The drag stars meandered down the line, flashing a sign that asked for $1 donations. Upon paying up a buck, the drag queen or king would briefly spank the donator with a sparkly white whip. The drag stars collected wads of crisp dollars bills, stuffing them into their cleavage-baring dresses.
The lobby of the EMU was packed Saturday night as people stood in line for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer Alliance annual drag show, “Push.”
As University students and community members filed into the EMU Ballroom, murmurs about the runway’s professional and authentic look could be overheard. The room filled up just as the show was scheduled to start. After about 20 minutes had passed and no one had entered the stage or made any announcement, suddenly, from all angles, there appeared to be hundreds of purple camera flashes. It was the fire alarm.
Sexual Wellness Advocacy Team member and University sophomore Rebecca Sprinson speculated that someone pulled the fire alarm as a hate crime against the LGBTQA.
“This happens every year,” Sprinson said. “It’s homophobia.”
It was later discovered that the alarm went off mistakenly and that it was not a hate crime, LGBTQA finance coordinator Jen French and the Department of Public Safety said.
After a shaky start, the drag show commenced with extra energy in order to make up for the lost time.
The opening act featured drag superstar Jackie Beat, a singer, stand-up comedian, actor and entertainer. Beat has guest-starred on Comedy Central, MTV and HBO’s “Sex and the City.” She is currently on tour as the opening act for comedian Roseanne Barr. Beat also writes frequently, performs with her band “Dirty Sanchez” and sings her own lyrics, which makes her a rarity among drag queens.
“So few drag queens sing live,” Beat said.
Her first number, “Dildos are forever,” earned roaring laughs from the crowd. After a couple songs, the audience was cheering so thunderously that Beat had to wait a few seconds to be heard again.
“Now I’m going to make a political statement,” Beat said, twirling the hair on her frizzy red wig.
She proceeded to sing a song she wrote criticising the Pope and the Catholic Church.
“The Pope’s a hypocrite and the Church is full of shit,” she sang.
Sung to the tune of the Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast,” Beat’s “Billy and the Priest” received whistling, applause and cheers. Beat bowed, crossed herself and then raised her middle finger.
Beat sang another song, “No More Drama,” which said, in her experience, that a vast majority of gay men took drama in high school.
The rest of the drag show featured 18 acts performed by University students. University student and LGBTQA staff member Opey Freedle emceed along with University junior Jazz McGinnis.
The acts featured everything from lip-syncing Aqua’s “Barbie Girl” to a Victoria’s Secret-like skit danced to “Don’t Tell Mama” from the musical “Cabaret.”
“Basically what we want from the drag show is to introduce people who have never heard about the LGBTQA or heard of the queer community to us in a really fun, exciting way,” McGinnis said.
“I hope that people learn about the queer community and some of the ways that we have fun and perform as a community,” McGinnis said.
McGinnis said the drag show committee chose to bring Beat to the University.
“We’ve been working on this since January. We’ve put in so many hours and dedication, so much time,” McGinnis said.
Beat said the University’s queer community seems very celebratory.
“In a lot of big cities the lesbians don’t mix with the gay men, so I liked that aspect (of the drag show),” Beat said.
In response to whether or not the drag show was meant to break stereotypes, LGBTQA Events Coordinator Zadok Taylor said, “Look at what I’m wearing.” Dressed in pink flip-flops and a bikini top, he added, “I’m hairy all over.”
“I think drag is about breaking stereotypes through exaggerating gender roles,” McGinnis said. He said the drag show is meant to teach people that they don’t have to pertain to one role.
“Who cares about stereotypes? Stereotypes are stereotypes for a reason; I don’t have a problem with them,” Beat said. “A lot of what I do in my act is based on stereotypes.”
This year’s show contained a lot of profanity, edginess and raunchy content. The foul language and freedom of expression are part of the show, said McGinnis and Taylor; it’s part of what makes the night so fun.
“It’s definitely out there,” Taylor said.
“If people find it offensive, they don’t have to come,” Taylor said. “We’re just having fun.”
McGinnis said that those who find the show’s content offensive need to open their minds and embrace what makes the people of LGBTQA happy.
“The drag show is definitely the LGBTQA’s legacy,” McGinnis said.