Come for the thirst traps, stay for the (f)em(me)powerment. This week Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) sit down with Ivy (@eveleena), the founder and producer of Les Vixens Burlesque (@lesvixensburlesque) and host of Tea & Glitter: The Podcast. For those who are not in the know, the Les Vixens are the largest and longest running all-queer Burlesque troupe in the world! As if running the Les Vixens wasn’t impressive enough, Ivy also produces and directs the largest and longest-running LGBTQ+ women’s weekly lesbian event in the U.S., GIRL the Party (@girltheparty). Ivy uses her platform as an entrepreneur and performer for mental health and queer advocacy, community connection, and humanitarian efforts, all while she continues to prance and dance her heart out, leaving a trail of sequins and glitter wherever she goes. We chatted with Ivy about femme invisibility in the queer community, reclaiming femininity from the grubby paws of the patriarchy, performing for the female ga(y)ze, and spreading mental health awareness via therapeutic thirst traps. With an all-queer Burlesque troupe, consent and agency are prioritized in a way that just does not happen very often in straight spaces. This not only provides safety for the performers, but also gives permission to the queer women in the audience to look at the performers without fear of falling into that predatory lesbian stereotype. These performances are BY the all-queer Vixens FOR a queer audience. Sure, a cishet male can go see a show, but he should not expect to get the same treatment as the sapphics in the audience. Don’t forget to follow us on the platform formerly known as Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay questions at the end of every episode. You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod). Find us individually on Instagram, X, and TikTok at Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida).  We are so pumped for our upcoming vagaytion in Croatia where we will get to hang out in person with 15 of you! If you did not get in on this trip, we apologize in advance for the intense fomo you are about to experience. But, don’t fomo too hard, because we have another opportunity to travel with Ellie and Leigh (and Mermaid Kristin Sparkle!) coming in 2024. If you want to be among the first to know more about our next Trova Trip vagaycation, fill out the quick survey at bit.ly/leztrip. This also helps us to plan even more exciting future trips! You can support Lez Hang Out while unlocking a bunch of awesome perks like access to our exclusive Discord, monthly full length bonus episodes, weekly ad free episodes, and more by joining us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon. You can also support the podcast by buying our original merch at bit.ly/lezshop and purchasing our original Lez-ssentials songs for as little as $1 each on Bandcamp! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices