Dances

"Sex Power God" Dance Pictures and Posters

Oral History Quotes

Ellen (Curator): I guess I'm interested in the idea of, on one hand, at the time it was very intimidating to be out on campus. But also, the dances that you guys would hold were popular, and so many people [across campus] would come to them? 

Annette: Isn't that weird? Yeah. Well, I think it was one of those classic things of “Oh, the gays know how to party!” So if you didn't mind being associated with us to some degree and you were instead kind of edgy and hip, you would come to our parties.

-Annette Huddle speaking about the universal appeal of LGSA dances on campus.

The dances were very popular, the LGBA would put on a dance every now and then. I think there were like these Sex Power God dances, and people would come who weren't even nearby or lesbian. People would come from other campuses, from other colleges. So, in general, I think it was well received. 

-Geri reflecting on the positive reception towards the Sex Power God dances. 

I definitely have a copy of the first Sex Power God poster (...) We came up with the name together, based on the name of a speech that a particular lesbian minister had given at the school called “Sex, Power and God.” We had said, “Oh, that's a great name for a dance.” So we said,”Okay, we're gonna call it Sex, Power, God,” and made this eleven by seventeen poster. Got a bunch of copies of it. Many people were pissed off at us. But I mean, that's the other thing- you asked earlier about our presence on campus. Our dances were legendary. The music- if you liked new wave and dance music, our dances were much more likely to be playing the music you wanted to hear. The two places people went to dance who really loved to dance were LGSA dances and Funk Night, because we were the ones who were playing the best music.

-Rebecca Hensler speaking about the origins of the first Sex, Power God Dance. The dance gained a reputation on campus as being an event in which students could experiment and perform new modes of sexuality with their peers. 

[Speaking about the dances] the 90s were a super fun decade (...) considering what happened the decade prior. I mean, obviously, people were still mourning and, you know, there was still a lot happening in terms of the AIDS crisis. But, yeah, I would say that there were more opportunities to both celebrate, in addition to [grieving] and in addition to organizing against homophobia. So, the fact that the rally that I just spoke about (rally in response to a homophobic incident on campus, in collaboration with LGSA) was happening around the same time that we'd be planning a dance is a good example of how students were essentially employing different strategies to get our voices out there, our experiences in terms of organizing, in addition to celebrating. I mean, I think that's just been a part of LGBTQ organizing from the start.

-Gigi Otálvaro-Hormillosa reflecting on the importance of joy as an aspect of LGBTQ organizing, particularly in the 1990s, when LGBTQ people were learning to recover their spirit in the wake of the AIDS crisis that tore through their community less than a decade prior.