Hey Girl Hey

Loved the drag show. I can't really say that i didn't expect I would; those types of shin digs are usually up my ally...by "types" i don't specifically mean a drag show per se, rather, i'm referring to any gathering of people with interesting, unique personalities ready to showcase themselves and their interests to everyone. Being in the atmosphere with all that good crazy energy made me miss a few of my gay friends whom I haven't seen in a while but I know would have loved to attend. I was instantly put in a good mood. I was also very impressed with Chris Praedel's (sp?) rendition of Fergie's Glamorous. I'm glad he wasn't too reserved about dressing up like a woman and dancing around on stage. I think everyone was proud to see him among the rest of the contestants just doing his thing and showing his support. I don't want to go turn this entry into another of my Live and Let Live rants, but it seems like that's where it's heading..not really sure what else to say other than that I think it's awesome that the Sexual Orientation group requested our presence at this event.

As a side note, i would highly recommend the movie Hedwig and the Angry Inch to anyone interested in in LGBTA issues, particularly to those fans of Outspoken's drag show.

Ok, so additionally:

I think that the LGBT community is portrayed through the media in somewhat of a minstrelsy fashion. On reality TV shows and on sitcoms like Will and Grace, there seems to be a prescription for gay men as being flamboyant, promiscuous, and brash. While they characters themselves are charismatic to audiences, which may indicate a surface level of encouraging societal acceptance/appreciation for homosexual men, it is still an example of marginalized peoples playing up their stereotypes to a dominant mainstream audience, in this case, heterosexuals who buy into the prescribed image of gay men. I do feel that there is a little more room for lesbians to be portrayed uniquely in the media, as in shows like The L Word. However, lesbian scenes tend to include sexier "lipstick" lesbians, which i assume is thought to be more visually appealing to a mainstream audience.