At the recent Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago, an unexpected lesbian mud wrestling competition called Scissor Slam 2K26 was organised by LGBTQ+ community builder Lindsay Perrin.
The event was a last-minute idea for Perrin, as she only posted about it on social media the day she was going to the festival. She explains in an interview with People, “Honestly, I had a feeling the post would go viral on Instagram, but I had absolutely no idea how many people would actually show up, let alone how many would want to participate”.
To her surprise, the post even caught the attention of Lollapalooza staff. From there, numerous festivalgoers arrived at the meeting spot Perrin had advertised to take advantage of the day’s weather conditions.
Two women named Eve and Sarah volunteered to be the first to take part, with Perrin serving as the referee. It did not take long for the competition to attract a large audience, as Perrin shares, “I’m telling you, it felt like we went from zero to 200 people in about 30 seconds.”
The event soon became a high-energy spectacle, with audience members cheering and chanting “Lesbians!” while participants wrestled in the mud and kissed.
There has been a largely positive response to the videos shared online, with many praising Perrin for organising a feel-good event for queer people to enjoy themselves and let loose. The fun and entertainment of Scissor Slam 2K26 shows the power of spreading queer joy, as it provides some much-needed relief and positivity in the face of the LGBTQ+ community’s struggles.
Perrin concludes, “There is so much heaviness surrounding the LGBTQ+ community right now. So many of the headlines are about legislation, our rights, conflict or people debating whether we should even be allowed to exist as ourselves. Those conversations matter. But so does joy.”
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