By: Destiny Jackson, Co-Opinion Editor
CSUDH’s Multicultural Center which includes; the Rose Black Resource Center, Toro Dreamers Success Center and the Queer Culture & Resource Center invites you to watch three queens perform for their life on Oct. 25, as they attempt to create the best inclusive show this campus has ever seen. Welcome to the Battle of the Drag.
In September of this year, Ohio Jesuit school, John Carroll University was wrought with social media backlash and student protest when it decided to end it’s annual Drag Show competition that it had hosted since 2013 after University President Michael Johnson, said that it caused a lot of “divisiveness” on campus. Which can be slightly hard to believe with the popularity of LGBTQ entertainment such as FX’s Pose, Netflix’s Queer Eye and the continual ratings buster, Ru Paul’s Drag Race. However, let’s not forget about another tragic event that occured this year — Boston’s Straight Pride Parade. Amongst all the outrage and alternative lifestlyles, and with all the new postive culminating talk around gender identity, transgender rights and selected pronouns, it only makes sense that local government, community centers, and even colleges are trying to figure out how to support their residents.
In 2018, CSUDH welcomed it’s first ever Queer specific resource center, and has been loud and proud on campus ever since with past events such as ‘Queer Geek and Gaymers Night’ and ‘Trans and Queer Mixers’, so it only makes sense that the group would team up in a first time allegiance with the Multicultural Center to host a celebratory night for the LGBTQ community.
The queens in question are; Tara Nova, who represents the TDSC, Sir Ava who represents the RBRC, and Torta Jugosa an CSUDH alum rounds out the bunch by representing the QCRC. And also in a move of solidarity and an act against exploitation, coordinator of the RBRC, Catherine Jermany wants to make sure that everyone knows that the three queens are getting their royal share. “They aren’t volunteers, we are absolutely paying our queens,” said Jermany. “ They are putting on a full show and they will be doing three performances [each] and crowd engagement activities, so this is also an underlining; this community that we’ve been working with has been exploited for work whether it be black folk as slaves, undocumented [immigrants] or queer folks, so we definitely believe in paying people for their work.”
So what else can people expect from this event beside the talented performers? For starters, it’s free and open to the public, it will take place in the LSU Courtyard from 5pm – 8pm, free food will be provided, and specially discounted theme drinks will be offered at the sports bar.
With that said it seems that the stage is set for its viewers, but is there anything that CSUDH students should know about before coming? And anything to say to the people who might be hesitant on checking it out?
“We are encouraging people to bring some single dollar bills because there will be crowd engagement,” said Jermany “and usually you see people tossing the money at the performers in drag clubs. But overall this is an opportunity to come out and support black folk, queer black folk, and queer folk.”
Come on out and show your Toro Pride at CSUDH’s Drag Show battle on Oct 25.
