Ontaria Wods
Learning Drag Culture at Georgia Southern
By: Ontaria Woods
Date: 04/10/2017
Four Drag Queens graced the stage in the Russell Union Ballroom during the annual Drag Show presented by The Gay-Straight Alliance on Monday evening.
Tiffany Dubois, Blair Williams, Carla Cox, and Kendall St. James traveled from Club One in Savannah, GA to come out and entertain the students at Georgia Southern.
In addition to performing, the queens were also there to answer any questions about men in drag.
Demark Manigo, SpeakOut HIV ambassador and the host of the show, gave a little background on himself, and why he feels it is important to discuss Drag culture.
“Have [the] discussion,” Manigo said.“The more we talk and the more that we discuss, the better we can understand each other and see that we’re all the same just showing differently.”
Drag life mimics real life in multiple ways according to Carla Cox, former Miss Gay America. It’s not just about what they do on stage. A family gets created in the process.
According to Ethan Winters, a GSA ambassador, and transgendered male, education is everything, and the best way to get educated is searching online or coming out to events like this and asking questions.
“If you don’t talk to the people that’s in it, then you’re not going to understand the experience,” Winters said.
Drag Show attendee Madison Groves believes that gender norms can limit how someone can express themselves, especially when they receive negative backlash in what she considers Statesboro and “conservative town.”
According to Groves, dismissing stigma behind anyone who identifies themselves as masculine and doing something feminine can promote the acceptance in drag culture.
To learn more about drag culture, or to find out about more events hosted by the Gay-Straight Alliance, visit the Multicultural Student Center office located on the second floor of the Russel Union.