Q & A with Chrissy Lee: Lesbian topic parties return to the center

Chrissy Lee’s Lesbian Topic Party at The Center is a great option to making new friends, rather than always going out to the bars. Spectrum caught up with Lee for a one-on-one interview about her event.

Tell me a little about yourself, Chrissy. Where are you from and how long have you been in Vegas?
I’m from Houston, but I’ve lived here for a long time. I moved here with my mom when I was in grade school. My parents got divorced and I came with my mom here to Vegas, that was a little over 20 years ago.

Tell us a little about your personal life.
I have an ex-partner of about 12 years, and we had twins through IVF (In vitro fertilization). We were gay married, because when we were together it wasn’t legal. It became legal a year before we broke up. So, we were domestic partners because we couldn’t get married and that’s all we could have. But yes, I have twins, which was the best thing that ever happened to me. And, I do have a currant partner now, yes.

How did you come up with the idea of the Lesbian Topic Party?
I came up with the idea because I used to go to another topic party, but it was straight, and I couldn’t really relate to some of the questions. I went to support a friend, I had a lot of fun, but I just couldn’t relate at all. When I was sitting there, I would think I wish I could really comment on some of the topics, you know the sexual questions, but I can’t. And, I’d feel a little uncomfortable if I did cause there’s some heterosexuals in the room who might get really uncomfortable if I really commented, ya know? So, I thought this would be great for our community. If we could be in a space where we could comfortably talk about things that are happening in our daily lives. I came up with this because I wanted something we could all go to, have fun and relate to one another.

For those who’ve never been to one of your parties, can you explain what happens at a typical party?
(We) go from 7 to 10 p.m. That hour, from 7 to 8, is kinda like a social hour. I don’t start the topics until 8 p.m. You get a name tag, you mingle with other women, or not if you don’t want to. There’s also music playing, and we have snacks. If there’s a lot of people that come early, I’ll do a game, an ice-breaker. I’ll get a more masculine female and a feminine woman to both sit down and then give them a plate of skittles. (With) only using (her) tongue, whoever gets the most skittles onto another plate wins. This gets everyone cheering and rooting. All the feminine women are rooting (for) the feminine one on, and the masculine ones are rooting for the masculine woman, you know, and then I’ll start asking questions. There’s no right or wrong answers.

What kind of topics do you cover at the parties?
They’re all in different categories, sex, family, relationships, world – things that are happening in our world, sports. All kinds of things. I try to make sure I hit everything that’s going on in our lives. But no politics, I try to keep everything happy and fun, so we don’t really touch on politics too much.

Can you give us a sample of one of your questions?
Sure! One question is: If she keeps you financially stable but you’re not in love with her, will you stay with her? Another one is: What would you do if you found out your partner has a secret bank account that you don’t know anything about?

Visit The Center’s website www.thecenterlv.org for information about the next Lesbian Topic Party.