noizemagazine - Index

noizemagazine - noiZe Magazine Issue 60 May 2009 - Index

The
The
Power
Power
of
of
Love!
Love!
Circuit Star
Circuit Star
Lena Love
Lena Love
Lives to Break
Lives to Break
Boundaries
Boundaries
by D. Michael Taylor
Courtesy of
Peter Tamlin
Seeing Lena Love’s highly stylized photos alone can be a jarring experience,
let alone one of her meticulously produced shows. Who is this creature? With
her aggressive makeup and funhouse fashion, the first impulse might be to
peg her as an overgrown club kid. But then there’s something about her that
seems a bit too … authentic for that. Often she has her very real tits showing,
so perhaps she’s one of those eerily convincing transsexuals. Then—at last—
the truth. She is exactly what she looks like: a gorgeous woman with muscle
and talent for days. She’s been driving Circuit boys wild for over a decade
now. If you haven’t heard of her yet, you will.
An alluring (if also slightly alarming)
mix of Marilyn Manson and Brigitte
Nielsen, you’ll probably find Lena
performing with a gaggle of beautiful
boys acting like a pack of dogs
at her feet; when, that is, she’s not
sculpting people into shape as a
personal trainer in her hometown of
Toronto. Whether it’s Black & Blue
in Montreal, Gay Ski Weekend in
Vancouver, or an appearance on
Queer as Folk as a Barbie doll
breaking out of its package, Lena
puts everything she’s got into entertaining
and surprising the most
jaded party posse.
Surprisingly, she says she was initially
taken aback at the way the
gayboiz took to her. “You would figure
the last thing a plethora of gay
cha chas would want to see is a halfnaked
woman,” she (rather reasonably)
explains. “To this day I can never
explain it, but I was embraced. I think
it’s because it shows when I perform:
I’m an open book.” This charming and
introspective modesty, however, vanishes
instantly the moment she’s “on”—
on stage or in front of the camera. There
is a power to her presence that screams
confidence, talent, and the wisdom of
experience.
Lena’s life has always been a stage of
some sort. Both of her parents were
well-known bodybuilders in Toronto in
the ‘80s. Lena brags about her moth-
12
Happy Am I! Healthy Am I! holy Am I!