Supreme Drag Superstar 7 crowns royalty

PRIDE’s annual event showcased the glamour of drag culture while discussing social issues in society

 

Celina Tebor | Feature Editor | USD Vista

 

Almost every seat in Shiley Theatre was filled. Tickets had sold out in a day and a half. Hundreds of Toreros gathered Thursday, April 11 to witness a night of singing, dancing, and performing. This was not a University of San Diego theater production, however. This was USD’s Celebration of Gender Expression: Supreme Drag Superstar 7.

 

The show featured four drag kings and four drag queens who each performed in Shiley Theatre in hopes of becoming the seventh Supreme Drag Superstar. Drag queens and kings were judged on creativity, talent, nerve, and charisma. The show featured speakers, such as professors Martin Repinecz, Ph.D. and Greg Prieto, Ph.D. as well as Transgender Youth Services Navigator, a.t. furuya, the fifth person in the United States to legally change their gender to nonbinary.

 

Junior Madeline Neubert was one of many students who attended the event in anticipation of seeing the featured speakers at the show. Neubert is a fan of the reality TV show RuPaul’s Drag Race, which inspired her to see the show at USD.

 

“I started watching (RuPaul’s Drag Race) when I was in Europe because it was on Netflix and was always recommended to me, and it’s a big thing over there,” Neubert said. “And I really like the makeup part of it, because I think it’s crazy how they can completely transform themselves and have two different personas.”

 

Although Neubert was interested in attending the event because of her interest in RuPaul’s Drag Race, she acknowledged that drag has important implications within USD’s culture.

 

“I definitely think it’s important that we’re allowed to put these types of events on, because I know that it’s been controversial, and it’s important that it’s actually being able to be done,” Neubert said. “I think it’s different, and not something most campuses have and not something most college students are exposed to. I think it’s important that we give people the opportunity to check it out if they want to come, and if they don’t want to, they don’t have to either. But they can just know that it’s going on and that it’s an opportunity to learn about a different culture that not everyone is familiar about.”

 

PRIDE has been preparing for the Supreme Drag Superstar since last semester, and the show is one of the organization’s most popular events on campus. Supreme Drag Superstar 7 not only takes months to prepare, but can also be expensive for some of the performers.

 

Senior Benn Joyce, who performed as drag queen Brennda Joyy, confided that he had easily spent over $600 on his outfit for the performance.

 

“(The show) was something I was really excited about and been wanting to do for a few years,” Joyce said. “But drag was expensive, so I wasn’t ready, financially and emotionally, to become a part of it. A lot of drag is about being polished, so it is expensive. Not everyone is able to do it.”

 

Joyce has enjoyed drag since before he knew about USD’s celebration of it, but only decided to join PRIDE and participate in the show his senior year.

 

“I’ve just loved drag since high school, really,” Joyce said. “The show RuPaul’s Drag Race taught me about the culture and I’ve investigated it a lot more since I’ve grown up. I’ve actually only been a part of PRIDE for one semester, just because I needed my own time to figure things out.”

 

Drag is an expression of performing arts in what some might say is its most extreme form, something Joyce loves about the culture of drag.

 

“I just think it’s so fun,” Joyce said. “It’s so, ‘Why not?’ You know? I just love the showmanship of it. I did theater in high school, so I like drama. And drag is just drama, on top of drama, on top of drama. It’s funny, it’s crazy, it’s confusing at times, but overall, it’s a learning experience, definitely.”

 

Although Joyce enjoys drag for its dramatic flair, he also acknowledged how politics play a big role in the event and in drag culture.

 

“Politics is always very polarizing, so being able to come to an event like this, where people are just able to support each other and have fun (is amazing),” Joyce said. “And no one is going to come into the show to yell and scream in protest. And if they do, that’s their choice, but they’re going to get escorted out immediately. It’s maybe not the smartest decision. I definitely think it’s relevant and important to have this show, especially now in this political climate.”

 

Joyce works three different jobs on campus, including being a Residential Assistant (RA). As a face that dozens of Toreros see daily, it was difficult for him to want to perform at first.

 

“You don’t know how (your

residents) feel about things,” Joyce said. “And you don’t want to challenge them in a way that makes them feel insulted as an RA, because you’re trying to be inclusive of all people, including those who don’t agree with your own opinions. I was definitely afraid to come and do this show. But overall, I just have so many supporting friends and family members.”

Joyce hopes that the audience understood that although drag is an important part of LGBTQ+ culture, it is not exclusive.

 

“I don’t think a lot of people know a lot about drag,” Joyce said. “Maybe because there’s a stigma of, ‘If they like drag, they might be gay.’ Which obviously isn’t a problem, but it’s taboo in more of a heterosexual, cisgender culture, and this is to show that it doesn’t have to be that. Obviously the LGBTQIA+ community uses it as an outlet for gender expression, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be exclusive of other groups.”

 

First-year Paulina Sierra, who performed as drag king Rafael LaBelle, noticed a startling lack of drag kings in drag culture, despite its purpose of being inclusive.

 

“In society, people are very aware of RuPaul’s Drag Race, but drag kings aren’t very elevated within the community,” Sierra said. “Which is sort of interesting — people are dressing up as an exaggerated version of a gender, but there’s still an oddly misogynistic culture even within the drag community.”

 

Sierra further explained how drag culture can have underlying misogynistic tones.

 

“The point of drag is to make a mockery of binary gender,” Sierra said. “In our misogynistic culture, it’s very easy to make fun of women. And therefore, when a drag queen goes up, people think it’s funny and think, ‘Dressing like a woman is funny.’ And the people who don’t really get the very deep concept of it can understand that, but dressing like a man isn’t funny. It’s empowering and almost a threat to gender roles.”

 

Sierra’s drag king persona, Rafael LaBelle, although not social-justice motivated, still challenged binary roles in society.

 

“I did want to create this human embodiment of toxic masculinity,” Sierra said. “That’s what I wanted to make fun of — this exaggerated idea of toxic masculinity that is expected of a lot of people. It was really interesting to fuel this persona. For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been dressing a lot more androgynous than I normally do, because I’m normally a very feminine person, so this has been a very jarring experience.”

 

Despite the many performances and presentations that were focused on sexual assault awareness week, LGBTQ+ rights, and social justice, Sierra believes the basic premise and roots of the event are just as important.

 

“The whole point of this particular presentation of drag is for love, and celebration,” Sierra said. “We really want to emphasize that. Obviously there’s a lot of controversy on campus — a lot of people who are upset that this exists. To us, at the end of the day, this is a celebration of love. And a celebration of ourselves. And just to say, ‘This is who we are. This is what we have to offer the world.’”

 

The Mistress of Ceremonies, or emcee, was David Petruschin, more commonly known as the drag queen Raven. Petruschin made his debut hit as Raven on season two of the TV show RuPaul’s Drag Race, and has been a fan favorite ever since.

 

Petruschin balanced humorous commentary and hard-hitting topics such as the social implications of drag and its importance to the LGBTQ+ community during the show, making the audience chuckle at times and bow their heads in somberness at others. In a one-on-one interview, he expressed how important drag was for his personal development.

 

“I wish I didn’t try to live my life trying to have girlfriends, trying to suppress who I was,” Petruschin said. “That’s the ultimate goal — to be at a point in life where someone doesn’t have to worry about what someone’s thinking about their sexuality, what someone’s thinking about their gender, what someone’s thinking about their expression. That someone doesn’t have to worry about someone’s opinion of them.”

 

Every year at Supreme Drag Superstar, demonstrators pray outside of Shiley Theatre with rosaries, in opposition of the drag show. This year, a group of seven clergy members stood outside of Camino Hall praying the rosary. A demonstrator, Allyson Smith, explained why she was praying.

 

“We believe things are being promoted and taught on this campus that are contrary to perennial Catholic doctrine and that are actually harmful to students,” Smith said. “For example, the existence of the PRIDE club is something that is harmful to students spiritually and emotionally and physically, because it encourages lifestyles that have a high rate of disease. And then as far as the drag show goes, we feel that that is against the celebration of God’s design for each human being as a male or female. By promoting the drag show, you’re encouraging people not to be satisfied with their God-given genders.”

 

Smith went on to describe why she does not approve of the show.

 

“And there’s actually an ugliness about it, because I’ve attended it in previous years,” Smith said. “And it’s quite ugly to see a big tall man with an adam’s apple, for example, and with big calves, dressed up and pretend he’s a woman, and vice versa for a woman. Small women, trying to dress and act like men, there’s a certain ugliness about it and it bespeaks of dissatisfaction with the way that God created males and females to be.”

 

Petruschin gave advice as to how he handles protesters and demonstrators.

 

“I have been dealing with demonstrators since I went to my very first PRIDE,” Petruschin said. “It’s better to just ignore them. Literally, they’re not going to make or break your time. And if they were actually part of the event, they would realize, ‘Wow, this is actually a lot of fun.’ But they’re the ones standing outside sweating, so I say, ‘Who cares?’ It’s better to just keep on going.”

 

Petruschin further elaborated on how the LGBTQ+ community has been affected by demonstrators, and the best way to handle them.

 

“There are so many people in the world now who want the LGBTQ community to suffer,” Petruschin said. “They want us killed, they want us to have no rights, to go back to the closet. And they need to be ignored. So ignore them. And trust me, I’ve seen many protesters. I pay no mind to those people.”

 

Despite some of the more serious social connotations around drag culture, Petruschin loves the glitz and glamour surrounding it. However, he does want people to realize the artistic side of it.

 

“(I want the audience) to realize that this is performance art,” Petruschin said. “It’s not necessarily the most beautiful thing some people see. And for some people, it will be the most beautiful thing. People need to realize that this is an art form.”

 

For the seventh year in a row, Supreme Drag Superstar drew the attention of many Toreros and community members. The fun, glamorous performances were complemented, but not overshadowed by tones of serious social topics such as sexual assault, finding one’s identity, and LGBTQ+ rights.

 

Based on the standing ovations, cheers of the crowd, and the sheer amount of Toreros in Shiley Theatre, it is safe to say that Supreme Drag Superstar 7 was anything but a drag.

 

Drag King runner up: Lars Johnson

Drag King winner: Michael Buté

Drag Queen winner: Stella Vanilla