Shaw ’Nuff Houston’s Vickie Shaw headlines Queer Queens of Qomedy tour. By Jenny Block
T
‹
he mere existence of lesbian comics seems like a political statement these days. Put a few together on stage, year after year, and you have nothing short of a movement. On September 8, the 12-year-old Queer Queens of Qomedy tour returns to Houston at Neon Boots, with a portion of proceeds benefitting local LGBTQ nonprofits. “I created it to give myself a job,” says host and creator Poppy Champlin, who has appeared on Showtime, LOGO, VH-1, Comedy Central, Oprah, and The Joan Rivers Show— where she won the title of America’s Funniest Real Woman. “The show is always a hit,” Champlin says. “It’s a lesbian comedy fest in your own backyard. It is a great gathering for our tribe—a happy gathering.” Headlining this year’s show will be the unstoppable Vickie Shaw, a native Texan who was part of Comedy Central’s flagship show Premium Blend. She also stars in Logo’s onehour comedy special You Can Take the Girl Out of Texas! Before Shaw was a lesbian comic, she was your “classic” suburban Texas mom. “Republican women’s club, children’s choir director, and handbell ringer,” Shaw says. “I was a Southern Baptist, straight, white mom doing all the things to ‘make’ me happy. I had to stifle all the feelings I really had. It wasn’t that I hadn’t thought about it. It was just so pushed down and so repressed. I thought I was demon-possessed. So I went to therapy.” After hearing Shaw’s story, the therapist looked right at her and said, “You’re going through a time here that’s very difficult. You’re coming to terms with who you are. It’s going to be hard. But you’re handling it very
The Best Medicine Vickie Shaw, who was a Southern Baptist housewife before she came out and first stepped on stage at the Laff Stop on West Gray, says comedy is especially vital in these dark political times.
healthily, and you’re fine.” Shaw says she had two words for the world at the time: “I thought, ‘f--k you. I’m not going to live my life trying to please you anymore.’ “I had been taught that God loves me unconditionally, except for that,” Shaw says, adding that she eventually came to realize that “God made me. I am purposely this way.” Her other major concern was how her children would react. But ultimately, she says it boiled down to “How can I tell my kids to be themselves and not be myself?” Shaw says she has no regrets, other than
80 | SEPTEMBER 2018 | OutSmartMagazine.com
hurting her ex-husband. “I don’t regret marrying him. I wouldn’t have my three kids. That was meant to be—it’s all for a reason.” One thing that didn’t change was Shaw’s sense of humor. Even though people had told her she should be a comedian, Shaw didn’t think she was anything special. “I thought everyone made everyone laugh,” she says. “We all have gifts. Our gifts are something that are easy for us to do, so we don’t realize that not everyone does that.” Finally, under pressure from friends and family, Shaw took the stage at open-mic ➝
