Whatever happened to the good old days of yesteryear, when a fella could really do the town in style? You know what I’m talking about – the days when he could lock himself in the bathroom for a few hours and completely invest himself in getting dolled up. A little leg wax, some strategic taping of your more bulgy bits and pieces, and, voila, Joe Schmo is ready for a night on the town as Josephine. Well, if you too long for those storied days of yore, look no further than Woodbury Campus this Friday, October 29th. That’s right, kids, it’s the Fifth Annual USM Royal Majesty Drag Show and Competition, and it’s bigger, better, and more fabulous than ever.
Sponsored by the USM Center for Sexualities and Gender Diversity, the Competition will be hosted by none other than drag-queen extraordinaire Crystal Ball, and judged by various members of USM and the community. Contestants are judged “based on performance and style,” according to competition coordinator Michelle Brodsky, but it’s not all about the beauty – there is a Q&A session, in which Kings and Queens will have a chance to show they’ve got the right stuff in the brains department, as well. It’s kind of like the Miss Universe Pageant – except with better fashion, a lot more double entendres, and no schmaltzy ballads from Regis Philbin.
While the term “drag” technically refers to men dressing up as women, the Royal Majesty Drag Show is a his and hers event; at the end of the night, the most talented King and Queen are honored with crown and tiara, respectively, and are also presented with an engraved plaque and cash prizes. Last year’s winners, Rocky Hart and Lady Conzoitise, will also perform at the event, and there will be a couple of surprise performers from the community, according to coordinator Brodsky. Anyone may compete in the contest, whether a student at USM or not – the main point, according to Brodsky, is just to “go out, have a good time, and give the crowd a show to remember.” Last year, more than 250 people crowded into the Woodbury Cafeteria to see the night unfold: men dressed as women, women dressed as men, sequins, leather, Barbara Streisand… Really, what more can you ask for on Halloween weekend?
While it’s all fun and games in the Royal Majesty Drag Show, the history of cross-dressing actually goes back farther than most people would expect; the fact is, there’ve been plenty of Hollywood hero/heroines to pave the way for our performers this Friday. While the term “drag” may conjure images of Nathan Lane weeping hysterically into an embroidered hanky in 1996’s “The Birdcage,” that movie was actually based on the French film “La Cage Aux Folles,” produced in 1978. Before Dustin Hoffman donned a wig and support hose for “Tootsie,” there was Jack Lemmon – who almost outdid co-star Marilyn Monroe in “Some Like It Hot,” way back in 1959. And long before Robin Williams braved flaming falsies and painful prosthetics in “Mrs. Doubtfire,” Milton Berle was strutting his stuff on television’s “Texaco Theater” – in 1948. Going way, way back, the actual term “drag” is believed to be a reference to Elizabethan theatre days, when women weren’t allowed to appear on stage. As a result, adolescent boys were cast in women’s roles, costumed in those huge, heavy Elizabethan dresses and “dragging” them across the stage during performance.
The history of cross-dressing women goes back even further. While no one would raise an eyebrow today to see your average career gal strike out for work in jeans, fifty years ago there wasn’t even such thing as an average career gal – much less one in jeans. Not only as a statement on sexuality, but as a way to break out of the limited mold in which they’d been cast by society, women as far back as the 1800’s were dressing as men. Back around 1850, a fifteen-year-old widow by the name of Jane Elsa Guerin hung up her mourning dress, donned her husband’s workshirt and trousers, and became known as “Mountain Charley” – she traveled the country working aboard steamships, as a gold prospector, and may have even been a soldier in the Civil War. And in fact, it’s estimated that there were as many as four hundred other female soldiers with bayonets and bound breasts, fighting alongside Mountain Charley throughout the course of the Civil War.
Going from binding one’s breasts or taping one’s manly bits at risk of imprisonment to participating openly in a school talent show hasn’t been an easy road, though. As late as the 1970’s in the U.S., there were state laws prohibiting cross dressing – women had to be wearing at least three outer garments deemed “feminine” clothing, and vice versa for men. Even today, in a country where girls who wear dresses everyday are just plain weird, and guys who like silk could be considered… well, kinda sexy, there are still stereotypes to overcome. Even in the liberal and liberating climate of Portland, Maine, intolerance can be found. In the politically charged landscape that is the presidential election of 2004, petty arguments over what, exactly, might be deemed the moral high ground, abound.
But take heart – metrosexual is, after all, the buzzword of the decade. On TV, we have shows like “He’s a Lady,” and “Queer Eye” which may at first glance appear to be making fun of the well-coiffed gent, but the theme quickly becomes apparent: How do these fashion-challenged, hopelessly out-of-touch men hope to compete in a world where Jack McFarland and Ryan Seacrest have stolen our hearts?
What, you may ask, does all of this have to do with the USM Royal Majesty Drag Show and Competition? Really, not much… Forget history, forget politics, forget just how, exactly, that guy was able to conceal anything under that dress. Friday night is about letting loose your inner diva in the name of youth, prosperity, and – of course – a shiny tiara.
The Fifth Annual Royal Majesty Drag Show and Competition begins at 7:30 at the Woodbury Campus Center Cafeteria on Friday, October 29th. Tickets are a suggested donation of $5.00 for USM students, and $7.00 for the general public. For more information, contact Michelle Brodsky of the USM Center for Sexualities and Gender Diversity, at 780-5767.