Gender Blender Celebrates Six Years of Rock 'n' Roll Queerdos

There's only one spot to witness a rock artist squeezing a sponge out of his ass onstage alongside a drag performer emerging from a trash bag drenched in an unknown black goop.

For six years, Miami's underground rock 'n' roll party Gender Blender has made space for the not-so-mainstream, hyper-femme, dolled-up queer artists. Karloz Torres, who has hosted the show since its conception in 2017, practically gives performers and attendees free rein — as long as the building stays intact.

"Everybody has this one outfit they've never worn because maybe it's shit, and nobody is going to like it. That's what you wear to Gender Blender," Torres says. "We're one of the only places where you're totally allowed to make a mess. Just make it weird, and let me know if we need a tarp or fire extinguisher."

From local acts like Black trans drag entertainer Opal Am Rah and nonbinary burlesque performer Sin Silva to RuPaul's Drag Race star Yvie Oddly and Dragula artist Abhora, the show has become more than your typical polished cis gay club scene that makes up most of South Florida's LGBTQ party atmosphere.

"You certainly can't be doing what we do at a regular nightclub or corporate drag brunch," Torres says. "For a lot of queer people especially, it's hard to find nightlife that not only feels safe but doesn't discriminate based on your background, gender expression, class, style, or music taste."

On Sunday, July 30, at Gramps, Gender Blender will celebrate its sixth anniversary of being wonderfully weird with bands Shadow Reborn, Vext, and Wicked Playground and performers Sin Silva, Alice Dee, and Damien Lenore. DJ Zehno will spin throughout the night while Reno will do tarot readings.

After the party's longtime home, Las Rosas, closed last year in Allapattah, Gender Blender has hosted occasional events at Kill Your Idol in South Beach. While inclusive and bustling as always, the vibe still catches many off guard in the tourist-heavy neighborhood.

"It's South Beach, so, of course, we welcome the tourists, but they don't know what the fuck is going on," Torres adds. "The regulars downtown understand we're about to get weird over here."

Thanks to Impulse Group, a nonprofit focused on building a stronger community for gay men, Gender Blender does not charge a door cover. It's also expanding to the fourth Saturday of the month at Kill Your Idol and the last Sunday of the month at Gramps.

"We hope this creates more safe and equitable spaces to have our doors open for everybody," Torres shares.
The event came to fruition when Counter Corner, an LGBTQ party with a similar alternative vibe, became less frequent after taking place for many years at the Corner in downtown Miami. Gender Blender's organizers, Sleep, Ian Terrell Brown, and Torres, hoped to expand outside of the downtown scene for the sake of its performers and audiences alike.

"We have people come out and wear a dress for the first time in public, who were probably scared to do that anywhere else," Torres explains.

Am Rah, the trash-bag-dripping drag entertainer, became a regular performer in September 2017, only a few months after attending the party as a fan when it took place at Las Rosas.

"It was the first time I was paid to sing live and get that popstar feeling," she says. "It's helped me open my heart up to be more vulnerable. I am seen the way I want to be perceived rather than what people try to put on me."

Some of her iconic moments at Gender Blender include appearing as lip-synching garbage disposal monster while she pulled up with a kiddie pool another time. "I had a very random childhood," Am Rah says. "When I listen to music, I think about what would happen if I did this on stage. I performed in a makeshift black camouflage trash bag and came out of a container filled with fake toxic black muck while performing."

Sin Silva, known as "the ass of South Florida," recently joined the lineup. They work as a full-time performer, doing gigs at their home bar Georgie's Alibi Monkey Bar in Wilton Manors and shows across the U.S.

However, unlike Gender Blender, LGBTQ spaces haven't always felt inclusive for Silva.

"I'm a nonbinary person who showcases their body. Yes, [Opal] is a trans woman, but I wasn't really seeing a lot of people like me," Silva says. "Gender Blender really does a lot for my mental and my artistry because we're here to embrace each other, not to be judged or compared."

Gender Blender. 9 p.m. Sunday, July 30, at Gramps, 176 NW 24th St., Miami; gramps.com. Admission is free with RSVP via shotgun.live.