Betty BBQ

Lady Betty BBQ is the persona used by the famous German drag queen and entertainer based in Freiburg im Breisgau, a city in the Black Forest region in the state of Baden-Württemberg. To date, the cross-dressing artist has not released any of her personal details, preferring not to draw focus away from the character onto the performer. To this end, Betty BBQ has described the individual behind the persona as "living and loving as a homosexual, biological man." The drag queen's persona appears in numerous roles, including an entertainer, a moderator, a singer of popular show tunes, an activist for numerous issues, an author, and a tour guide for the city of Freiburg. In 2019, Betty was named as one of the nine official city ambassadors for the celebration of Freiburg's 900-year centennial celebration, standing as the ambassador of diversity.[1]

Betty BBQ at the pride parade in Freiburg in 2017

Betty has described her performances thusly: "Betty BBQ is a drag-queen, a living reminder that we shouldn't take any one thing as 'normal' and to accept each other for who we are." Her signature is the flamboyant red Bollenhut, a large brimmed hat adorned with fourteen red balls, a traditional piece of headwear in the Black Forest region of Germany which was worn by unmarried women, a significance the performer insists upon to emphasize her persona's connection to the history and culture of the Black Forest.

To the many tourists whom she offers guided tours through the city of Freiburg, Betty BBQ affectionately represents the quirks and cliches associated with the Black Forest. So as to not defame the traditional garments of the Black Forest, Betty often combines her outfits with various costume elements to add to the performative flare of her character, always color-coordinating them with other elements of her outfit, such as the traditional Dirndl. To date, Betty continues to be involved in activism for various causes, and particularly strongly in those centered around LGBTQ+ issues.[2]

Origins

The persona of Betty BBQ emerged during the Swabian-Alemannic Fastnacht of Freiburg. In the beginning, the artist only performed once a year in different roles at the Ball Verqueer, a queer event organized by the AIDS prevention program in Freiburg. Out of that the fictional story of "Betty Grill aus dem Obertal" emerged which was then changed into "Betty BBQ" to make it sound more international.

Political and Social Ambitions

Queer-political dedication/involvement

Betty BBQ's political and social involvement was of main importance to her from the get-go. This shows as she appeared and performed at multiple Christopher Street Days, German pride parades, campaigned for a local charity supporting people with AIDS and was especially committed to the project GentleMan. The latter is an AIDS prevention project by the German state of Baden-Württemberg, which is targeted specifically at gay men. Her work comprises the moderation of the online journal Betty will's wissen, which translates to "Betty wants to know it" and is a wordplay and reference to the children's TV program Willi wills wissen. Together with Freiburg's band Hairball Remedy, Betty BBQ released the song "Das Lila Lied – Hairball Remedy Conversion". This is a remake of the song Das Lila Lied, which is considered the first German gay anthem published in the year 1920. She describes her intention for the cover of the song in the following way: "Anyone who hears this song will notice how incredible the lyrics are, considering it was published between the disruptive World Wars and the contemptuous Nazi dictatorship. Acknowledging that the song's message is still very topical should function as a reminder that today's society might not be as modern and liberal as it appears." At the end of 2020, Betty BBQ and her manager Sebastian Heusel published a remixed version of the previously released cover with Hairball Remedy, "Das Lila Lied - Underground Remix".

The remix of Das lila Lied was created by Freiburger musician Redneck Jack in collaboration with Betty BBQ and Sebastian Heusel. It is the only remix of the song until today. Betty BBQ commented on her homepage that it was important to Redneck Jack and her not to disfigure Das lila Lied for the sake of a remix but to give the song a dignified remix- and party-gown which does not let the message and fight of homosexual people turn into a discobeat shell. The goal was to maintain the melody, singing, and message of the song and to invite listeners to sing along and to join the music movement, that is to make Das lila Lied more of an experience.[3]

Local and social activism

Betty BBQ is a local activist emphasizing her fundamental message: Heimat is not only black-and-white. When it comes to local activism, she distances herself from her self-imposed rule to keep her private life separate from her life as a drag queen and fictional character pointing to experiences of discrimination during her adolescence in a village in the Black Forest. She stated that she constantly used to experience discrimination at school, clubs, and in village life in general as a young man because she was "different" and homosexual. Betty BBQ stresses that her occupation as a Black Forest Drag Queen made the Heimat she was denied as a child accessible to her again and that she has now obtained a permanent and acknowledged place in local society.[4][5] Probably, she was denied her Heimat as a child because Heimat typically correlates with traditional values and a conservative mindset which clashes with queerness.

Participation and support of the regional Swabian-Alemannic Carnival is particularly close to Betty BBQ's heart because, according to her own statements, the artist's Drag Queen persona originated at the Freiburg/Rhineland Carnival.[6][7]

Betty BBQ also wants to leave behind the right-wing association with the German word Heimat, which has been co-opted by the conservative nationalism of the political right and thus associated with it, and replace it with a new concept of Heimat that is compatible with various modern social cultures.

Equally relevant to Betty BBQ is the gifting of a song that was written and composed at the end of September 2021 with party singer Schromme Schlachtschiff for Freiburg Sport-Club fans. The song, "Unser Stadion," which means "Our Stadium," was created in anticipation of the new soccer stadium and the deeply felt attachment to SC Freiburg.[8][9] The music video for this song was released in mid-October 2021.[10]

Additionally, Betty BBQ has also been a foundation ambassador for the Matthias Ginter Foundation since 2021. Founded by professional soccer player and German national soccer team player Matthias Ginter, the foundation provides support for mentally, physically, and socially disadvantaged children and young people up to the age of 18 in the Freiburg region.[11]

Betty BBQ has taken part in multiple campaigns to promote and preserve the local Alemannic dialect.[12][13]

Homophobic assaults on Betty BBQ

On New Year's Eve 2016, Betty BBQ fell victim to a homophobic attack near the Bertoldsbrunnen, a fountain, in Freiburg. On the same night, two other gay men were also attacked. On January 8, there was a demonstration in the city center of Freiburg, in which 800 people took part.[14][15][16]

On August 6, 2020, there was another openly homophobic assault on Betty BBQ, which received received a considerable amount of public attention. Betty BBQ had been on her way to a filming session and to one of her guided tours when a young man started to continually shout at her, insult her and threaten her physically as well as verbally. The fact that this happened in front of a big audience in broad daylight sparked a discussion about the brutalization of society in Freiburg.[17][18][19]

Trivia

After several gigs as Betty BBQ at numerous events,[20] she made her first appearance as a traditional "Black Forest girl" at the Ganter Oktoberfest [21] in 2013. Since then, the drag artist has appeared at several Christopher Street Days and many other events across (south western) Germany, including parties and carneval festivities.

Since 2015, she has hosted city tours of Freiburg, which have seen about 5.000 guests p.a. being introduced to her home town.[22] She was honored by the two major online travel agencies, GetYourGuide and Tripadvisor, the latter one listing Betty BBQ's tours as part of the top 10% of recreational activities globally.

In the course of the Covid crisis, she introduced Bettys Vlog, a web series promoting artist's and other creative people's ideas and talking to persons affected by the pandemic. In November 2020, she partook in the campaign Kulturgesichter 0761, which was composed of local artists and promoters who wanted to point to the difficulties cultural workers had to face due to the pandemic and its economical consequences.[23] After the traditional Freiburg Christmas market had been called off for the year, Betty BBQ promptly organized a "window Christmas market", selling mulled wine for takeout and proving highly popular with the people of Freiburg.[24]

References
  1. Zeitung, Badische (October 9, 2019). "Neun Botschafter sollen Freiburgs Stadtjubiläum repräsentieren". Badische Zeitung.
  2. "CSD 2017 in Freiburg: erfrischend un(d)beliebt". www.baden.fm. June 29, 2017.
  3. "DAS LILA LIED - Underground Remix".
  4. Heimat, S. W. R. (August 27, 2019). "Dragqueen Betty BBQ zeigt mit Bollenhut, dass Heimat für alle da ist" – via www.swr.de.
  5. Zeitung, Badische (January 23, 2016). ""Im Leben tun, worauf man Lust hat"". Badische Zeitung.
  6. "01 - Betty BBQ: Leben in Drag". July 2, 2019 – via open.spotify.com.
  7. "Betty BBQ über die Freiburger Fasnet, Wurzelbehandlungen und den Ball VerQueer | Freiburg". freiburg.subculture.de.
  8. "Schwule Welle – Das Magazin". Radio Dreyeckland. September 30, 2021.
  9. "UNSER STADION - Fußball-Hymne".
  10. "Betty BBQ - YouTube". www.youtube.com.
  11. "Matthias Ginter Stiftung". www.matthias-ginter-stiftung.de.
  12. "Badisch lernen für Anfänger mit Betty BBQ" – via www.youtube.com.
  13. Zeitung, Badische (February 28, 2020). "StartUp Jicki aus Freiburg will mit Betty BBQ südbadischen Dialekt retten". Badische Zeitung.
  14. "Demonstration gegen Schwulenfeindlichkeit". Nachrichten der Ortenau - Offenburger Tageblatt.
  15. "Freiburg: Schwules Paar angegriffen". queer.de.
  16. "Freiburg: 800 demonstrieren gegen homophobe Gewalt". queer.de.
  17. Zeitung, Badische (August 7, 2020). "Mann beschimpft Drag-Künstlerin Betty BBQ wüst in der Kaiser-Joseph-Straße". Badische Zeitung.
  18. Regenbogen, Radio (August 10, 2020). "Travestiekünstler in Freiburger Innenstadt bedroht". ATSW.
  19. https://baden-tv-sued.com/kneipentalk-mit-betty-bbq-uber-diskriminierung-und-corona/%5B%5D
  20. Anne-Lena Zehemdner: Vom Grill ins Nachtleben, in: Freiburger Wochenbericht vom 28. August 2013, S. 7.
  21. Anna-Lena Zehendner: Bier, Weib und Gesang, in: Freiburger Wochenbericht vom 9. Oktober 2013, S. 6.
  22. Zeitung, Badische (May 8, 2018). "Warum Betty BBQ neuerdings zu Rotlichttouren durch Freiburg einlädt". Badische Zeitung.
  23. Zeitung, Badische (November 24, 2020). "Wie war's beim ... Shooting der "Kulturgesichter" mit Felix Groteloh?". Badische Zeitung.
  24. Zeitung, Badische (December 4, 2020). "Wo man X-Mas-Feeling in Freiburg auch ohne den Weihnachtsmarkt findet". Badische Zeitung.

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