'Fairytale' Drag Show Comes to Campus

Carly Kwiecien

United Sexualities is hosting the 16th annual drag show on Saturday, April 30, at 8 p.m. in Wampler Auditorium.

This year’s theme is “Fairytales,” which was picked by United Sexualities club members. Stories of classic fairytales such as Snow White, Cinderella and Red Riding Hood are inspiration for the drag show’s decorations. The performers are encouraged to incorporate the theme into their acts, but are not required to do so.

United Sexualities has hosted the drag show for all of its 16 years; however, the show has gained popularity in the past five. Since then, it has become the biggest student-run event on campus.

“Doing drag is a way of blurring the lines of gender,” said President of United Sexualities, Donnie Watkins. “Society enforces strict gender roles and performances. We have many students on campus who are transgender or gender fluid. To them, gender is a constant reminder that they are not the ‘norm.’ Drag show is the one night where gender doesn’t matter. The Drag Show is an opportunity for students to bring light to the gender binary (the idea that there are only men and women) and be whatever or whoever they want.”

There are about 23 acts expected to perform with a short intermission halfway through the night. This free event should last around two hours. Faculty, staff, students and community members are all welcome to attend.

“The viewers should expect a fun night,” Watkins said. “All of our performers work really hard for this event, and they will not disappoint the audience. Our overall goals for the event are just to show the school that gender is not as big a deal as society makes it. We want our attendees to forget about gender and just have fun being who they are. The United Sexualities e-board has a blast preparing for the event, so we hope that the attendees have a blast as well.”

United Sexualities coordinates with different departments on campus to make the event run smoothly, including marketing to print flyers and conference services to coordinate the venue and setup. Cordier crew helps set up chairs and provides a DJ. United Sexualities also receives help from several volunteers.

Audience members will be able to “buck tuck,” or tip the drag show performers. There will be someone at the show who will be able to exchange money if needed.

The money collected will be donated to Muncie Outreach, an LGBT organization for youth in Muncie, Ind.

Because the drag show is a popular event, the line to get inside the doors usually starts about an hour and a half prior to the event.