Lez Affairs

You won't catch Lena Roberts on the catwalk at tonight's Bachelorette Auction to promote Black Gay Pride Week, which takes place in August. Instead, she'll act like a wallflower and watch fellow lesbians put in bids to go out with the ladies on the runway. "I am just an observer," says Roberts, who helped organize the benefit. "They're trying to get me in it this year, and I'm saying, 'Un-uhn.'"But at least a dozen women have agreed to strut their junk in front of hundreds of spectators, who'll raise their paddles for bids starting at $25 and escalating in $5 increments until the auctioneer calls a winner. The benefit helps raise money for the annual pride fest, held July 31 through August 3 and featuring thousands of African American gays and lesbians meeting for daytime conferences and workshops, and nighttime poetry sessions and networking parties. At last year's inaugural auction, one bidder shelled out $275 for a date with a model. "We had an auction for the men and one for the women. And the women's did much better," says Roberts. "I don't know why that is. We're still trying to figure it out." The auction starts at 9 tonight in the upstairs lounge of Secrets, 12820 Brookpark Road. Admission is free. Call 216-233-1411 or visit www.bgpcleveland.com.
Sat., May 10, 9 p.m., 2008