honestly, the only points most of them worry about are that I drink enough water, sleep properly, and drive safely. My mother’s husband even gets up early to make sure I get home okay. He was there waiting for me on Friday night/Saturday morning when I got there finally at 5:30, and again on Saturday night/Sunday morning when I arrived at 4:30. Those two also got me a birthday card with a cartoon in the style of Gary Larson’s “The Far Side” with a female Collie giving a lap dance to a male German Sheperd. The Sheperd was saying, “Oh yeah, shake that tail, bitch!” It was freaking hilarious.
My Gramma speaks very plainly to me about sexuality and issues surrounding human desire. She is a firm believer in universal bisexuality. As a writer and story teller she isn’t squeamish about describing the various proclivities of her characters (which are thinly veiled descriptions of her own fantasies). I’ve even blogged about a recent conversation I had with Gramma about sex workers. Although we live in the South, we are decidedly non-Southern. So, when people say something to the effect of, “I’ma tell yo Mama where you at!” I generally respond with, “Oh, great… She’ll be giving me pointers in front of everyone again about improving my pole tricks.”
December 30th, 2008 on 8:10 am
LOL
so very cool.
nuff said.
December 30th, 2008 on 8:51 am
Devon it sounds like you have a very supportive family which must be a big plus. They certainly belie the socially conservative Southern family that you see in the media.
Do they ever worry about you being stalked? Maybe I am over generalizing but these clubs must get their fair share of disturbed and tortured individuals.
December 30th, 2008 on 9:34 am
hey jonathan,
if they worry about me being stalked they don’t voice it. if i bring it up they talk about it as freely as we would anything else. they have seen me get stalked, so they know it’s a possibility, and they are always very supportive. i simply try to avoid the complication from the get-go (see my entry entitled “Your little voice speaks the truth”).
as far as families go: i couldn’t be any luckier in terms of their acceptance and support of who i am and what i do. we have our own particular brand of insanity, but my queerness isn’t an issue.