It is the time of year to give thanks and we here at Not Safe 4 Werk are obviously very thankful for all of our readers and the support you’ve shown us! Our team and our friends of the site have a lot to be thankful for as well. We’re happy to share this with you all and encourage you to share what you’re thankful for this year in the comments below. Also, almost everyone’s name links to their Twitter accounts so on the day before Black Friday, give yourself a FREE gift and go follow all these great accounts! Happy Thanksgiving everybody!
Chiffon Dior: There is so much I’m thankful for this year. I’m thankful for my family (well, most of them), my friends (well, most of them too) but mostly I am thankful for my team at NS4W for all the incredible hard work they’ve done this year and for you the readers who have embraced us and supported this venture from the word go. I am one lucky lady boy this year. Without Poppy, Sidney, Indica, Spencer, Panda, Luna, Meagan, Tatiana, Alexis, Faith, Shawn, Kearstin and Anastasiya, this site would have remained just an idea rattling around in my skull.For that, I am so grateful. I’m thankful for my friends who have supported on this venture as well Jayme, Deven, Maria, Sarah, Amy, Tanya, Belinda, Angela and others I am surely forgetting. I also want to thank the people who have generously donated their time to talk with our staff for interviews and articles, including Pandora Boxx, Deven Green, Lesli Margherita, Jack Mackenroth, Laganja Estranja, Our Lady J, Quinn Jackson, Kelly Mantle, Garek, Krysta Youngs, Mel and El, Robbie Turner, Colby Melvin, Prada Clutch, Kitty Brucknell, Tranna Wintour, Paige Turner and ladies of So You Think You Can Drag, Dr. Jen of Atomic Cosmetics, Vin and Alex of Planet Pepper, Layla of Corset Connection, Christopher Logan and many more! Finally I am thankful for Talenti Gelato, OCC makeup and soft focus filters on cameras. Happy Thanksgiving everybody!
Poppy Fields: “This year, as every year, I’m thankful for Starbuck’s Chai Tea Lattes (not the Oprah Chai…too much cardamom), West Hollywood (it’s the man-meat factory that keeps on giving), and most of all…kneepads. Happy Turkey Day!”
Sister Indica: “I’m thankful for the life that I have: a great partner, artistic and support friends, a day job I love and the HONOR of serving my community as a Sister of Perpetual Indulgence. I’m also thankful for being given the opportunity to write and share my voice on Not Safe 4 Werk! I LOVE YOU CHIFFON!”
Luna Raynebow: “I’m thankful for so much this year; all my friends and drag family, my co-writers at Not Safe 4 Werk, and the fact that I’m finally 21! But most of all, I’m very thankful that I can celebrate the holiday in a very traditional manner–I’m going to my relatives’ house, eating all of their food, using their supplies, and telling them that I live there now!”
Crunk Panda: “2014 has been, perhaps, the best year I can recall. I’m thankful I’m gainfully employed and everyone in my family has their health. I’m thankful I have amazing friends and people like you who are reading this…that actually want to hear what I have to say. I’m thankful to be featured in Viner: A Documentary Film (shameless plug: check it out here!) in the near future. I’m beyond thankful that I’ve been able to share my love of Ghostbusters with so many and use it as a vehicle for some great charitable causes. For the first time in recent memory, I’m just truly thankful, and I hope all of you have a wonderful holiday! Let’s start working towards a fantastic new year!”
Spencer Williams: “Oh dear, I have a lot to be thankful for this year! I am thankful for all of the opportunities I have had so far. I’ve gotten to start out my career as a designer, I’ve been doing some work as a Stylist as well as P.R. and teaching. I am thankful for NotSafe4Werk and all of the readers who make my crazy talk not so crazy. I am also so thankful for all of my friends, family, and Coven I’ve gotten to know In Los Angeles who make downtown feel more like home. Oh and I am also thankful for Azealia Banks’s new album, now available on ITunes.”
Shawn Pelofsky: “In this day and age where ISIS is no longer just a female super-hero and Ebola is the second disease to hit Texas (The first being George W. Bush), I am ever so grateful on Thanksgiving for many things. One: My Brazilian husband. The fact that he married me willingly and I didn’t have to drug him like Bill Cosby is a miracle within itself. Two: The 3 F’s- Friends, Fans and Family. Without all of them I would be in a fetal position in the corner of my bedroom crying. Three: Bad Reality TV. It truly makes me feel better about myself.”
Faith Michaels: “I’m thankful everyday for my family and friends in my life. I’m thankful for the people i get to work with and the people who believe in me and give me chances. But what really nailed it was a video my sister in law sent my boyfriend and me of her kids telling us how much they love their uncles and then blowing kisses to us…. love!”
Alexis Michelle: “I’m thankful for being a part of NYC’s drag/nightlife community. I’ve met and become close with so many wonderful people and while Drag has made me poor as dirt, I feel rich in love and friendship!” (Check out Alexis here)
Tatiana Turan: “I have an abundance for which to be thankful. Health to me is absolutely #1. So I am thankful for my good health and my loved ones’ good health. I am thankful for all of the wonderful work BLING DIVAS has been receiving over the past couple of years (and thankful for those loyal and supportive clients who keep coming back for more). I am thankful for my warm and comfy bed, for my glittery costumes and for living in a country where as a woman, I have a voice and opportunities. I am thankful for my sweet husband who cooks every night and puts up with an intense wife like me. I am thankful for my two furry four-legged babies, who keep me in the moment day after day after day. Namaste and happy giving-thanks!”
Kearstin: “Every year I get asked by friends and family what I’m thankful for on Thanksgiving. Sometimes it’s hard because I can’t help but laugh considering “where” the holiday came from. Laugh at the idea that we even ask that in the first place. However, in spirit, I am thankful all year round every day for my life and where I am. The things I’m doing and what I’ve achieved and accomplished.. The man in my life and the people I’m around. I don’t need a holiday full of amazing-incredibly-heavy-coma-inducing food to acknowledge it! Holidays are only my reasons to eat everything in sight! Happy holidays, everyone!”
Jack Mackenroth:” I’m thankful for Photoshop, Botox and Just For Men hair color. I’m thankful for the wave of acceptance for PReP as HIV prevention and the advances in HIV treatments and research that are getting closer to a cure every day. I’m thankful for political and social advances towards marriage equality. I’m thankful for immigration reform because the U.S. is a nation of immigrants.” (Check out Jack here)
Our Lady J: “I’m grateful for my community, for my health, and for social progress!” (Check out Our Lady J here)
Pandora Boxx: “I’m thankful for Chris Pratt getting sexier. Thank you Chris, thank you.” (Check out Pandora here)
Garek: “Cream cheese frosting, gaymaletube.com and probiotics.” (Check out Garek here)
Mel and El: “We are thankful for cheese, preferably melted, ideally with a large quantity of bread for dipping. Wine on the side. Chocolate after.” (Check out Mel and El here)
Heather Haneman: “Me: WTF? I need to write Chiffon and let her know I’m thankful for something. I would be thankful if that damn shitty ass coworker would get her act together and do her job and stop messing up my day. Me to myself: Suck it up buttercup, you have a job and you get to have then next few days off for Thanksgiving. How about being thankful that you have a job? Hmmm, okay, so I’m thankful I have a job and I’m thankful that I have the next few days off. What I’m really thankful for is Black Friday. Yes, I am! My mom and I have been shopping Black Friday for the last 25 years. It’s our day for just the two of us. We get all of our Christmas shopping for the entire family done in that one day. We go home and I wrap all of the gifts (even the ones from my parents to me) and my dad takes everything to the post office that needs to be mailed. So no stress for the rest of the holiday season about gifts. That it itself is enough to be thankful for. To bring it all around though, it took the shitty coworker to make me appreciate how much I’m looking forward to spending Thanksgiving with my family and Black Friday with my mom. AND it took Chiffon asking me what I’m thankful for to realize I’ve got a damn good life. So in summary I’m thankful to my shitty coworker and to Chiffon Dior!” (Check out Heather here)
Paige Turner: “I am so thankful I can buy off the rack, I mean ordering shoes online..no thanks!” (Check out Paige here)
Sutton Lee Seymour: “I am thankful for Bill Cosby. Because of him, Netflix is taking The Cosby Show off the interwebs finally justifying the meaning “Bye Phylicia.” (Check out Sutton here)
Fifi DuBois: “I’m thankful for any tranny chaser who reassured me of my “natural” beauty! As well as Capezio for marketing $20 tights that can be torn by $5 handbags from Target worn by $50 hookers! I’m so thankful that New York City has been my home for the past six years and opened my eyes to all of life’s urban beauties!” (Check out Fifi here)
Maci Sumcox: “I guess I am thankful for two things firstly my Husband who after 8 years is still by my side supporting me and giving me the courage to chase my dreams. Then secondly as a Brit celebrating my very first Thanksgiving I’m thankful to be over here in the USA a place where I can actually see a life and a career.” (Check out Maci here)
CoCo De’Ball: “I am very thankful for my family, friends, and followers who all support me tremendously in everything that I do. They are always there for me in good times and bad.” (Look for an interview with CoCo next week!)
Dusty Ray Bottoms: “I’m thankful for Maximum Impact Poppers, Swiss Navy (silicone) Lubricant, my camera, and my boyfriend for getting this on tape!” #NevaLavdYah #HoppyBotchGoving (Check out Dusty here)
Porsche Pink: “I’m thankful for wine, Jesus, and Harry Potter.” (Check out Porsche here)
Holly Box-Springs: “Thank you for asking me! What I am most thankful for this year is watching the world we live in accept us for who we are. Nineteen states just this year now allow gay marriage! Progress!!” (Check out Holly here)
Maria of NYC Stilts: “I’m thankful for Britt (Maria’s NYC Stilts partner). I couldn’t have conquered this year without her picking up all my slack, dealing with my late night texting, staying up with me for nights on end finishing costumes, taking fifteen minute driving shifts so I can get a nap in on long drives in between gigs. This year wouldn’t have been possible without her. Sappy I know.”
Britteny of NYC Stilts: “I am thankful for not having the shits while on stilts while wearing a show girl costume and fishnets.”
Layla Marie of Corset Connection: “My health, my family, kids, loved ones, and a day to completely blow off my diet!” (Check out Layla here)
Robbie Turner: “Well, as they say in White Christmas, “count your blessings instead of sheep.” I’m thankful most for the health and happiness I’ve been blessed with, but also for the tremendous opportunity that R Place and the Hard Rock Cafe have offered me. It’s a dream come true to make a living doing what you’re passionate about.” (Check out Robbie here)
Tranna Wintour: “I’m thankful for the privilege of performing in front of live audiences. I’m thankful for my muses and their inspiring work. I’m thankful for red lipstick and high heels. And I’m thankful for hot straight guys who send me their dick pics.” (Check out Tranna here)
Dr. Jen of Atomic Cosmetics: “I’m thankful for my big sparkly community! And for Swarovskis. And wine. BIG bottles of wine…” (Check out Dr, Jen here)
And before we finish up, let us talk a moment to share a Thanksgiving prayer from Betty Bowers, America’s Best Christian….
