5 compete for Miss Gay IU

Senior Erin Drake couldn't hide her anticipation of Bionka Defy's talent show performance at the 13th annual Miss Gay IU Pageant Friday night at the IU Auditorium.\n"Her talent show is going to blow you off the wall!" Drake exclaimed.\nWhen the curtain finally rose for Bionka Defy, the crowd of approximately 1,100 roared in appreciation as she lip-synched a version of "All By Myself" while dressed as Medusa in a glittering silver wig and long tail on a set with pillars and stone statues depicting ancient Greece. Hundreds of audience members gave her a standing ovation following the performance.\nDefy said the idea for the show came out of some brainstorming with her mentor and dresser.\n"We just thought it would be an excellent talent show because it's original and it's not just going out there and performing a number in a gown or outfit," Defy said. "This one actually has a theme."\nWith her performances in the talent show, the evening gown competition and question and answer session, Defy was crowned 2004 Miss Gay IU.\nThe four other contestants were Erica Cartier (first runner up), Veschanté Blue (second runner up), Naomi Divine and Tonya Bear Rogers. Like Defy, each contestant lip-synched a routine for her talent show. \nWearing an all-black velvet outfit with sparkling earrings, Cartier lip-synched a comedian commenting on African-American issues. Blue, wearing a red and black outfit with red and black hair, and Divine, wearing one red sleeve and red ankle drapes, danced to hip-hop music. Rogers, wearing a sparkling white dress with a fluffy white hat, performed a version of Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful."\nAfter Rogers' performance, co-emcee Vicki St. James said she was impressed with the effects. \n"With all the flashing lights and mirrors, I thought someone was going to land a DC-10," she said.\nHelen Harrell, who was acting as a judge for Miss Gay IU for her seventh year, said the judges evaluated the contestants based on their overall appearance, coordination in their outfits and personality. She said she personally looked for self-confidence, professionalism and sincerity in the contestants.\n"It's pretty stringent guidelines," Harrell said. "It's a serious competition."\nEach contestant had a chance to impress the judges in the on-stage question and answer session.\nDefy responded in a strong tone to the question of which personal characteristics would best serve her as Miss Gay IU representative.\n"Loyalty," Defy said. "The loyalty to my fans and the loyalty to the crown, if I am crowned."\nCartier passionately addressed the question of how she would seek to educate the IU community on tolerance and diversity.\n"I'll get out there, make myself visible, make myself available to anyone," Cartier said. "I think for so long there's a lot of people that sit around, and they want to nit-pick and say what's right and what's wrong. They don't even take the time to ask us how we feel."\nBesides the five contestants, other drag queens and drag kings each performed twice throughout the night and drew enthusiastic cheers from adoring fans. The performers included former Miss Gay IU winners Della Licious, Sugar Blackmon and Marissa Cole, both co-emcees, Vicki St. James and Brandi Ice and drag king Ian King.\nEach performer induced several admirers to approach the stage to show their appreciation and to offer a little cash. Brandi Ice stripped down to blue shorts with white stars and a red top and lip-synched to a version of "Wonder Woman" as she jumped off stage and pranced through the aisles. \nCole lip-synched to a version of "Word Up" dressed in a multicolored outfit, including multicolored hat and feathers.\n"Dr. Seuss wants his dress back!" Ice remarked to Cole following her performance.\nBlackmon won over fans with her dance routine in an all-white outfit. When Blackmon returned for her encore performance, dozens of fans immediately rushed the stage at the mere mention of her name.\nHarrell said many of the performers throughout the evening also perform locally, not just at Miss Gay IU. One of those regular performers is 2004 Miss Gay IU Bionka Defy. Fresh off her victory over the weekend, Defy will be competing Friday in the Miss ZimMars competition in Terre Haute for a chance to qualify for the Indiana state competition in July.\n-- Contact staff writer Steven Chung at stchung@indiana.edu.