LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
Student CAMP |
by Kristen Foery |
Classic Drag The observant ones among you may notice that I now have magically acquired a picture and a last name. In my life, extreme stupidity and extreme courage often go hand in hand. That, however, is not the point of this months rant. (Note: I dont often look as librarianesque as I do in that picture.) In last months issue of letters there was an advertisement about a lecture at Dogfish Head on Shakespearean drag, given by Dr. Anne Colwell, sponsored by the Henlopen Theater project. Since Dr. Colwell is my English professor, I went to the lecture. And no, it wasnt just because of the extra credit. Three friends of mineone girl and two boyswere my company for the evening. In the grand tradition of getting into the spirit of things, the four of us decided to go to the lecture on drag in drag. (Original, eh?). My foraging into the world of drag has only been onstage at my high school Ive played more male roles than female so I was very excited about this. My girlfriend, who enjoys teasing me about being butch, told me that I had better go all out for this and get pictures. The four of us planned very carefully. And when the night came, I pressed my best white dress shirt and pants and liberated a three piece suit and tie from my fathers and brothers closets. I slicked my hair back, which was not an easy feat. My friends and I met at Lambda. The two boys were in makeup, four inch platform heels, and very flowery shirts. One of them looked rather like the Emcee in Cabaret. The girl was in a dress shirt and tie. It should be noted that out of our band, myself and one of the boys are gay. The other boy and girl are both heterosexual, and are a very happy couple. When we walked into Dogfish, the double takes we got were priceless. The reaction from Dr. Colwell was especially nice; she hadnt believed that we were going to go through with it. The reactions that we got from our friends, however they left a bit to be desired. There were many people from my English class there for the lecture, and most of them knew that we were going in drag. Their reactions were virtually all bad. To quote one of my friends, "A little makeup and they go crazy. God, think what would happen if we all wore leather." No one would sit with us for the evening. I so love the various forms of homophobia The lecture was, of course, excellent. Dr. Colwell spoke on the Greek, Shakespearean, and modern drag traditions. She drew from such varied sources as Twelfth Night and To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar. Her points were many and well thought outshe discussed the erotic aspects of cross dressing, how the political and social attitudes of the Greek and Elizabethan eras made cross dressing necessary, and how cross dressing onstage challenges the audience to recognize a sort of third gender. The most moving part of the lecture was when she and Dr. James Keegan, also an English professor, acted out the final scene from M. Butterfly. It was breathtaking, and, of course, by the end of it, they were both cross dressed. Sitting there in my three piece suit and tie listening to Dr. Colwell speak, I couldnt help but feel like the clothes I was wearing were somehow powerful, like they somehow made me not quite a man and not quite a woman. Its a very strange feeling. I liked it. When I examined my feelings later, I came to realize that the thrill I got from wearing drag was partly because of how people reactedthey were shocked by the four of us, and I like to shock peoplebut also because I was shocking myself, and challenging how I saw myself. In talking to my friends afterwards, we all had similar thoughts. There is something powerful in drag that should be cherished, I think. When leaving Dogfish, a heckler looked at us and said something along the lines of, "F***ing queers." The proper response to that, of course, was, "Yes, but what does the suit have to do with it?" |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 9, No. 3, April 9, 1999 |