Miss Exotic World 2010

What does a girl do when she's turning 29, dreading 30, and unhappy with her position in life?

Head to Vegas, of course!

Last week, I packed up and went to Vegas to celebrate my 29th birthday and to attend the Burlesque Hall of Fame Weekend. The event consists of show kicking off the weekend, a show celebrating the legends of burlesque ("The Titans of Tease"), and culminates in the pagent for Miss Exotic World a/k/a The Reigning Queen of Burlesque. There is also a closing night event.

My first night there I barely had time to check in and shimmy into a dress and stilettos before heading to the kick off event. Entering the showroom at The Plaza hotel, where all of the shows were to be held, I was stunned by how many different kinds of ladies were in attendance. Women of all different races, shapes, sizes, and gender expressions (from high femme to uber butch) were there. What struck me the most was how comfortable everyone seemed in their own skin. Chicago's own Frenchie Kiss rocked the show, presenting her homage to the Flight of the Conchords. It was a great start to a glitter filled weekend.

Friday brought the ribbon cutting at the Hall of Fame, which was founded by burlesque legend Dixie Evans. It houses memorabilia from legends of the past, like Gypsy Rose Lee, and photos of current burlesque legends and winners of Miss Exotic World. The Hall has been a long time coming, and is very exciting to see it finally getting off the ground.

Friday evening brought the very exciting - and very long - Titans of Tease program. Performances and interviews with living legends like Satan's Angel and Candy "Baby" Caramelo were intertwined with performances by current legends, including Karl Lagerfeld's most recent muse Dirty Martini and the author of the recently released book The Burlesque Handbook Jo "Boobs" Weldon, who did a stunning tribute to Gypsy Rose Lee.

Saturday was the big event! A standing room only audience sat on the edge of our seats anxious to find out who would be crowned Miss Exotic World 2010. The host, Miss Astrid (seen here oficiating a wedding at last year's event) was one of the funniest, sharpest MC's I have seen in ages. In addition to her quick wit, she had the audience recite a pledge stating that we were all feminists and as such recognized that participating in a pagent is deeply ironic, and accordingly we promised to have fun. Hearing an entire showroom declare themselves to be feminists was just as thrilling as seeing all of the rhinestones, glitter and pasties that filled the evening.

The winners of the evening were all very deserving. New York's Miss Tickle took the trophy for Best Debut (the category for, as Miss Atrid put it, "when we don't know who the fuck you are"). Best Group went to the amazing Chicago Starlets for their charming painter's number. The new Reigning King of Burlesque was awarded to The Evil Hate Monkey (the cutest hateful thing since Gremlins), and Best Variety went to Lola Martinet and Tila Von Twirl, also from Chicago.

The competition for Miss Exotic World 2010 was stiff. One of my favorite performers, Nasty Canasta did a high-tech routine referencing The Portrait of Dorian Gray (and came in 2nd runner up!). Midnite Martini presented a stunning routine that showcased her flexibility and amazing strength (the fact that she teaches aerial burlesque makes me want to move to Seattle!). The winner, Roxi D'lite wowed with a routine featuring giant lit cigar and a dress made seemingly all of glitter.

By the time I boarded the plane to head back to Chicago, I had seen over 11 hours of burlesque dance, and had a brand new appreciation for art and the community it can foster among women. I can't wait for next year!

Feminist Action Figures - Bronte Sisters Power Up!

I was tipped off to this YouTube gem from my friend and fan of the Bronte sisters, Tarina yesterday.  If only there were feminist action figures!

Happy Birthday to The Pill!

This week marks the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granting approval to the birth control pill, a decision which revolutionized women's reproductive health.  The domino effect of the availability of reliable birth control in this country was wide-ranging.  Single women could embrace their sexuality without fear of pregnancy and married couples could plan if and when they wanted to start a family.  How many marriages were strengthened or saved, and how many bad marriages prevented in the first place, we will never know.  But beyond the biological effect of The Pill, in a time where women could be fired from their jobs simply for getting pregnant, it meant that women could think long term about college, post-graduate studies, career plans, travel, and anything else that they wished to achieve or do in their lives.  In this way, the ability to choose when and if to have children resulted in more women going to college and becoming doctors, lawyers and scientists, more women going further in the field of business, more women being free to dedicate their early career years to more challenging work or service opportunities... all of which undoubtedly improved the standard of living of their families as well.  Plus, when those women did decide to have families, they were much more likely to be in stable marriages and less likely to be living in poverty.

One outspoken woman who heartily embraced The Pill was the legendary singer Loretta Lynn.  Married at 14 years old and a mom of four by the age of 17, Loretta's 1974 song "The Pill" was the first to discuss the subject, and it did so from a very personal perspective of a woman tired of being pregnant every year.  Though it was banned at my radio stations, Loretta was later told by doctors working in rural areas that it had done more to increase awareness of the pill's availability than anything else - something no doubt Loretta had in mind when writing a song that would speak to her own background.  Here now is Loretta Lynn with "The Pill" -

My First Time

In today's Los Angeles Times, music critic David Ulin had a charming article about taking his daughter to see her favorite pop star Taylor Swift play the Staples Center. The article captures that spark we get as youth seeing the artist we idolize play live, when we finally feel alive, energized and like nothing will ever be the same. I love that her dad was with her for it, and it reminded me of my first concert, which my mom took me to when I was 14. As a side note, I found the article through my favorite feminist news/culture site Jezebel, and the stories in the comments are great, too.

As readers of this blog/former listeners of the show know, Tori Amos is my number one, all time favorite artist forever and ever, amen. My fandom started during my freshman year of high school, when I would listen to Boys for Pele on repeat in the dark, burning incense and brooding. I was a charming teen.

When I found out that she was going to be playing the week of my birthday, I decided that I HAD to go. I had been denied access to seeing Hole and Garbage, but nothing was going to stand in the way of my seeing Tori. My parents were rather strict, so my mother insisted on listening to the disc before giving me permission. I was a little nervous, as the lyrics to the songs, not to mention the racy liner photos, might give her pause. Luckily Amos' singing is so breathy that my mother missed most of the dirty parts and agreed to take me. I think it helped that the show was in a theater, and she plays piano. It was decided that she would take my sister and I and we could each bring a friend. I was psyched.

The day tickets went on sale we sat around the kitchen table waiting for the clock to hit 10:00 a.m. so we could call Ticketmaster. Even just calling for tickets made me heady. Not only was I excited to see Tori play live, I was excited to see my first concert, period. I was so grown up!

The drive there felt like the longest drive of my life. I can still remember the butterflies I felt when we walked to our row, nosebleed seats in the top of the Rosemont theater. She played heavily from Boys for Pele and I don't think I breathed through the entire set. I definitly cried and had that rush of thinking that it was the Most Important Night of All Time. Eating at Dennys afterwards, I was pretty sure my mom was the coolest mom ever.

Of all the firsts young women go through, I think the first concert (or first time seeing an artist you truly, truly love) is near the top of the list of potentially life changing events. The feeling of community, of connection and exhiliration - it just can't be beat. Cheers to Ulin for helping his daughter experience that, and here's to all the parents who got our fandom and let us have our moment, our Most Important Night of All Time.

A Festival For the Rest of Y'All

Summer is quickly approaching and with it comes more music festivals than you can shake a stick at. Chicago is home to festivals of all shapes and sizes, from street fairs hosting a bunch of music, to the stages at Taste of Chicago, to huge festivals like Pitchfork and Lollapalooza. Traveling festivals like the Vans Warped Tour and Lilith Fair will be swinging by nearby suburbs on their tours around the country.

Out of these, Lollapalooza is the largest, both in size and in stature. With 3 days, 91 bands and 34 DJs, and hundreds of thousands of attendees, it is a force to be reckoned with. Bands and artists who play Lolla have the chance to up their fame level and reach out to people who may have never heard their music before. I'm sorry, let me amend that - male bands and artists will have the chance to reach out to new fans. Because, much like last year, Lollapalooza is heavy on the dudes and light on the ladies. Of the 91 bands, 70 are all male and only 21 are female artists or bands with at least 1 female member. Of the 34 DJs, 30 are male and 4 are female.

With numbers like these, one would guess that there just aren't that many women involved in music. Perhaps they are stuck at home, churning the butter and making babies. But that just isn't the case. There are plenty of women, both musicians and DJs, to pick from. In 2010, the music industry is still an old boys club, and its biggest party of the summer, Lollapalooza, is a prime example of how rocking out with your co*k out still reigns supreme.

At least this summer we see the return of Lilith Fair. Started in the 1990s as an answer to male dominated summer tours, the need for an all female event is just as crucial today as it was then. And with an incredibly diverse touring lineup - depending on the city you could see folk, indie, pop, country, hip hop and soul all in one day - Lilith Fair is a refreshing answer to the phallocentric, hipster heavy festivals elsewhere.

CHIRPradio.org Launches Online Radio Station This Sunday!

The long wait is finally over, and after two and a half years of blood, sweat and tears, the Chicago Independent Radio Project will launch an online radio station this Sunday January 17th at noon! Chicago's only non-profit, volunteer-run, music-, arts-, and culture-focused radio station, CHIRPradio.org will broadcast live from studios in North Center from 6am to 3am seven days a week, 365 days a year - a remarkable feat for a group of music lovers, radio veterans and media activists who built the station step by step, literally and figuratively, all by themselves!

Emily, Elizabeth and I have all been involved with CHIRP since it's inception, and believe that community radio stations are a crucial part of a thriving democratic society. With a handful of large media conglomerates controlling nearly everything on the airwaves, few alternatives exist where alternative viewpoints and music can be heard. Access to the airwaves is a feminist issue - women comprise 51 percent of the country's population, but own just 6 percent of full power radio stations, according to a report from Free Press. In contrast, low power FM radio stations are run by community organizations, and tend to have far more diverse leadership and membership. (Fun fact: All of CHIRP's officers are women!) As CHIRP continues to advocate for the expansion of low power FM radio, they're going online to serve the community now with CHIRPradio.org.

Not only have the three ladies of WOW dedicated many hours of our life to CHIRP in the last few years, we're going to be on air as well! I'll be on every Sunday from 3pm to 6pm, and Emily will be on every Tuesday from 6pm to 9pm. Elizabeth won't be on air for now, but remains a CHIRP supporter too. We especially hope that those of you who listened to us on our previous radio station, WLUW, will follow us over to CHIRP and check out what we're up to these days!

Riot Grrrl History! Kathleen Hanna Papers at NYU Library

I have to admit that I felt a little bit old when I read that NYU Libraries had just acquired the Kathleen Hanna Papers as the first major acquisition in their Riot Grrrl Collection. Are we so old that riot grrrl now needs to be preserved in libraries? I guess so. But nonetheless, I think it's a great thing that Kathleen has donated her papers to be preserved for future generations of feminists. No one knows what might be in the papers yet, but it is presumed that they include some copies of her early zines Revolution Girl Style Now, Bikini Kill, and riotgrrrl, as well as correspondence and paperwork related to her long musical career in Bikini Kill and Le Tigre. You can bet that once the papers are sorted and cataloged, there will be a bevy of feminist scholars and women's studies students writing up a storm - and I can't wait to read it!

Happy New Year!

On behalf of Elizabeth, Emily and myself - plus our friend Mr. Snowman - we wish you a very Happy New Year and a 2010 filled with joy, laughter and great music!

Buy at AllPosters.com

Top Twelve Records of the Decade, WOW Style

I can't believe another decade has flown past us. It was ten years ago that I first stepped into a radio station booth and that I met my lovely co-bloggers Emily and Jen, and in those ten years some damn fine records have come out. The 1990s were a great decade for music - it brought us Riot Grrrl and my all time favorite record, Tori Amos' Boys for Pele. But the 2000's had some great lady jams in it, too. Here's my top twelve list of records from the last decade, in no particular order.

1. P.J. Harvey, Uh Huh Her
2. Bjork, Vespertine
3. The Dresden Dolls, The Dresden Dolls
4. Metric, Old World Underground, Where Are You Now?
5. Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, Dap Dippin' With Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings
6. Rilo Kiley, More Adventurous
7. Yeah Yeah Yeah's, Fever to Tell
8. The Gossip, Movement
9. Le Tigre, Feminist Sweepstakes
10.Sleater Kinney, One Beat
11. Broken Social Scene, You Forgot It In People
12. The New Pornographers, Twin Cinema

Lilith Wants You, Aspiring Chicago Band!

Lilith Tour is looking for an aspiring Chicago band to perform a set at the Chicago stop on the 2010 tour this summer. For that matter, they're looking for a local artist or band in each of the cities on the tour schedule. To submit your band for consideration, upload a song to the Lilith Local Talent Search page, then get your friends and family to register to vote, starting in April. Winners will be announced in May. Good luck - and post in the comments if you've entered so we can vote for you!

Lilith 2010 Lineup Announced, To Our Delight

When it was announced earlier this year that Lilith Fair was returning in 2010, we were excited, but slightly nervous - bringing back a tour like that is a lot of work, and sometimes nostalgia makes things seem cooler than they actually were. Could they still get great artists? Would we still be excited about the lineup? Would it still be a celebration of women in music?

The answer is yes, yes, yes, as the Lilith lineup was announced today. There's a delightful combination of original members of the 90s Lilith lineup, like Sheryl Crow, Emmylou Harris, Indigo Girls, Tegan and Sara and Erykah Badu, as well as newbies to the Lilith experience like Metric, Mary J. Blige, Miranda Lambert and Ingrid Michaelson, and there's a mix of genres, from singer-songwriter to rock to pop to country to hip hop. If only all music festivals (ahem, Perry Farrel) were as diverse as this lineup. The organizers say there's more to come, but in the meantime, here's the confirmed lineup so far -

A Fine Frenzy
Ann Atomic
Ash Koley
Brandi Carlile
Butterfly Boucher
Chairlift
Chantal Kreviazuk
Colbie Caillat
Corinne Bailey Rae
Donna De Lory
Emmylou Harris
Erykah Badu
Grace Potter And The Nocturnals
Ima
Indigo Girls
Ingrid Michaelson
Janelle Monae
Jennifer Knapp
Jill Hennessy
Jill Scott
Katzenjammer
Ke$ha
Mary J. Blige
Meaghan Smith
Metric
Miranda Lambert
Nneka
Sara Bareilles
Sarah McLachlan
Serena Ryder
Sheryl Crow
The Submarines
Sugarland
Tara MacLean
Tegan And Sara
Vedera
The Weepies
Vita Chambers
Ximena Sarinana
Zee Avi

Stay tuned for more Lilith news!

Stupid in Love

Last winter, the pop and R&B world was rocked when fan favorite Rihanna failed to make her scheduled appearance at the 2009 Grammy awards. Her absence was due to an incident that occured the night prior, when she was beaten by boyfriend Chris Brown. The paparazzi and press jumped on the story, and on her, and not only published the photos of her bruised and cut face but followed her every move following her release from the hospital. In the weeks following the abuse, Rihanna spent time with Brown, which was also captured and published for mass consumption.

The press and blogosphere judged her quickly, the general sentiment being "How could she even think about spending time with someone who would hit her?". Pop stars aren't the only ones who deal with this kind of judgment. Conversations around domestic violence frequently include place an expectation on the abused partner that they can easily remove themselves from the situation. That it is easy to leave, especially if there are no financial barriers, as in the case of Rihanna and Brown. That if someone won't leave then they deserve it, or don't deserve support, or are just plain stupid.

As someone who has both been a survivor of domestic violence and has worked in the field, I can tell you: it isn't that easy. The shock that someone you love, and who loves you, would harm you is overwhelming. Someone's palm on your face doesn't erase the good memories, or the positive parts of their personality. It doesn't eliminate your relationship or friendship. And if that person is your main source of emotional support....it gets so much harder. There is an impluse to try and make it work out, if only to show those around you that you weren't stupid enough to fall in love with an abuser. And to prove to yourself that you were right in seeing good things in them - that you aren't such an idiot as to give your heart to a monster.

This aspect of abuse, though, is rarely discussed. We expect abuse survivors to have the emotional strength of a herd of clysdales and to be able to cut off all contact with their abuser, to leave them in the dust, as soon as the first hit lands. It would be great it if were that easy, as that is the only way that the abuse cycle will end. As with most things, reality is so much more difficult.

Now that the dust has settled from the press bonanaza that occured this weekend, Rihanna has come out with a new album addressing issues around abuse that are usually kept in the dark. This blog is not intended for lauding the mainstream - commercial music gets enough press as it is - but I was so struck by her new record, and her bravery in addressing the more complicated issues that survivors face, that I had to write about it. Embedded below is a track off her new record, R Rated, "Stupid in Love". A warning to survivors - the song may trigger flashbacks or strong emotions.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Buy at AllPosters.com

Happy Thanksgiving to all of our readers! Wishing you a wonderful start to the holiday season!
~The Ladies of WOW

PS - Want some tunes to listen to while you cook? Check out these songs about food we recommended last year.

Help Community Radio Get Off The Ground!

Just a reminder that TODAY is the last day to donate to the Kickstarter campaign of the Chicago Independent Radio Project. As we mentioned before, there's lots of fantastic prizes to be had for donors, including a special women themed mix CD by yours truly! Head on over to the Kickstarter campaign page and pledge now - every dollar CHIRP raises today is a dollar they don't have to raise later on this year!

Lilith Rises Again - Tour Returns for Summer 2010

The rumors are true - Lilith Fair, the legendary all-female music festival championed by Sarah McLachlan, will return this summer! The new Lilith Fair website was launched yesterday, and although it doesn't have much in the way of details, Chicago is on the list of cities where Lilith Fair will stop. From 1997 to 1999, you may remember that Lilith Fair was one of the most popular and successful traveling music festivals in the world, with 1.5 million tickets sold, and $10 million dollars raised for charities. Pretty much every female musician who was around in the late 90s did a stint on the Lilith Fair tour roster.

So the question is, who will play this year? Tripwire is hosting a Lilith Fair Fantasy League contest with their predictions for 2010's lineup. Who do you want to see? Post your wishlist in the comments section!

Beth Ditto, Punk Princess

Earlier this month, Jenny and I spent a chilly Friday night at Metro Chicago, seeing The Gossip'se first Chicago show in years. Since they last played the Windy City, the Gossip has exploded, becoming a huge sensation in Europe and released their latest album, Music for Men, on major label Sony Records. The lead singer, Beth Ditto, has become a celebrity all to herself. Known for her feminist ethics and activism around queer and fat rights, Ditto has become a somewhat unlikely muse for the fashion world. With her face plastered on magazines and her own clothing line, Ditto is much more a household name than she was three years ago.

With that in mind, we weren't sure what to expect when opening act MEN (featuring J.D. Sampson from LeTigre) finished and The Gossip took the stage. Their shows have traditionally been intimate, even when playing large venues, with Ditto interacting with the crowd and smashing the fourth wall between the band and the audience to pieces by the end of their first song. I was concerned that, with their major label status and rapidly rising climb to fame, The Gossip would present a more polished, removed and ultimately less satisfying show.

There was no need to worry. Playing a mix of their new songs and old favorites, including covers of "Rebel Girl" "Psycho Killer" and "What's Love Got To Do With It", The Gossip has stayed true to themselves. Ditto engaged the audience, even pulling a boy on stage who was from her hometown and stopping the show to talk to him. Their lyrics about broken hearts and queer pride are just as strong as ever, and she serves as a strong role model for self acceptance, pride in all regards and using music as a way to celebrate community. Even though the 1,000+ capacity club was nearly sold out, it felt like it was a show in a local civic center. The sound was great, despite Ditto being sick, but the real strength of the show was the interaction with the fans. Despite what cynics might say, punk and riot grrrl are not dead - at least not as long as Beth Ditto and The Gossip have anything to say about it.

Take This Job And.....

Starting out at the bottom and crawling your way to the top is common in many industries and in entertainment and creative fields especially. Workers spend years fetching coffee and job hopping to build a resume that will hopefully, someday, get them to their dream position. The years spent fighting for it are rough - but with a solid group of friends around, it is possible to get through anything.

The hard-scrabble years are noticeably absent from movies and television shows that depict twenty-somethings having their first go at their career. If we were to believe the media, everyone lives in gorgeous apartments in New York while barely working twenty hour weeks.

At last, a breath of fresh air has entered the world of the cute New Yorker making-her-way niche. The Underlings is a new web-series focused on a group of friends who are "underlings" in their various fields. Comprised of short episodes that you can watch on your lunch break, the show follows the cast through their job, love and friendship struggles with a sassy sense of humor and a refreshing dose of reality.

Created by an all-female team of funny lady writers and producers, The Underlings is a full web experience, with new music and discounts for already affordable stores on the website. Welcome to the web, ladies - we're glad you're here.

Wonder Woman Day!

Aw dang, we just missed it by a day. (And a couple thousand miles.)

But how cool is this? As part of National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, galleries and comic shops in both Portland and New Jersey participated in WONDER WOMAN DAY IV, a charity event benefitting local women's shelters and crisis lines. Founded by author Andy Mangels, the event was designed as "a celebration of the character [of Wonder Woman] and the heroic values shown throughout her history, and of upholding those same values within the greater community." In addition to prizes, celebrity signings, and superhero costumes galore, hundreds of contemporary comic artists donated original illustrations of the famed Amazon to raise money for this noble cause. Click here (and scroll down) to see depictions of our favorite superheroine by Los Bros. Hernandez, Alex Ross, Anne Timmons, Jeff Smith, Franco Aureliani, Linda Chartier, and more!

Greatest Guitar Girls

Buy at AllPosters.com

In my internet wanderings this week, I came across an article in Venus Zine last year where they broke down the greatest female guitar players of all time. The article itself was a response to the ridiculous lack of women in the Rolling Stone "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" article, which included just two women - Joni Mitchell and Joan Jett. Few people have more devotion to Joan Jett than I, believe me, but can't we do better than two out of a hundred names? The writers at Venus Zine thought so, and came up with their own list, assisted by a panel of experts that included Chicago's Nan Warshaw, owner of Bloodshot Records, and Amy Phillips, Music Editor of Pitchfork. Check out their list, and be sure to click on the alphabetical titles to read more about each of the women they've featured and leave your own favorites in the comments section!

Feeling inspired to become a Great Girl Guitarist? Check out the Old Town School of Folk Music's guitar offerings - the next class session starts next week!

Help Kick Start the Chicago Independent Radio Project!

After many months of hard work, the Chicago Independent Radio Project is just about ready to launch an online radio station! The goal is to have a truly independent community radio station focused on independent and local music, arts and culture on the air by the end of the fall... sounds pretty great, right? We think so! In fact, we're all involved with CHIRP and hope to be some of those voices coming across your computer speakers later on this year!

But, we can't do it without your help. CHIRP is a 100% volunteer organization and receives no government or corporate funding - donations from individuals and a few small grants help to keep CHIRP's books in the black. Launching online means that CHIRP needs to pay for studio space rent, electricity, office materials, heating, telephones, and the streaming costs of putting a radio station online. Thus, the CHIRP Kickstarter.com campaign - chip in and you'll help CHIRP raise the $4800 needed for the first year of streaming costs for the radio station! Plus, you'll get to choose one of several fabulous prizes. (Including an exclusive mix tape featuring the best women in music from me!) Click on the widget above and donate today!