The UNM drag show offers students a night free of gender identity — for free.
The Queer Straight Alliance presents the third annual UNM drag show, themed “The Year Queerthousand,” said Austin Evans, QSA meeting coordinator.
Evans said drag shows are naturally intriguing because of their controversial nature.
“Drag’s one of those really taboo things,” he said. “It’s such a spectacle in and of itself, and people love the glitz and glamor and the bizarre nature of it.”
He said this year’s show is decorated with ’50s sci-fi posters, bubble wrap, bright metallic walkways and a 26-foot robot.
“It’s futuristic; we want it to have the feel of ’50s sci-fi movies with buxom blondes in space suits and stuff,” he said.
Evans said performers include UNM students as well as experienced drag performers, but only the students are judged. Performances are followed by a date auction, where volunteers are auctioned off for a romantic evening and a dance.
“It’s a very specific niche within the community that so few people are exposed to,” he said. “It’s definitely not a gentle transition into that world, but it’s a fun way to consider gender, whether you’re gay or straight.”
Contestant Adam Trujillo, a UNM student, said the show should be provocative as well as entertaining.
“I just hope they (the audience) are entertained, and maybe if they’re more intellectually oriented, to take a look at gender roles in our society and how downright silly they are,” Trujillo said. “They’re pretty bizarre sometimes.”
Trujillo is a man playing a man in the show, so he is competing for the title of drag king, whereas most men in the drag world dress as women and compete for the drag queen title. He said straight men and women compete in drag as well.
“Your sexual orientation has nothing to do with how good of a show you put on,” he said.
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Amanda “Chombe” Johnson, a UNM student performing as a backup dancer in one of the acts, said drag shows indirectly challenge gender roles.
“You would think, ‘I’m breaking my gender role because I’m acting not as my gender,’ but then in the same sense you are just occupying another role,” she said. “It does and it doesn’t break it. It makes it more obvious in an ironic way.”
Johnson said she agreed to perform as a man in her friend’s act, in which five women perform as men to the song “Walk Like a Man,” by the Four Seasons.
“I always wanted to see what I would look like with facial hair, because I think I would make a pretty handsome man,” Johnson said. “At first it was a little awkward, and it did seem a little rigid, but I think as more time goes by, we’re more comfortable with the idea, and we’re getting more into it. We’re tapping into our inner dudes, and it’s magical.”
Evans said the drag show is about freedom of personal expression and sharing it with others.
“Drag is a celebration of saying, ‘I don’t fit into this societal construction called gender, and I’m free to be who I want to be, and I can wear pretty dresses no matter what I have down there,’ ” he said. “I think it’s important for the LGBTQ community to assert itself and increase its visibility … and of course to do it in the most flamboyant way possible.”
Third Annual UNM Drag Show
“The Year Queerthousand”
Friday
Performances 7-9 p.m., dance 9-11 p.m.
SUB Ballrooms
Free, $5 VIP
