Clacking my heels, un-fashionably late into the Oakland Opera House, I was greeted by a vision in glitter and lace.

The beautifully spotlighted full figure on stage was as captivating as she was comical, as seductive as she was scary, as sexy as she was crass and as disarming as she was defenseless. I had arrived at Glitterati, the Femme Conference's Saturday night performance.

The figure on stage was making nearly vulgar noises and panting, as she eagerly smiled out into the audience, looking for her next spanking victim. This show was for adult women, by adult women – femmes to be exact – and this act was this artist's expression and musings on the femme identity.

Who is a femme and why does she need her own conference? The cookie cutter meaning of the word is a lesbian woman who looks feminine, and although there was no lack of lipstick in the house Saturday night, many of the performances spoke to anybody who has ever occupied a feminine body – straight, bi, lesbian, trans or somewhere in between.

“It's important to be respectful of people who are in transition,” said Christine De La Rosa, co-chair of the Femme Conference committee. “Which one of us isn't? When I first started this in 2006, I really focused on this being an exclusive space for femmes only, but I've moved away from that. These conferences need to be run on inclusivity.”

One of the achievements of that inclusive model is Butch Voices – a conference organized by Joe LeBlanc who was inspired to it after attending the Femme Conference in 2006 (San Francisco) and 2008 (Chicago). Butch Voices was held in August 2009 in Oakland.

In conversation with the other half of the Femme Conference team, Jessica Eve Humphrey was more insistent on exclusivity.

“We wanted to create a space that was by femmes, for femmes and about femmes,” Humphrey said. “This is a distinct identity and I believe it's important to have exclusive spaces for that identity to develop.”

With these seemingly conflicting attitudes, Glitterati achieved both. It was a welcoming environment for femmes and allies, while also showcasing the best, the worst, the tragedy and the comedy of the queer femme identity.

This feminine body comes in many shapes and sizes, and this feminine brain is capable of thoughts deep and superficial. That's not what you would learn if you read Glamour magazine. And along with a cheering audience, I applauded when an issue was mercilessly torn apart by a burlesque dancing Powerpuff Girl during a performance by Oakland's own Titland. 

After being convinced by Humphrey to attend the Femme conference on Sunday, I had the chance to catch up with one-third of Titland, Cherry Poppins. New to Oakland from Austin, Texas, Poppins stressed just how important the performance aspect is for this conference.

“So much body confidence comes with performing on stage,” said Poppins, “I don't think you can grow up in a female body and not have an insanity about that body.”

Continuing with theme of an inclusive environment, Poppins noted, “Although I've seen straight burlesque, it always seemed so competitive to me. With queer burlesque, anybody who wants to perform, can perform. I don't believe that there is a body that is too large to be on stage. You wanna dance? We'll teach you!”

Keep up with the Femme Collective to find out where the next conference will take place. And look out for local queer burlesque and drag shows right here in Oakland.