And I Thought I Was Going To See Some Queens

I’ll write another post about the following topic so you all can get a better idea of what it was like [after I get pictures and what not]. But right now? It’s 3:50, I’m drunk, and full of Jimmy John’s.

God I love Jimmy.

Anyways, last night [Thursday night] was the 4th annual Syracuse University Drag Show, Totally Fabulous.

It was SO. GOOD. I can’t even begin to tell you.

I’ll explain it all in another post, but the thing I really want to tell you all about is this. The host for the show, Aggy Dune [she has hosted this event for 4 years, since I was a freshman] and her final performance.

Let me pre-empt this with a little information. Drag is something that can be done by anybody. Straight. Gay. Lesbian. Bisexual. Transgender. Queer. Anyone. But it is something that is embedded within the gay culture. So for almost all shows, you will see a man dressed up as a woman, or vice versa, performing some sort of show [usually lip synched, but sometimes not] for the audience.

Now. When you look at the big picture, there are people [and there are a lot of them] who say that Drag Queens are men who just wish they were born women. They say that these people are just confused. They say that these people don’t know any better and are just acting gay.

Let me tell you. That is false. People dress in drag for MANY different reasons. Enjoyment. Entertainment. Self fulfillment. Anything you can imagine. So when someone says that Drag Queens are faggots, wannabe women, or anything along those lines, they need to sit down, pick up a book, and add some knowledge into their thick skull.

So anyways. When Aggy Dune came out to give her last performance [her first one was the premiere performance of the night] she entered wearing a beautiful blue, silver beaded dress with a low cow neck. She had long brown hair, and began singing this slow song, accompanied by a sole piano. The song was about what it means to be a man, and in the lyrics, she spoke about how she lived with her mother, helped with the chores, and danced at a bar. The men in the bar were always surprised at her strip show, because they all thought she was a full blooded woman, but when she got naked, she was a man.

At his point in the performance, Aggy began loosening the ties on her dress. Finally, she let her straps go and the dress dropped. She had no bra. No push ups. No nothing. It was her natural, male chest. As he continued with the song, which spoke about how he as a performer left to have dinner with his friends [notice the change in pronouns], he contemplated what it means to be a man.

As this went on, he took off his wig. He cleaned off his make up. And, in front of about 1,000 people, took off his dress and high heels and changed into jeans, shoes, a t-shirt, a button down and a baseball cap. By the end of the song, by the end of about 4 minutes, Aggy Dune had reverted back to her true self. A man. No make up. No dress. No wig or bra or anything. There was a man on stage in front of us where a woman once stood.

The last words of her song were something along the lines of Can anyone tell me what it truly means to be a man?

She walked on stage a performer. A woman. Someone there to please and entertain a crowd.

He walked off stage a brave soul. A man. Someone there to teach us all a lesson and make a powerful statement.

To see someone make such a strong, heroic declaration moved me. I saw someone take something that had always been used as a form of entertainment and amusement, and move it to a tool to educate and provoke thought. He told an audience of 1,000 people I am a man. I am not a woman, an entertainer, a fag or a pussy.

I am a man. I dare you to prove me wrong.

I cried just a little. I was the first to stand and applaud.