There’s no business like showbusiness

As the fire alarm went off in Foster Quad, two drag queens, Macy Kirkland and Brandi Ice were interrupted from applying layers of makeup and stage clothes to stand in the cold.\nOnce they got back inside, the queens strutted their stuff to a group of curious college students. The show was followed by a question and answer session by the drag queens and a panel discussion about people who identify themselves as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, questioning, queer, intersex and allies. \n“Lots of first year students have never been exposed to these issues,” said sophomore Radley Alcantara, CommUNITY Educator for Foster Quad. “A lot of discrimination comes from ignorance and having a different view and different light. This environment (was) a safe environment to ask questions without having to be ridiculed.”\nOne student asked about the experiences the panel had when they told their parents about their sexual orientation. In OUT president Joshua Sutton’s case, his parents were very accepting and his mom even goes to gay events with him. In the case of Kirkland, her parents had a harder time dealing with it, but they are still accepting.\n“I’m glad they asked (the questions),” Ice said of the audience. “They were comfortable with us. The questions were fine. Usually there’s a lot more, though.” \nThe show started with Ice, former Miss Gay IU 1998, performing to “This Kiss” while wearing a bra made out of a bag of Hershey’s Kisses that were distributed to the audience. Ice later came out in a cover-up that was soon removed to reveal a dress with no front.\n“When I first started, it was a very small crowd,” Ice said of her performances in Miss Gay IU. “We had to do a lot less than they do now. Now they have backup dancers. I’m glad I won when I did, because I don’t have a chance now.”\nIce was followed by Kirkland, a contestant for this year’s Miss Gay IU, whose clothing was a little less risqué, with a tiger-striped dress followed by a brown dress and a platinum blonde wig.\n“I just want to get some words out there. I wanted to promote Miss Gay IU,” Kirkland said. “There’s a lot of misconceptions as far as drag goes. If nothing else, I hope (the students) become a little more aware of the diversity in Bloomington.”\nA panel discussion followed, featuring the president of OUT, the reigning Hoosier Daddy, a resident assistant from Collins Living-Learning Center, Kirkland and Ice.\nThe audience asked a variety of questions including what the panel’s feelings were toward people saying “that’s so gay” or how they felt when people asked if they chose to be gay. The panel responded with, “did you choose to be straight?” \nWhen asked about GLBTQQIA, Kirkland said, “I hate labels. Why do you have to be a certain way?”\nDiscussion continued with what it means to be transgender and the transitional process from male to female and female to male.\n“I don’t pass as a boy anymore,” Ice said about her transition from male to female.\nThe panel also spoke about the discrimination they have received from the public and their first experiences of discrimination.\n“Discrimination is going to be everywhere,” said Christina Sell, the reigning Hoosier Daddy. “It’s something that becomes a part of everyday life.”\nMiss Gay IU 2008 will be held April 18 at the IU Auditorium. Tickets are available now at the IU Auditorium box office for $10.