I truly believe every single day it is imperative to experience something
you've never experienced before.
For me last Saturday night, that 'something' was Spectrum's "Full House: Queens Over Kings" Drag Show. Now, previous to Saturday's festivities, I was a "Drag Show Virgin," the title the event's host Jaclyn Payne bestowed
upon us apprehensive few who had never seen boys in dresses before. I dragged two heterosexual guy friends (I will proceed to call them Boy 1 and Boy 2) of mine to the show, and we weren't sure what to expect.
Well, that's a lie. We knew exactly what to expect. To be politically correct, we expected homosexual males to express their feminine sides in a safe, charitable, fundraising event; or--if you like it short and sweet--we expected to be entertained and shocked by a group of he/shes. I guess the correct way to phrase that is we weren't sure to what extent or in what manner these Drag Queens were going to present themselves, and if we were going to be called on to actively participate in the show.
Before I go any further, let me give you some background info on Boy 1 and Boy 2. Boy 1 is from a big city, very comfortable with all types of people, and actually had a girlfriend that "turned lesbian" after dating him (though
he maintains that this transformation did not occur until one boyfriend later). Boy 2 on the other hand is from a small town, graduated in a high school that was all white except for one Hispanic person, and has had no contact (that he's known of) with a homosexual person. His anthem is "They don't bother me, and I don't bother them." So I invited these two lovely gentlemen to accompany me because Boy 1 is always game for anything, and I thought the experience would be good for Boy 2.
We took our seats a safe distance away from the stage. As the lights dimmed and Miss Jaclyn Payne strutted her stuff onto center stage, I knew we were in for one hell of a show. Jaclyn is a professional Drag Queen and has the voice, dance ability and wardrobe to prove it. When he/she (Ah! The struggle of deciding on a pronoun with which to describe these performers) danced to Janet Jackson's sexy "If I Was Your Girl," I caught myself admiring Jaclyn's stellar abs and sexy legs.
As the show progressed and the Drag Queens began to circulate throughout the audience, Boy 2 let out a constant stream of nervous laughter and Boy 1 assured him that if he just sent out "straight vibes" all would be well (here Boy 2 began to steadily chant to himself "Sending out straight vibes, Sending out straight vibes" and put his arm around my shoulder to exude his heterosexuality).
Several things shocked me about the show overall:
1) Drag Queens can be hot.
2) He/Shes can dance better than anyone I've ever seen (i.e. Britney
Spears has nothing on "Brittany Queers.")
3) The gay community can sometimes be so much more comfortable with
themselves and their sexuality than heterosexuals.
Near the end of the show, as I made my way up to put some much-deserved money into Jaclyn's beautiful hand (sorry to disappoint, but I didn't have the guts to stick it anywhere else), I could do nothing but smile.
Write to Carla at caalderman@bsu.edu
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