In the wake of ongoing legislative attacks on the drag and trans community, sometimes with threats to the physical safety of performers, the annual drag show is still going on this year.
With one big caveat: it’s not open to the public.
Multicultural Programming, a Student Government program that aims to enrich cultural unity throughout the university, had to take several steps to allow the show to go on this year, such as changing the name to “Owl Manor,” checking student IDs to make sure everyone is 18 and older, and not allowing the general public to attend.
“We kind of had to finesse the system so that on a university scale, it could still happen,” said Noadia Lindor, associate director of Multicultural Programming and president of BLISSS, an LGBT student organization focused on BIPOC LGBT students. “If we did not do that and we were like, ‘no, we don’t want to change the name, we want the drag show to be open to everybody,’ I’m pretty sure it would not have happened with all the bills going on.”
LGBT students on campus are looking forward to the annual drag show coming back this year.
“I’m really excited for the drag show this semester,” said Paige Allen, senior studio art major and president of Lavender Alliance, another LGBT student organization. “I suspect that we might have a lot of political stuff going on during the show or a lot of statements made during the show, but I’m still gonna go and enjoy it.”
She believes that due to political attacks on the trans and drag community, the performers should acknowledge that DeSantis’ legislation may hinder drag performance opportunities in the future.
Velvet Lenore, one of the upcoming performers for “Owl Manor,” who marched with hundreds of drag queens in Tallahassee last April, agreed with standing up to DeSantis and his attacks on the LGBT community.
“It’s so important that we continue to educate, not only the college kids but all kids on what drag life is all about,” Lenore said. “We’re here to entertain people; we’re not here to hurt anybody. I’ve been saying to people that drag is not a crime; it’s a blessing. Because we make people smile, we give people a chance to leave their problems behind and just enjoy a great time with us. I just feel DeSantis needs to relax, chill out, let it go.”
Kenny Ruff, vice president of Lavender Alliance and sophomore multimedia journalism major, emphasized the importance of the drag show in promoting a welcoming environment for LGBT students.
“I feel like it’s something that we need as a community because there’s so much uphill, like you see people on the Breezeway talking terrible things against us, and it’s like, ‘Well, I go to school here,’” Ruff said. “I don’t want to feel like I don’t belong because of something I am. It’s that type of stuff, and I feel like because of having this event, it’s loud, it’s big, but I love it because it feels like ‘wow, at least it’s there.’ At least we have some voice.”
The show will feature Roxxxy Andrews, a finalist from RuPaul’s Drag Race, as well as local performers Ariel Rimm, TP Lords, Nicky Monet, Velvet Lenore, Rianna Petrone and Katt Wilderness.
The event page brands the show as “a night of entertainment performances using lip-synching and dance to highlight themes within the LGBTQ+ community and show the diversity of gender expression.”
The show is free for FAU Students and will take place at 8 p.m. in the Barry Kaye Auditorium in the FAU Student Union. Student tickets are available here.
Mary Rasura is a staff writer for the University Press. For more information regarding this article or others, you can email her at [email protected] or send a DM @maryrasura.
