Like any superhero, mystery surrounds the true identity of the Vagina Lady. She makes appearances at Bay Area events wearing a cape and a plush, pink vagina costume nearly as tall as she is. Even among the unusual characters San Francisco is known for, she stands out in a crowd.

The prize-winning and attention-getting attire of the Vagina Lady.

In her other life, Julie Vanadis, 30, is a writer and editor. Her co-workers don’t know about the character she plays, so she uses an alternate last name in interviews.  She prefers to keep her personal life and role as the Vagina Lady separate.

“I put on the costume, and it’s like I’m famous,” she said. People run up to talk to her and take pictures. For those who require an explanation, she tells them, “This is my feminist sex-positive art project.”

As the Vagina Lady, Vanadis wants to convey “an empowering feminist message.” She said, “Vaginas have been a commodity,” and wants to “put ownership back in the hands of women.” She aims to “claim back some of the shame.”

“The actual word ‘vagina’ – which has caused me no end of grief – comes from ‘sheath’ meaning a place to put the penis.” She dismissed the word’s origin, saying there’s so much “more to it than that.” On her Web site (vaginalady.com), she lists other words used to describe “the lady bits” and links to a more comprehensive list.

Sitting at Apollo Coffee on Divisadero, Vanadis worked on a rhinestone-studded laptop. Unlike the unremarkable alter-ego of most superheroes, Vanadis’ appearance was anything but bland. Her clothing was bright pink and black, accented with black and white-patterned accessories. A pink rhinestone lip piercing brought it all together.

The Vagina Lady was born six years ago, Vanadis said. Since then, she has made appearances at events like Gay Pride, Bay to Breakers and Love Fest. She’s appeared at performances of the Vagina Monologues, participated in the AIDS Walk and wooed the crowd at the Exotic Erotic Ball, whereshe has twice taken home the Best Costume award.

Her character came about unintentionally. When her sister graduated from a midwifery program, Vanadis made her a pillow shaped like a vulva. Then she made more – with crescent shapes for the inner and outer labia and a round shape as the clitoris.

The costume says it all.

On Halloween in 2002, she took the theme a step further and made herself a simple vagina costume in two shades of pink. That night her character was born. She didn’t choose the name, she said. People gave it to her.

Since then, Vanadis has recreated and improved upon the original costume many times over. In front, it has greater dimension and detail as well as hidden interior compartments to stow keys and a wallet.  In the most recent version, pink faux fur makes up the outer portion, and shimmery pink fabric forms the center. Her head, covered by a pink hood, takes the place of the clitoris. There is a pocket behind the vaginal opening, where Vanadis said she sometimes puts Hershey Kisses. Should anyone miss the reference, the back of the costume reads “Vagina Lady” in curly red letters.

In high school, Vanadis said, “I found second wave feminism like it was my religion.” The movement, started in the ‘60s, asserted that women have equal abilities and deserve equal rights as men. Then came third wave feminism – “God bless it” – in the ‘90s. It incorporated sex-positivity and a broadened the possibilities of femininity within feminism.

A Flickr search for the Vagina Lady yields photos posted by friends and fans, but comments do not always convey the same appreciation. Some express shock while others – mostly men – make sexual comments.

Vanadis has experienced this at events, where “boundaries are not always as clear, and men behave inappropriately.” In response, she said she responded with a “fulfilling” slap in the face. “It brings me such joy.”

Vanadis keeps her sexual orientation to herself.

The Vagina Lady's new costume is in progress. This will be hidden beneath the skirt.

“I know people make all sorts of assumptions about me as that character,” she said. “I want to speak to everyone – vaginas are both straight and gay.”
She was at work on another costume, one that will include an element of surprise. The “girly, girly” dress will have a full skirt concealing multiple layers. Lifting it will reveal the figure of a naked woman, painted and constructed with fabric. Her “flasher” costume wasn’t finished yet, but the big-breasted body was taking shape.

As a child, she said, Vanadis was into dolls. “Now I’m my own Barbie doll.”

Robert Wesner, 39, sat hunched over his sewing machine, his waist-long hair pulled back in a half ponytail, while a topless woman laced up a leather corset behind him. Wesner, owner of Leather Mystics, began stitching together his sixth leather choker of the night. Laughing, he said that he never would have believed this is where his life would end up: “It’s not like you grow up thinking, ‘Geez, I think I’ll be a bondage leather specialist.”

Wesner’s 20-by-20 foot booth had a front-row view of the erotic dancing on the Burlesque Stage and was one of more than 100 vendors featured at Perry Mann’s Exotic Erotic Expo and Ball.

From October 23rd to the 24th, the flamboyant sights and sounds of the event filled the air of San Francisco’s Treasure Island. Exhibits ranged from erotic art, music and burlesque performances to body painting, adult toys, novelties and exotic fashion. For Wesner, the celebration of fetish and fantasy meant non-stop business.

It was in the conservative town of Medford, Ore., almost 20-years-ago, where Wesner began his journey towards his present occupation. When a friend from high school opened up a leather repair shop, Wesner, in need of employment, agreed to help out.

One day, a man came into the shop asking if they could make him a belt for carrying a sword. A few weeks later, the man returned asking for ten more and said he was selling them at Renaissance Fairs, events they did not have in their part of Oregon.

“Next thing I know, my friend’s calling, asking if I want to go to California to work at an event because he didn’t want to go by himself,” said Wesner, “I said sure. Why not? Long and the short of it is, the next seven years I work with him and we increase the size of our pavilion at Renaissance Fairs up and down the west coast.”

As they made the Renaissance Fair circuit, Wesner said people would approach their booth asking if they ever made any adult products, such as shackles and collars. While he thought it was a good idea, “The other guy was very tight laced. He said those people are all a bunch of freaks and we don’t want to deal with them.”

The requests did not stop. Wesner said that he finally wore down his partner, who agreed to let him produce some items on his own and display them in a small corner of their booth. Shortly after, the two had a falling out and Wesner started his own shop and immediately began producing adult novelties. Now into his sixth year on his own, Wesner said he is “getting a big response from the bondage and fetish communities.”

His work as a leather craftsman has allowed him to network with people in alternative lifestyle communities such as bondage and sadomasochism (BDSM). Wesner added that this networking is vital to his business because people in those communities do not usually want to broadcast their fetishes but will confide in him because they need certain items. “The funniest part is that you start talking to these people and they’re doctors and lawyers, they’re professionals,” said Wesner, “It’s not like they’re freaks, they just have different tastes. They’re some of the nicest, most well balanced people you’ll meet.”

Due to the specialized nature of his products, Wesner spends much of his time traveling up and down the west coast to different events in order to find venues for his products. In the three weeks leading up to the Exotic Erotic Ball, he drove from Oregon to San Francisco’s Folsom Street Fair then directly to a four-day motorcycle rally in Las Vegas, then the Las Vegas Renaissance Festival then back up to Oregon.

Wesner said it was a frustrating few weeks because he made virtually no money at the bike rally and, as a result of new management at the Renaissance Festival, his sales plunged 50 percent from what they had been in the past.

Wesner said his decision to drive to San Francisco is what made the trip worthwhile. “I made more in seven hours in Folsom Street than I normally do in your average Renaissance Fair,” he said.

Despite three weeks of non-stop travel, Wesner said his success at the Folsom Street Fair motivated him to pack up his RV and trailer one day before the Expo opened and drive non-stop from Oregon back to San Francisco and shell out a “pretty penny” for his booth.

“I’m just barely treading water. If next spring is anything like this year I’ll be bankrupt by summer,” he said. With his overall sales down 50 percent this year, Wesner said his success at the Expo might be enough to keep him afloat.

AIn an attempt to stabilize his business, Wesner said he is broadening his scope and seeking out more biker and fetish type events. While he enjoys doing costuming products for events such as Renaissance Fairs, he said “that’s play money.” During this economic crisis, Wesner said people consider costume-type products to be a luxury.

This is not the case for fetish products, he said, adding that people in the lifestyle do not see fetish as a luxury. They see it as a requirement. Wesner said another important factor to consider is that many of the people involved in the BDSM lifestyle are professionals in the middle and upper classes who still have money to buy such products.

While Wesner has fashioned products for other venues such as Shakespeare festivals, independent movie companies and even Disneyland, he said developing a niche within these industries is a slow process since most work comes through word of mouth and networking takes time. “You meet people by happenstance and start making those connections. Trying to be a costume designer is almost the same as trying to be an actor in Hollywood,” he said.

For now, Wesner said he is just trying to do what he can to stay in business and weather the economic crisis. This means targeting the markets that sell and according to him, right now that is the fetish market.

As he snipped the last thread on the collar he was sewing, Wesner looked up and said, “Sex sells. No matter how bad the economy gets, people still have sex, and more of it.”