Rumors Has It!
Here is my paper about my experience...
Ashley Bovin
US 201 A
7/24/06
Paper #2 Draft
Drag Show: Rumors Has It!
I thought that deciding where to go for this assignment would be the hardest part for me. However, once I decided that I wanted to attend a drag show at a gay club, I found out that the hardest part was actually feeling comfortable with the idea of going to a gay club. Before taking this diversity class, I might have confused that discomfort with homophobia. However, I do not think myself to be homophobic, and I have been around gay friends before. The reason I was so anxious was because I knew I’d be the minority in the club, and as a white female in West Michigan, I am not used to that. The closest I had been to watching a drag show before Sunday night was the very amateur, almost mocking Mr. Relay contest at Grand Valley’s Relay for Life in April. However, this particular drag show was also an amateur night of sorts, because instead of professional drag queens, Rumors’ own staff members were (literally) manning the show.
I couldn’t help but compare the scene of Rumors to that of any other night club I had seen before. The only distinctions were (obviously) the drag queens, the homosexual jokes or references made by the emcee, and the same-sex public displays of affection. There was a man sitting on the corner of the bar, behind me and to my left. Once, when I turned around, I saw him lean down, grab another man’s face, lean in, and softly kiss him. It was my first time seeing two gay men kiss in real life, and for some reason I wasn’t taken aback at all, though I felt like I should have been. I thought about it. Later, I told my friend that I felt it was because I was in their territory, it was the norm, and I was not entitled to feel uncomfortable with it. In fact, most of the night, I was standing there looking around, with a grin on my face, totally taking everything in.
As the drag queens danced, lip-synced and seduced the crowd, people would hold dollar bills out toward the floor. The performers would come around and collect them, sometimes kissing the giver on the cheek or adding some extra flair to their performance just for him or her. I had no idea how drag shows worked, so I tried to scope out a person near me who seemed the most approachable. There was a young man sitting to my right who was laughing with friends and appeared very friendly, so I asked him some questions. He amiably informed me that the queens get to keep the cash they collect during their performance, and that it was not a good night for my first drag show since there weren’t professional female impersonators. I asked him if the person who has the most money at the end of the night “wins”, or if it was a contest based on crowd response. He answered that with the professional drag shows, there is judging which determines the winner, but he was not sure about that night since there were no judges.
At one point, there was a break in the show and a man and woman came onto the floor to do a 50/50 drawing. They were wearing shirts with SHACK written on them. I had seen a table with pamphlets, AIDs ribbons, and condoms when I first walked in that had a SHACK banner in front of it. I asked the woman about the drawing and the organization as she stepped off the floor. SHACK is the Sexual Health Awareness Coalition of Kent County. I thought it was great that they had a table set up there with resources on HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. All clubs should have one! The drawing was a funny moment for me, because I remembered the 50/50 drawings at my high school’s football games - quite a different atmosphere than Rumors’.
I was surprised at how authentically female some of the drag queens looked. A couple of them performed more than once, in different dress and with different music. There were also some females who performed as females, and I have since learned that they are referred to as “bio queens”. People kept walking past me in the small bar, and in those moments I had no way of knowing (except for the shirtless young man with a dangly diamond belly-button piercing) if they were gay or not. Both gay and straight people enjoy drag shows, while they are mostly exclusive to the gay community. When it comes down to it, the only factor that really makes the gay community different from the straight community is their sexual preferences. Not all gay people fit the stereotypes into which society boxes them, and not all gay people participate in supposedly “gay” functions.
I exchanged a smile with one of the drag queens every time he walked by. He was very tan, wearing a sparkly blue dress, and had tall blonde hair. He later impressed me with a performance to a techno version of LeAnn Rimes’ “How Do I Live (Without You)”. In the interactions or exchanges I had with the people at the bar - from the bouncer, to the bartender, to the drag queens, to the other guests - no one was rude or unwelcoming to me. At the same time, I didn’t feel especially welcomed. I do not feel that I was judged, and I think that helped me to enjoy the experience without expectations and judgment from either my side or the gay culture’s side.
When I was expressing my hesitancy about this assignment, a friend told me that I would feel really good about myself once I had completed it, simply because I was uncomfortable. I knew then and I know now that she is absolutely right. I am glad I chose to visit Rumors, because not only am I fairly certain I will be back for another drag show in the future, but also I can now move on to dominating my fear of other activities outside of my comfort zone.
It's just due for peer review tonight, final due on Weds...so if you have any constructive criticism, I'd appreciate the help. =)
Ashley Bovin
US 201 A
7/24/06
Paper #2 Draft
Drag Show: Rumors Has It!
I thought that deciding where to go for this assignment would be the hardest part for me. However, once I decided that I wanted to attend a drag show at a gay club, I found out that the hardest part was actually feeling comfortable with the idea of going to a gay club. Before taking this diversity class, I might have confused that discomfort with homophobia. However, I do not think myself to be homophobic, and I have been around gay friends before. The reason I was so anxious was because I knew I’d be the minority in the club, and as a white female in West Michigan, I am not used to that. The closest I had been to watching a drag show before Sunday night was the very amateur, almost mocking Mr. Relay contest at Grand Valley’s Relay for Life in April. However, this particular drag show was also an amateur night of sorts, because instead of professional drag queens, Rumors’ own staff members were (literally) manning the show.
I couldn’t help but compare the scene of Rumors to that of any other night club I had seen before. The only distinctions were (obviously) the drag queens, the homosexual jokes or references made by the emcee, and the same-sex public displays of affection. There was a man sitting on the corner of the bar, behind me and to my left. Once, when I turned around, I saw him lean down, grab another man’s face, lean in, and softly kiss him. It was my first time seeing two gay men kiss in real life, and for some reason I wasn’t taken aback at all, though I felt like I should have been. I thought about it. Later, I told my friend that I felt it was because I was in their territory, it was the norm, and I was not entitled to feel uncomfortable with it. In fact, most of the night, I was standing there looking around, with a grin on my face, totally taking everything in.
As the drag queens danced, lip-synced and seduced the crowd, people would hold dollar bills out toward the floor. The performers would come around and collect them, sometimes kissing the giver on the cheek or adding some extra flair to their performance just for him or her. I had no idea how drag shows worked, so I tried to scope out a person near me who seemed the most approachable. There was a young man sitting to my right who was laughing with friends and appeared very friendly, so I asked him some questions. He amiably informed me that the queens get to keep the cash they collect during their performance, and that it was not a good night for my first drag show since there weren’t professional female impersonators. I asked him if the person who has the most money at the end of the night “wins”, or if it was a contest based on crowd response. He answered that with the professional drag shows, there is judging which determines the winner, but he was not sure about that night since there were no judges.
At one point, there was a break in the show and a man and woman came onto the floor to do a 50/50 drawing. They were wearing shirts with SHACK written on them. I had seen a table with pamphlets, AIDs ribbons, and condoms when I first walked in that had a SHACK banner in front of it. I asked the woman about the drawing and the organization as she stepped off the floor. SHACK is the Sexual Health Awareness Coalition of Kent County. I thought it was great that they had a table set up there with resources on HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. All clubs should have one! The drawing was a funny moment for me, because I remembered the 50/50 drawings at my high school’s football games - quite a different atmosphere than Rumors’.
I was surprised at how authentically female some of the drag queens looked. A couple of them performed more than once, in different dress and with different music. There were also some females who performed as females, and I have since learned that they are referred to as “bio queens”. People kept walking past me in the small bar, and in those moments I had no way of knowing (except for the shirtless young man with a dangly diamond belly-button piercing) if they were gay or not. Both gay and straight people enjoy drag shows, while they are mostly exclusive to the gay community. When it comes down to it, the only factor that really makes the gay community different from the straight community is their sexual preferences. Not all gay people fit the stereotypes into which society boxes them, and not all gay people participate in supposedly “gay” functions.
I exchanged a smile with one of the drag queens every time he walked by. He was very tan, wearing a sparkly blue dress, and had tall blonde hair. He later impressed me with a performance to a techno version of LeAnn Rimes’ “How Do I Live (Without You)”. In the interactions or exchanges I had with the people at the bar - from the bouncer, to the bartender, to the drag queens, to the other guests - no one was rude or unwelcoming to me. At the same time, I didn’t feel especially welcomed. I do not feel that I was judged, and I think that helped me to enjoy the experience without expectations and judgment from either my side or the gay culture’s side.
When I was expressing my hesitancy about this assignment, a friend told me that I would feel really good about myself once I had completed it, simply because I was uncomfortable. I knew then and I know now that she is absolutely right. I am glad I chose to visit Rumors, because not only am I fairly certain I will be back for another drag show in the future, but also I can now move on to dominating my fear of other activities outside of my comfort zone.
It's just due for peer review tonight, final due on Weds...so if you have any constructive criticism, I'd appreciate the help. =)