Friday, July 13, 2012

Serving up some drag realness

The other night, I had an experience that so greatly contrasted my life in Saudi Arabia it just made me smile. I went to a show. This isn't an uncommon occurrence in Nashville. But this was a special show. Last Friday night, I went to a drag show.

Oh. my. lady boy.
I realize this is not a topic I usually discuss on this blog: I usually reserve my posts for international musings and photos of place and things most Americans don't have access to. But a lot of my students read this blog and I think this is a part of my life that some of them might be interested to know about. At least some will find it interesting.

Plus it was a fabulous night and I want to show everyone the pictures!!

For those who have never had the pleasure of going to a drag show, here's how it works:

Step 1. Pay your entry and get your wristband.

Step 2. Scan the crowd and find the best spot for the show.

Step 3. Wait.

Step 4. Enjoy the magic and hilarity.

For those who don't know, a drag show takes place in a gay club. The performers are men who dress like women. As was the case for most of the performers on Friday night, the queens sometimes have had some body modifications to make them look more like women.

exhibit A. ...and B.
The performances consist of the drag queens lip syncing to various popular songs and, depending on the talents of the performers, dancing and interacting with the crowd. The queens all have their own drag names that are different from their non-drag names. Each queen has her own style, there are the super girly types, the more punk types, and the androgynous, more modern types. There are several forms of drag, and I love them all.

Aurora Sexton. She's serving up showgirl-meets-1950s realness.
On Friday, however, I was there to see one particular queen: Latrice Royale!!

The shade of it all!
Latrice was a contestant on a show called Ru Paul's Drag Race. Think America's Next Top Model meets Project Runway...but with drag queens. It's a guilty pleasure of mine, and Latrice was one of my favorite queens from season 4. Even though I only got to see her perform one song, she was fabulous and I had a great time. I used to go to drag shows just about every Friday and Sunday night in college and I have missed hanging out in the drag scene. This is definitely an experience I would never have had living in Saudi Arabia! I love my crazy life.

Here are a few other photographic highlights:

Sara Andrews serving up a little Katy Perry.






Vicariously yours,



1 comment:

  1. eleganze extravaganza.
    i'm waiting for play to post photos, because i got my picture taking with latrice on a THRONE. she was super sweet. We didn't stay for the second show because Travis was about to drop.

    ReplyDelete