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Part of Students 'Come Out' to Celebrate
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Students 'Come Out' to Celebrate
Drag Show Highlights Week of Gay Pride
RACHAEL KERI WILLIAMS
JAMAL HALAWA
Feature Editors
Men dressed as women,
singing and dancing provacatively in the Student Union
Wednesday, was an integral part
of the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Alliance's plan to inform as
many people as possible of
National Coming Out Week.
The idea behind Coming Out
Week is to put people thinking
about coming out more at ease
with their sexuality, according to
its founders. The week is also a
celebration of pride, freedom
and acceptance for straight, as
well as gay, people.
Traditionally, "Drag performances brought the (gay) community together for entertainment,
while the drag queen's humor
defended a community under
attack," said Heidi Ravenel,
LGBA secretary, in her speech at
the start of the performance.
"No tongue was sharper than
the drag queen 's, and this aptitude
for biting humor was used both as
a defense against harassment and
a method for restoring the atmosphere after a police raid," Ravena)
said. " Drag queens could turn
oppression into humor - a vital
tactic for survival in an extremely
hostile world."
As art was essential in the fight
for black civil liberties, freedom
of expression is seen as essential
in the continuing struggle for
homosexual rights.
"Butch lesbians also practiced
a form of drag that was essential
to the survival of the gay community," said Ravenel. "What
the butch lesbian lacked in theatricality she more than made up
for in her ability to defend
against physical violence."
The drag show was a hug e
draw, and students came to
watch the performers for various
reasons. Udi Ofer brought hi s
see DRAG QUEENS page 8
Drag queen, Fantasy Island, entertains and educates the crowd
in the Union Wednesday during National Coming Out Week.
Gay Community Celebrates
NANSEN NG
Spectrum Staff Writer
A celebration of the inalienable- right of all humankind to
life, liberty, justice and the freedom to love and cherish individuals of their own choice received
attention on campus this week.
Today is National Coming Out
Day, dedicated to gays, lesbians
and bisexuals who want to reveal
their homosexuality. The day
commemorates a march for gay
rights that took place on October
II, 1987 in Washington, D.C.
This year, the Lesbian Gay
Bisexual Aliiance expanded
National Coming Out Day to an
entire week. Events to raise
awareness of homosexuality
included a panel discussion on
sexual and women's right. Later
in the week there were films and
a drag show.
On Wednesday, Gay Jeans
Day, the LGBA reached out to
the entire UB community, asking
people to show support by wearing blue jeans . Tim Allen , copresident of the LGBA, said ,
"Gay Jeans Day is an easy way to
show support . ... It demonstrates
that queer people are among the
population everyday and that you
cannot tell by looking at people
that they are not straight."
Heidi Ravenel, secretary of
the LGBA explained that wearing jeans is some thin g people
take for granted every day.
"Another idea behind Gay
Jeans Day is that every day
straight people take for granted
their safety by not having to
think about their sexuality or its
implications, and that gay peo-
pie do think about it everyday,"
Ravenel said .
However, some people wore
blue jeans without realizing the
day was Gay Jeans Day.
A UB student who wished to
remain anonymous said, "I forgot it was Gay Jeans Day this
morning. I was too busy trying
to get out the door to think about
what I was doing."
Some members of the UB
community were not in favor of
Coming Out Week.
"I believe that the behavior of
homosexuality is wrong but I
don't hate homosexuals and I
don't believe the Bible teaches
that Christians should hate
homosexuals," said Jennifer
Bliss, a full-time worker for
UB 's chapter of Brothers and
Sisters in Christ.
"People who call themselves
homosexuals have a problem
when Christians speak against
homosexuality because they feel
that that's who they are and they
don ' t distinguish it as a behavior," she said .
"I guess it bothers me that a
behavior that I consider sinful is
being celebrated," said Bliss.
Outside the Student Union,
chalk-written messages covered
the path to Founder's Plaza and
up Putnam's Way. Messages to
promote National Coming Out
Week covered the ground with
statements such as, "UB Gay?!"
and, "Queers are fabulo us."
Freedom Rings were available
at the LGBA table . They are
stri ng necklaces with different
colored rings with an explanation attached that explained,
"The colors of the rainbow have
been adopted by the gay com-
munity to symbolize the support
of diversity in society. Freedom
rings were designed by David
Spada and have become an icon
of gay culture."
After the performance, the
Drag Queen Show featured
var ious drag queens from
Western New York, including a
UB student.
Drag Queen Kendall Kelly,
a.k.a. Orgasmatron, said, "I've
been in bands for years, and I
just wanted to keep performing.
I went to one of the shows at the
Club Marcella in Rochester, and
I thought it looked interesting. I
just did it and it took off."
Sitting at one of the LGBA
booths, Eugene Abrahamson
gave his view on drag. "They're
visual role models. We do
describe ourselves by our sexual
orientation ... gay or straight.
Some do drag because it's an
artistic form, to raise money or
bring recognition to the gay community."
Roy Klein , a senior majoring in
communications, said, "The fact
that there are so many people
here today goes to show that people really support gay rights in
the university, and I think it's real
nice what we're seeing here."
Although many people watched
the show, not each individual had
the same attitude as Klein. "It's
scary. I've never experienced
anything like this before," said
Wolletta Scott, a senior majoring
in English. "I don't support them .
God made Adam and Eve, not
Adam and Steve."
Twelve members of the
LGBA will be going to Washington, D.C. today to represent
UB at the Gay Youth March.
When you can____________