The Austinites Behind the Curtain: Democrasexy

Previously in this series:
Poo Poo Platter
Cheerful Secrets
Hyde Park Storytelling
Wishing Horse Productions
blend.mode
Tiny Minotaur
Art Island
Mouthfeel
Erica Lies
Mike Stefanik
Ron Berry
Hyperreal Film Club
Gino Scaramuzza

We love spotlighting local creatives who are responsible for the events that we list. Remember, there would be no pig parades, facial hair competitions, dance shows in quarries, or sound installations in tree houses without the individual people who organize and promote them.

In September 2024, we spoke with Becky Bullard, founder of Democrasexy. As election season kicks into high gear, we asked Becky to tell us how and why she produces pro-democracy events in Austin. 

Lite + Brite: Can you describe Democrasexy for folks who aren’t familiar with your work?

Becky Bullard: Democrasexy is all about making democracy sexy so more people do it. I produce events, build community, and create content that makes it feel good to get involved in movements for change. I’m a “pleasure activist,” inspired by adrienne maree brown, who defines pleasure activism as “making the pursuit of justice and liberation the most pleasurable experience we can have.” I also call myself a “civic witch” because I incorporate mystical practices like tarot and astrology into my civic engagement work.

L+B: What’s Democrasexy’s origin story?

BB: On September 1 of 2021, Texas’s six-week abortion ban went into effect. People were used to coming to me for advice on how to take action on the issues they care about because I had previously co-hosted a weekly Texas politics podcast called The Rabble. So when we essentially lost our abortion rights in Texas, people kept coming to me in despair asking, “What do we do now??” To which I responded, “I’m going to throw a party.” 

So in October of 2021, Democrasexy hosted its first event, Texorcism: “casting spells, casting ballots, casting out the demons in the Texas Capitol.” We all dressed up like witches and gathered by candlelight at The Cathedral. Brigitte Bandit performed a drag number, Sister Temperance did a tarot card reading for the state of Texas, Latin Grammy nominee Gina Chávez performed, and we also had a panel of abortion rights experts including former Texas State Senator Wendy Davis explaining how we lost abortion access and what we could do next. 

So many people came up to me at the end of that first Texorcism with tears in their eyes telling me they had felt every emotion throughout the night but ultimately landed on hope. That is exactly what I’m trying to accomplish with my work—it’s not about bypassing the hard stuff, it’s about working through it together so we can access the true joy that is to be found in changemaking.

L+B: Obviously there are SO MANY political events, fundraisers, emails, and social media accounts out there. It can be easy for folks to get overwhelmed. How do you make your political events stand out?

BB: When I plan an event, I’m trying to throw a fun party that anyone would want to come to regardless of whether they consider themself an “activist” or “political” or not. Whether you are new to changemaking or you’ve been at it for years, if it feels like a slog all the time you’re not going to stick with it (or you’re not going to start at all). But the challenges we face on this planet require more of us to take action, and many of those challenges will outlast us. The only way we will accomplish the mass participation and the longevity this work requires is if, as Toni Cade Bambara says, we “make the revolution irresistible.”

L+B: This summer you’ve been organizing a new event called Bi for Now. In what ways do you think it fits in with—or is a departure from—the overall Democrasexy brand?

BB: I don’t have a strict plan when it comes to my work with Democrasexy. Instead, I periodically ask myself two questions: “What does loving my community look like right now?” and “What would feel good for me?” This helps me be responsive to the wider needs of the moment as those needs change, and it helps me to be sure I’m caring for my own needs, too. When organizers don’t hold that balance, they burn out. I am interested in longevity for both the movement and myself as a human. 

Bi for Now is a meet-up for bisexual and pansexual folks born out of my own desire as a bi/pan person for belonging. (I spoke about bi isolation at Queerbomb earlier this year and wrote about it, too.) The response has been incredible—reservations for the first event filled up and spilled over onto a waitlist within a few days. 

Honestly, I did wonder at first if an entirely non-political meet-up for bi/pan folks was a weird non-sequitur from the more overtly political work I’d been doing. But an interesting thing happened at the last meet-up… folks who had never heard of Democrasexy before Bi for Now were asking me about my political work. And I had the sudden realization that when you are caring for people in an authentic manner they become naturally curious about what else you might be up to. Plus, the reality is that when you are a queer person in a state that is actively trying to erase us from library books and remove discrimination protections for us, your very existence is made political whether or not you choose to engage in those struggles. 

L+B: What is a particularly memorable Democrasexy event or moment for you?

BB: I have such tender feelings for the dance party at the end of the Y’allentines Day event I threw in 2022. That was a bridge-building event—a celebration of the Texas trans community and an invitation for cisgender folks to come learn how to be better allies to them. I was inspired to create Y’allentines Day after attending a hearing at the Texas legislature on a bill that restricted trans students from participating in sports. As I sat at the Capitol waiting to give my testimony, I noticed that most people speaking up in support of the trans community were trans themselves. I had a sort of sudden, panicked feeling that the trans community, though mighty, is statistically too small to effectively fight back against state-sponsored oppression without more allies alongside them. I had also seen that even in progressive circles many folks did not have close relationships with trans people and didn’t feel comfortable enough with concepts of gender to stick up for trans folks when push came to shove.

So I threw a ’90s middle school-themed dance party where trans folks could feel celebrated and cared for, and cis folks could come learn about their trans siblings in a welcoming environment where hopefully new friendships would form. I get emotional when I remember the scene on the dancefloor at the end of the night—everyone doing the Cupid Shuffle together, people’s arms draped around each other, looks of pure love and joy and acceptance on their faces.  

L+B: What does Democrasexy have planned for this election season?

BB: I have just launched a civic action support group called The Civic Mystics. We meet weekly for “Info & Inspo” calls—”info” about how state and local offices can impact the issues we can care about and actions we can take to spread awareness, and “inspo” from changemakers of the past who made progress against tremendous odds. There’s a group chat for moral support, and I’m also working to coordinate some in-person gatherings—stay tuned for details about another Texorcism in October! 

L+B: If money and logistics were no object, what would be your dream event to organize?

BB: A huge piece of my activism includes learning the stories of women and queer people of the past who made change. The Texas Foremothers Tours I lead at the Texas State Cemetery are an example of that. I’ve started doing a yearly pilgrimage to landmarks of significant women in history—last summer I visited Eleanor Roosevelt’s cottage in the woods where she spent time with her girlfriend; this summer I visited Salem, MA, to see what lessons I could learn from the witch trials. My dream is to create a month-long trip where we go visit the landmarks of our foremothers and learn from their stories, brainstorm how to apply lessons from their lives to the struggles we face today, and return back to our lives and changemaking work refreshed, inspired, and enlivened.

L+B: What are some of your favorite Austin events or experiences that you don’t produce?

BB: I had a deeply emotional response to Carpet Church at MASS Gallery recently. As a queer person who grew up Baptist, their reinterpretation of a traditional religious space was a deep kind of therapy and psychological composting I didn’t know my soul needed.