Flannel shirts and baggy pants. High heels, skin-tight dresses, and wigs galore. The Stack in the Kellogg Center was transformed into a dance floor on Thursday evening. Men and women of Albion’s LGBT Community dressed in their best drag to perform to likes of Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga.
Put on by the LGBT (Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender) community as part of “Coming Out Week”, contestants performed to compete for the title of Miss Albion Drag show 2011. One contestant, Riet Groenleer, Grand Rapids junior, performed to Bruno Mar’s The Lazy Song.
“This is the most visible event we have,” Groenleer said. “It’s important for people to see what masculinity is and is not. It shakes up the foundation of what gender really is.”
With multicolored streamers and lights lined the Stack, the host ‘Sabin’, who has been doing drag for almost 9 years, came in from Detroit to host the event. Outfitted with a leopard-print dress and thigh-high leather boots, Sabin kept the crowd entertained.
“I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so much or have been so entertained,” Meredith Miller, Oakton, Va. sophomore, said. “It was great to see so many people participating and enjoying themselves.”
Between performances, Sabin would draw on the reactions of members of the audience to try to engage them and all with fun and laughs.
“I thought being picked on would be really embarrassing–and it was–but I’m glad I was. This was a great idea to do from the LGBrits! I’ll see you all next year too!” Northville first-year, Toshiki Yamada said.
In the end, Eric Highers was ultimately crowned by receiving the biggest applause from the audience.
“I am extremely proud to see my friends, members of the LGBT community and otherwise, celebrate solidarity and openness,” Allen Park junior Alex Seasock said.
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