I can’t believe I didn’t blog about this before. NYC holds, every year, a beauty pagent for lesbians/queers. It used to be called Miss L.E.S. after the Lower East Side, a neighborhood that had many gay friendly places (including Babeland). Now, with the gentrification of that neighborhood, many of the queer spaces (but not Babeland) have been forced out to other areas so the pagent is now called Miss LEZ.

Regardless of what it’s called, it’s an amazing night. Representatives from queer businesses all over New York compete for the title in all the traditional pagent categories: Platform, Swimsuit, Interview, Talent, and Evening Gown. The entire event is promoted and hosted by Murray Hill, our resident drag king and the “hardest working man in show business”.

This year’s event was one of the recordbooks. I thought all of the participants were great, but our own Miss Babeland blew them all out of the water. With a tap dancing routine, witty answers to questions, and an evening gown called the Tangerine Dream, I couldn’t think of anyone I wanted to win more. And it appeared that the judges (Michael Musto, the WauWau sisters, and World Famous BOB, to name a few) agreed, Miss Babeland won the title!! It was quite the night.

If you haven’t been to this event, I strongly recommend going. It’s a great way to support the queer community and it’s a lot of fun. And, if you live in New York, stop in to one of our stores and the raining queen can help you pick out a vibrator or a dildo. Sex advice from celebrities. What could be better than that?

Well, the High Homo Holidays are over. Despite a rainy weekend in New York, it looks like Pride was as rainbowlicious as it always is. I’ll have more highlights from my coworkers in Seattle and Oakland when they’ve recovered from the partying and can get them to me.Babeland’s Pride was out in force this year. We hit up the Trans March, the Mermaid Parade (with one of my coworkers in an incredible rainbow mermaid outfit - she made her own wig!) and the Dyke March (pictured). Then, everyone headed to Babeland for what I would say (in my biased opinion) was the party to be at for Pride.

One of my coworkers came up with the brilliant idea of having a flirt board. A what, you ask? Each person who came to the party got a number that they wore. We had slips of paper around and if you thought #105 (my number) was cute, you could write a message to them and post it on our Flirt Board. Then, you could check for messages for you from people who wanted to talk to you, make out with you, etc.

What a way to keep a party going. The Flirt Board was a massive success. There were messages pinned to it all night and I couldn’t help but obsessively walking by, hoping to see my number. With the Flirt Board, the great music, and the free beer, we had to practically push people out the door when the party was over. I’d call that a success. Babeland knows how to throw a party.

Did you see us at Pride? Write and tell us!

When I saw these new print ads from Durex, I couldn’t help but laugh and want to share them with everyone I know. What will advertisers think up next?

I like these ads for a number of reasons. First, I love the 50’s era plain aesthetic. Very appealing and brings the focus to the appliance while reminding us of that crazy repressed time when appliances ruled.

Second, the cheek-y-ness factor is terrific. It isn’t immediately obvious that the ad is for a gel lube which we always recommend for anal sex. But armed with that knowledge, the inside joke comes out in all its glory.
And last, how many times do you get to see the backside of a fridge? Hardly ever.

In case these ads have inspired you, check out our Anal Sex How-To, our Butt Toys, and our fantastic Lubes including one made by Durex.