For Oakland’s drag-based performance troupe, Fella Fem, burlesque is a sensual, saucy way of blurring gender lines while simultaneously celebrating the myriad forms of sexuality.

Every second Saturday night of the month, the Fella Fem troupe performs Le Boy — Queer Gender Bending Boylesque. Producer, performer and emcee Dicky Luv has been providing quality queer entertainment for the East Bay transsexual community at the White Horse Inn on Telegraph Ave. for over three years, much to the audience’s delight. Not only has Lu kept Le Boy in Oakland, staying true to its White Horse roots, but she is a dedicated activist for Oakland’s LGBTQ community, working on this year’s Oakland Pride Celebration coming up in September.

Le Boy performers span the spectrum of gender fluidity: from bio-male to drag king to those in the midst of the bio female to male transition. Fella Fem is determined to entertain and support a population not easily defined nor typically identified in the mainstream — and to educate a wide variety of audiences at the same time.  Based in the East Bay, mostly young and mostly white FTM trans community, Le Boy is like a quirky Cheers: this bar is home — and people dress to express.

Ringleader (and person of color) Luv refuses to choose a specific gender and toggles gracefully between male and female as the primary ring leader of all things Fella Fem, often purring to the Le Boy audience while opening the show: “I woke up today and just couldn’t decide which I wanted to be a boy or a girl … so I decided not to.”

The Fella Fem troupe works hard to put on a great show. Luv sets high expectations for all of the Le Boy performers, “It’s not just about self expression, it’s about giving our community entertainment that is worth their dollar.”

The June 12 show reflected that high quality show”man”ship that regular attendees of the Saturday night event have come to expect. Being in the audience that night, the feeling of acceptance of transsexuality is there, of camaraderie amongst those labeled as gender outlaws, but there is more. The overt sensuality of gender blurring is at the command of each performer to tease and titillate the crowd. The small back room of the White Horse steams with the recognition of we know what you want and we know how you like it. And the audience responds number after number with loud catcalling appreciation. 

But it’s not all sex and sequins, a heartfelt acoustic guitar performance by singer/songwriter Cody left the lyric, “Don’t be a drag, I’m just a boy on the rag,” running through my mind for days after the show. 

If you want to go see the fabulous Fella Fem push all the boundaries that gender bending boylesque has to offer, hit up The White Horse Inn any second Saturday of the month. July’s show is tonight, July 10. Door opens at 7 p.m., show starts at 8:30 p.m. There is a $10 cost for this 21 and over show.

 Here is Ian Martin's cool photo set--