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Summer 2024, dubbed pop girly summer, or “Brat” summer by the Queers, inspired by Charli XCX’s summer release of the same name, brought the rise of the Midwest Princess Chappell Roan, a taste of espresso from blonde bombshell Sabrina Carpenter, and one “Club, Club Classic” bumping DJ who was crowned the newest it-girl of the Ohio River Valley.

photo by Logan Oleson

DJ Boywife, or Shane Brouman, 27, Hebron, is an openly Queer person, with an affinity for black micro miniskirts, espresso martinis, and creating Queer- and trans-affirming experiences focused around tearing up a dancefloor to what he dubs as the “faggiest” of music.

“Kim Petra’s ‘Slut Pop?’ Yes, please!” he says while sipping his martini across from me at Alice Bar in the Over the Rhine neighborhood of Cincinnati.

The blonde pixie-esque cut club kid with Julia Fox painted eyes could resemble any main character out of the 2003 cult classic, Party Monster—the true crime story where McCauley Culkin portrays the club promoter and convicted murderer, Micahel Alig. Parallels between Alig and Brauman exist in their Queer campy personae and how they became catalysts to Queer counterculture club movements, but Brauman could only ever murder on the dance floor.

“I need to see people dancing and having a good time, or I feel like I’m not doing my job,” he says. “If you’re not dancing, you’re taking up space for someone who maybe would enjoy it and you’re sucking the energy out of the room.”

Photo by Logan Oleson

He went on to discuss the difference between pre- and post-pandemic club behavior.

Brauman noted that his dance floor might very well be someone’s first.

“A lot of the people who come to dance turned 21 during the pandemic and never had the chance to experience clubbing like others did,” he says. “You can listen to pop girl music at home, but it hits differently when you’re dancing body to body. I love seeing people experience music that way. Charli doesn’t call it ‘home home classics.’ She said, ‘Club, club!’”

Even for those of us who aren’t so freshly coming-of-age and entering the club scene, a DJ Boywife show feels like being around gay people for the first time. You feel seen and understood, like you can finally exhale. Whether it’s the light and laser projections around the room, or the bass shaking through your chest, the air is thick with joy. And then the music is inevitable. It’s less of a choice to dance, and more of an unstoppable force that pulls you to the dance floor and keeps you there as each song somehow gets better than the last. It’s a space where everyone is in on the same secret: that, for just a few hours, you can put on some lipstick and eyeliner and let your girly boy out. Nothing matters but the freedom to just be.

For someone who creates these magnetic spaces with such seeming ease, Brouman never planned to become the—

“OH MY GOD, ARE YOU DJ BOYFWIFE?” she

cried, eyes wide, appearing from whatever

dark place fans originate. “You won’t

remember me, but I danced around the entire

Queen City Radio bar during your set and was

explaining the cultural significance of Sabrina

Carpenter’s Bed Chem to everyone around me.

ANYWAYS, I LOVE YOU.”

And off she went, back to the fan-depths from whence she came.

“I paid her to do that specifically for this interview,” Brauman jokingly laughs. “I can’t walk into a bathroom without seeing ‘I love DJ Boywife’ graffiti on the wall, which is highly rewarding.”

Brouman never planned to become the Boywife he is today. His journey into DJing started by chance at a friend’s going-away party, where a promoter pointed at him and said, “You should DJ—you look like a DJ.” It wasn’t until he started bumping his favorite Sophie tracks behind the booth that he slipped on his first pair of heels and pleather mini, fully embracing the persona that now defines his sets.

photo by Logan Oleson

“I didn’t wear makeup when I first started DJing, but I fell into it and it felt natural,” he tells me. “I don’t have the story of putting on my mom’s heels and stuff, but drag queens would lend me clothes to wear, and I just love wearing them. It’s not a Boywife set if I’m not wearing a micromini. Being a gay kid growing up in Ohio, the opportunity to feel sexy and confident was scarce,” he says. “When I started DJing I felt more eyes on me and I thought ‘Why don’t I show off?’ I worked for it.”

The Sophie stanning DJ rose from performing at small venues in Cincinnati to becoming a resident DJ at some of the city’s larger spots. He has also booked gigs across Kentucky and Ohio, including a standout New Year’s Eve show with Rebecca Black at Cincinnati’s Hard Rock Cafe.

Creating a Queer- and trans-affirming vibe is of utmost importance to Brouman, but it isn’t always easy, especially when the venue isn’t strictly a Queer-only space. Brouman is the resident DJ at Alice, which has a mixed crowd of gays, theys, and straights. But when Brouman’s set begins, the room has no choice but to queen out or get out.

“Truly sometimes it’s the straight guys begging to hear Kim Petra’s “Treat Me Like A Slut,” he laughs. “Like my sets get so gay no matter what.”

At the beginning of each set he shouts on the mic, “Who’s gay? Who’s trans?’” setting the space up for Queer vibes only. He says he has received messages from trans folks telling them that no one’s ever asked “who is trans” at a club they’ve attended, making them feel seen and heard.

photo by Logan Oleson

“It blows my mind. That’s the DJ’s job—to create a space where everyone feels seen and celebrated,“ he said. “I’m always going to cater to the Queer community and I love and support the trans community so much because they’ve done so much for me in my life. Of course I’m going to uplift their existence during my set,” he said.

He notes that he wouldn’t be doing what he loves if it weren’t for the inspiration of trans DJ Louisville legend, DJ Syimone.

“Trans people are everything and DJ Syimone is so fierce and I love her,” he says. “Also, If I could, I would only make music for trans people. If I were only DJing for gay cis people and straights, I would have to quit DJing.”

In a Boywife world, trans people are always winning, and he says that’s what he wants to see in 2025 — trans joy and freedom. The freedom to love and exist fully on his dance floor.