Sex Siren: CJ 007

CJ 007

What is sexy? Who is sexy? What makes them sexy? When posing these questions, people either have answers that contradict their previous answers, or stumble to find a way to quantify what is sexy. Sure we have society and cultural based attributes that make one person more desirable over another, but at the same time there is someone for everyone. Wit sex appeal being fluid and hard to grasp, how can anyone judge someone’s sex appeal over another’s? They can only judge based upon their own perception of what they find to be sexy. Recently I got the chance to speak with CJ 007 about the status of sex sirens, the façade of the family structure in houses, and being disassociated from the House of Milan.

CJ has been making head turns since his Super Ball 9 Hershey Kiss production, with that he became someone to watch. But watching is something that CJ has done when it comes to his fellow sex sirens, and he’s dismayed by what he has seen. “Sex siren has become so twisted and mutilated, half the sex siren who walk now are strippers or porn stars its not supposed to be that,” according to CJ, “Its supposed to be sexy, seductive, when someone sees you hit the runway, they should feel [that something is] left to the imagination.” But with so many sex sirens being naked, the mystique they have is nonexistent. But “you still have a few REAL sex sirens Kenyon [007], Elliot [Milan], Buddha [Balenciaga], they are sexy even with their clothes on.” CJ even holds hope that the category will reform back to the way it once was, those who have it just have it.

Apart from the lack of sex sirens, CJ seems to be disillusioned about the family structure in houses and the disparity in how they are perceived to function as opposed to how they really operate. From the outside looking in, its as if the House structure provides a surrogate family for individuals who may be searching for the necessary structure and support a cohesive family unit. But according to CJ this is not the case, even in first house he was in, “the first house was Manolo Blahnik I was searching for a family foundation. Even with the guidance from Jay the rest of the house was not as receptive. I felt out of place ostracized to an extent. I was the only Blahnik in my region and I didn’t even so much as get phone calls to see if I was still breathing, that’s not a family” “Everyone was real clicky…the New York kids hung with the NY kids, The Philly kids kicked it with the Philly kids…The VF ki ki’d with the VF girls”

After being a free agent for awhile CJ decided to join the house of Milan. “After speaking with Tony and meeting a few of the members I decided Milan would be a good fit for me and I decided to take the step of joining a house again. Milan is an elite house, they are successful on the runway and they exude class. But as time went once again I still didn’t get that family feel, [eventually] I was put out of the House of Milan.” The reason for CJ’s dismissal was “some of the powers that be said I had a lack of confidence and my body could use some work.” Understandably when you are exposing yourself to be judged on physical attributes there must be a certain level of confidence that one possesses. If actions and behaviors like this occur in every house then what is the purpose of joining a house? Is this the singular experience of one person with two houses, or does this speak to a larger issue of Houses, in particular house members not understanding the need to support each other both on and off the runway. But is it even the responsibility for the house or its members to provide a surrogate family for its members? With people leaving houses, joining new houses, only to return to their previous house it seems as if people are searching for something that many houses cannot or are unwilling to give.

Outside of the Ballroom scene, CJ has other activities to keep himself busy, holding an executive position in the motorcycle organization DC Ruff Ryders, events planning, and commercial print modeling are just a few. It’s been almost a year since CJ has appeared on the runway and with his outlook on the scene how much longer will it be ?

Word Association

Nudity...................Sex Siren

Perception.............The way you see something

Reading..................A book, some people need to do it

Affirmation............Don't need it from the ballroom scene

Confusion................A lot of people

D.C..........................Late

Kenyon 007

One word to describe Kenyon 007 (now Free Agent) is unbothered. One of the best ways to cope with working full time, going to school, and also being a part of the flourishing underground culture known as the Ballroom Scene is to not be bothered. There have been stories of those who allow the ballroom scene and the persona that they have created for themselves to take control and dictate all aspects of who they become, but Kenyon is an exception. Part of the allure of Kenyon is the fact that he is unbothered. The smoldering c'est la vie attitude combined with a great body and a handsome face- he embodies the aesthetics that typify the category known as Butch Queen Perfect 10's.

Kenyon's introduction to the ballroom scene, like so many others, happened when his best friend brought him to a couple of balls in 2002. His friend, a member of the House of Prodigy, introduced Kenyon not only to a world filled with gender fluidity, a celebration of both the masculine and feminine ideals, but also to the leaders of the House of Prodigy. When asked how he got inducted into the house, his reply was "I got voted in, unbeknownst to him (the friend)." Since then Kenyon has been turning heads on the runway to earn the status of Statement for his category…all without letting any of the fame and notoriety associated with status get to him.

The interview with Kenyon soon turns to perceptions. With the ballroom scene being a microcosm of the larger gay culture, perception sets the tone in many cases for how and if people chose to interact with what they see. Walking perfect 10's, sexy siren, or body causes one to be perceived as highly sexual. When Kenyon was asked how he is perceived, his response was: "a lot of people take me as being mean, I stay to myself…I observe a lot."

Having competed and won as a sex siren, (where a lot of people pour various liquids on their body, gyrate, and lick their lips until they're damn near raw) it seemed like a logical question to ask what
Kenyon found sexy. His response was "a nice smile, good body posture, physique, it depends. Being naked is not, leave something to the imagination."

Having competed in both Perfect 10's and the Sex Siren categories, Kenyon was asked what the perceived difference was between the two: "perfect 10's (consists of a) touch of realness, face, and sex appeal. With Sex Siren you don't have to possess all of those things."


With the differences, it would reason to think that to be successful in both you would have to sell it differently. Kenyon's advice for himself and anyone else who competes in both categories: "Keep it simple, if you posses what you posses…you really don't have to do too much."

Having crafted his physique by being active in sports while growing up and staying active to keep it up, Kenyon has not let his body or his accolades create someone who is obnoxious or seedy. For
further proof, when asked what was his ballroom high was so far it was not his awards, but the first ball that he went to when he understood everything that was going on. Being unbothered allows you to weather and to cope with the slings and arrows of life, both inside and outside of the ballroom scene. When anyone gets too wrapped up into one aspect of their life, another of equal or greater importance suffer, luckily for Kenyon this is not the case.

Word Association

Sexy- Its an aura, it varies on people it comes down to
an aura

Love- Unconditional

Friendship- True and Everlasting

Epitome- Nothing Higher

Effeminate- Upbringing; if you're raised around women all
your life, you're going to adapt to what you were
around

Masculine- A façade. It could be taken two different ways: you are or you could be portraying somebody. It all depends on the atmosphere and how you portray yourself.

Balance- Control, to enjoy life- the good, the bad, the worse. Life is unexpected, if we knew what was going to happen.