The Swipe Hype: Episode 2 review
- XO
- Feb 9, 2018
- 3 min read
Our XO girls attended an unconventional event last Friday night in Shoreditch called The Swipe Hype. We sat in the audience of a chat show hosted by two extremely cool ladies, Bombom and Lola Blackheart, who brought three very interesting people to the sofa for a chat about dating apps, living and dating as a transgender and living and dating as a polyamorous individual. This was the second of The Swipe Hype shows so in each episode, different topics to do with relationships and dating are addressed.
Studio 7 in Shoreditch has a quirky, funky style that oozes those classic Shoreditch vibes. As well as being host to the chat show, the studio doubles up as a gallery so we could find intriguing art among the walls of the room. We were led upstairs as soon as we entered the brickwall interior building, to find the studio filled with such a huge range of types of people, which just goes to show that everyone can come together when talking about a universal subject like sex and relationships. We were then instantly greeted by the host, Bombom, who was so warm and friendly, leading us to the free bar and telling us to grab a glass of wine and some nibbles before the show began. (Nice touch for us girls who like a nibble and a Chardonnay.)
The first guest was transactivist and author, Charlie Graggs, who we all found really interesting. As well as attending events and writing, Charlie walks around places offering people free manicures so they can have a chat with a trans. She thinks chatting to the public is "making it human". She told us all her story and explained how she first visited her GP in 2013 and has had to wait until this year to begin her surgery. She added that it took her two years to even be referred.
Charlie, referring to herself as "Little Miss 3 Date Rule", told us how she's constantly being reported on Tinder by men who don't read her bio and only see her photos in which she looks like she's always been a woman, and then find out that she is transgender when they begin messaging. She thinks (quite rightly) that it's wrong that she is now 'under investigation' as a result of being reported too many times.
Charlie Graggs has written a book called To My Trans Sisters which is a bibliography dedicated to transgender women.
The next guest on The Swipe Hype: Episode 2 was Benno Spencer who is the maker of dating app, 'Type - find yours'. The app allows you to choose every feature of your ideal partner, from their hair colour to their religion, to help you find people who are your 'type'.
There was a break for everyone to get another drink and a bite to eat and then we were introduced to the final guest, Xan Pedisich, who describes herself as a "poly, queer femme". So here are some definitions for ya...
Polyamorous (adjective) = when you engage in more than one sexual relationship, you are not monogamous.
Queer (adjective) = when you belong to the LGBTQIA community.
Femme (noun) = a lesbian who's appearance and behaviour is seen as traditionally feminine.
Xan, from Portland, USA, explained to us that she has one main partner who is a straight male and also polyamorous, so they spend the most time with each other but then they also both separately engage with others.
Xan works for Sh! Women's Erotic Emporium: https://www.sh-womenstore.com/
Something we all noticed as we gazed around the room every so often was how captivated everyone was and how much fun the whole audience seemed to be having. The hosts gave so many opportunities for people in the audience to contribute with comments, stories or questions.
If you're interested in going to the next episode of The Swipe Hype then follow @THESWIPEHYPE on Twitter to be updated about the next event! Highly recommended by our girls as you get to discover things about topics you may not get the chance to talk about or hear about anywhere else.
XO
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