What's in a name? For some, they'll have only one: the name their parents gave them at some point in life's early moments. Others might change names as the seasons do, adopting new ones to suit their various moods, phases, or simply as it pleases them. I've found myself at an interesting crossroads lately, as I am realizing that while I have many names depending on how close we are, what stage in life you've met me, and the degree to which we might be kinky together...and that one of these names is starting to feel more like "me" than the others...and it wasn't the one I was given by my mom at birth; but it is close.

In a recent “5 Martini Lunch,” Las Vegas PRIDE had the opportunity to chat with one of our favorite local and vocal Burlesque performers. We chatted about strong men and women, strong cocktails, and, most importantly, the challenges of vaudeville/burlesque authenticity in performance in this “model type” home we call Las Vegas Entertainment! Lou Lou Roxy and Norma had a great afternoon!

Las Vegas is often described as a city of excess, spectacle, and fantasy… but beneath the neon and noise lives a community that understands something deeper: liberation is not just about pleasure. It’s about safety, consent, dignity, and care. That is where the Sin Sity Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence live and work. Squarely in the beautiful gray space between sacred and sinful. For more than two decades, the Sin Sity Sisters have served the LGBTQIA2S+ community of Southern Nevada through radical visibility, irreverent joy, and unapologetic service. While we are widely known for our signature over the top “habits”, glittered faces, and campy style fundraising, our deeper mission has always been rooted in compassion, particularly for those living with or affected by HIV/AIDS through our AIDS Drug Assistance Program, SADAP. In recent years, that mission has expanded to more explicitly include kink-affirming, sex-positive, and fetish-friendly spaces… not as novelty, but as necessity.

There’s a moment that happens, sometimes on a stage, sometimes in a dungeon, sometimes in the quiet honesty of a conversation, when someone decides to stop shrinking. To stop apologizing. To stop waiting for permission. This issue of PROUD & Kinky Magazine lives squarely in that moment. From the velvet-draped rebellion of Las Vegas burlesque to the carefully negotiated fantasies of kink and roleplay, every story in these pages asks the same essential question: What happens when we show up fully, authentically, and without shame?