Slowly but surely, masculine and feminine lesbians from near and far collected under the shade of the Flawn Sciences building. The air was thick, not with tension, but with yearning and eye contact intense enough to bring the strongest super stud to her knees.
Angel Chapa and Madelin Morgan casually stroll to the center of the crowd. Together, the couple form Blackstar Texas — a queer event coordinating organization. On Sunday, Sept. 28, Blackstar Texas made history while hosting the City of San Antonio’s first-ever Performative Lesbian Competition. Twenty minutes past 3 p.m., the competition kicks off with at least 150 lesbians in attendance, ready to perform.
The contestants are split between “evil fems” and “performative mascs.” The competition is fierce on both sides as bragging rights and free entry to Blackstar Texas’ upcoming event “Homoween” are on the line. According to Morgan, the top evil fem and performative masc are decided by audience applause.
“There’s no right way to be a lesbian or a queer person, so that’s why we did it based on crowd vote,” Morgan says. “It was amazing that everyone came out and had this community together here. I didn’t even know there were this many lesbians [living] near UTSA.”
The fems are up first. Nerves get the better of them as they hesitate to take the mic and plead their cases to the sapphics surrounding them. After the flurry of fems comes the mascs to the mic. Among them are rock climbers, poets and vintage fashionistas who compare their single-stitch vintage tees to Chapa’s.
In the middle of the performative mascs’ presentations comes a stunning fem in an achromotic fit. A short-sleeved, lace-hemmed V-neck sits over a white long sleeve. A skinny black and white striped scarf drapes over one shoulder while a tighter striped bag hangs off the other. A studded black belt secures black shorts adorned in silver hardware. Black over-the-knee socks with darling little ghosts pair perfectly with well-loved, low–rise Converse.
On top of Jorden “Jack” Guice adorning an outfit like no other, they are mechanically inclined in ways that put roadside assistance to shame. They are one call away at any time of day from fixing a flat, changing oil or changing spark plugs. The cherry on top is their manga collection. One mention of yaoi and the beloved green yuri — officially titled, “The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn’t a Guy at All” — and the lesbians were falling head over heels.
Guice is astonished at becoming San Antonio’s number one evil fem and clarifies what it means to hold such a euphoric title.
“I feel like I fulfilled a lifelong goal of mine,” they express. “It feels amazing.”
Guice continues, “[Being an evil fem is] taking the power that you might have as a sort of feminine-aligned person and then turning it on its head so that you can help protect the other people in [the] community.”
San Antonio’s number one performative masc was never a masc to begin with. The morning of the contest, Kelechi “Victoria” Onwubuche dropped her voice, donned a backwards baseball cap, put a little swag in her step and spoke like a player with respect. She spent her entire day playing the part of a performative masc, so it is no surprise that she outshone her competition.
Victoria graciously reveals the art of being a performative lesbian and what it represents.
“A lot of people, they tried to overperform, and the secret is subtlety,” she said. “What it means is that you are authentically inauthentically yourself. That means that you will respect the women as long as you get some.”
Chapa affirms how significant events like Blackstar Texas’ Performative Lesbian Contest are to the members of the Texas queer community.
“It’s hard to be a queer person here in Texas when you hear so much on the news and on media. But when you come here and you see people in person that love you, and they just met you, something about that feeling is unmatched. You can’t really replace that,” Chapa says.
Guice and Victoria take home their respective titles and free entry to Blackstar Texas’ Homoween at Brick at The Bluestar Arts Complex. The queer, Halloween-themed event will take place on Friday, Oct. 17, from 7-11 p.m. There will be a costume party with a $100 gift card for the winner and a live performance by the band Honey Bunny.
