Vassar drag queens to man the catwalk

Stephanie Damon-Moore Assistant Life Editor

On Friday, March 28, the Queer Coalition of Vassar College (QCVC) is sponsoring its biggest, most elaborate drag show yet.

“Last year I was only anticipating about a 100 people,” said Rasheed Gonga ’09, who is organizing the event for the second year in a row. “We filled [Matthew’s] Mug to capacity, 150 people, and had to turn away between 150 and 200 more.”

The drag show, entitled Flawless ’08, is sponsored by the QCVC. Since the group was given a larger budget this year (one of $500), Gonga foresees a much bigger event than those of the preceding years. “According to the drag tradition, you need to make it big out and out there, so I said ‘OK, let’s do that.’”

The show will begin with a performance by Gonga. “The performance is meant to give you an idea of what to expect and to get the crowd pumped/excited,” explained Gonga in an e-mailed statement. “However, for this particular show, my performance also has an added purpose and that is to make the point that there are a great variety of people that exist in our community at Vassar, specifically in the LGBTQ community, and each of us have our own sense of self and our own style,” he added.

Following Gonga’s performance will be an introduction of the hosts and judges and a brief explanation of the three categories in which each contestant will be judged. The five judges, who will rate each contestant on a scale from one to five in each category, include a judge from each class and an outside expert. The judges are Nicholas Rocha ’11, Jodie Gerard ’10, Whitney Jones ’09 and Austin Clark ’08.

“One of the five judges is a guest judge, who’s pretty big in the Midwest drag circuit,” Gonga said.

“He’ll also be giving a couple of performances.”

In an e-mailed statement, Gonga explained that “Hosts were chosen based on personality and stage presence, [and] judges were chosen upon their expressed interest in participating.”

The competitions includes a brief cat-walk appearance, a talent portion and a question and answer period, which Gonga predicts “will be pretty interesting, given the questions we had last year.”

Jones, the junior class judge, said that contestants will win her over by standing out. “I’m looking for someone who can really perform,” she said. “It’s not just about emulating the opposite sex; it’s about taking it to the extreme.”

Joey Army ’10, one of the pageant contestants, plans to do just that. “I came in second place last year,” Army said. “This year I want to win.” His drag accoutrements include three different wigs, and he is polishing up a Russian point dance for the talent competition.

Although drag shows were originally a way to raise awareness about diversity in gender and sexuality, today they are primarily a form of entertainment. “Lately there has been a die-down in the activism aspect,” said Gonga. “We’re just doing this for fun.”

On the other hand, Jones said the drag show is a great way to reassess sexuality stereotypes. “Last year we asked a guy to be in the show and he said, ‘But I’m not gay!’ The person who won last year was straight!” she said, indicating that drag goes beyond gay/straight binaries.

Last year’s hosts, including Gonga, will be advertising the event this Thursday by wearing drag all day on campus. The pageant will take place at 10 p.m. this Saturday in the Villard Room with an afterparty in the Mug.

Spectators can look forward to fabulous performances from all contestants, but only one drag will be the winner. As the event’s tagline says, “Only the most flawless drag will win the prize.”