Drag Fashion Show Promotes Confidence, Inclusivity

Ira Grey struts down the runway during the Ball Culture Fashion Show hosted by the Gender and Sexuality Center as part of the LGBTQ Symposium. |Photo by Anna Meassick

The annual fashion show in honor of Coming Out Month, acts as an accepting and confidence-boosting experience for the was held at the Gender and Sexuality Center on Friday.

This was the final event of the 24th annual LGBTQ+ Symposium.

The theme of the fashion show this year was “Ballroom Culture,” following last year’s theme which was “Express your Legacy.” The theme was inspired by the show “Pose” on FX. The organizer of the event, Nate Vaccaro, a senior majoring in writing and rhetoric, wanted people to be more aware of ball culture and the history of drag.

“This is the third year that we have done a fashion show type thing,” Vaccaro said. “It really just started because I wanted to see an inclusive fashion show where people show and wear whatever they wanted. They’re accepted and have people cheer for them and I think that is a radical and powerful thing to do.”

The participants were judged on how well they tailored their outfits to the theme, their confidence and their style.

“It was my first time judging,” said URI senior Rafael Alvarez. “It was great seeing people perform and just expressing themselves. Seeing everyone coming together, performing and enjoying themselves. I wanted people to have fun first of all. I wanted them to be comfortable in their body and with what they were doing. I think everyone did an amazing job.”

The event was hosted by URI alumnus Semi Sweet, who has done various drag shows in different parts of New England.

“I really like performing and it was exciting to come back and see the new kids coming out,” Sweet said. “ I wanted to speak about the diversity of the event. For example, the drag fantasy category wasn’t limited to just men dressed as women. I appreciated that and the fact that everyone was judged fairly, as someone who is trans and does drag.”  

The awards were based on three different categories, which included drag fantasy, executive realness and Rhody pride. Ira Gray, a marine biology major, won in the executive realness category. The drag fantasy award was tied between participants Andy-rogynous and Motorola Razor. The winners received rainbow shaped door mats as prizes.

“It was really fun.” Gray said. “I was nervous and hadn’t practiced or anything. I just put on this mustache for any drag event. It was a lot of fun and I’m glad that they put this together.”

According to the Gender and Sexuality Center’s website, the LGBTQ+  Symposium is “A series of gender and sexuality themed and affiliated events happen throughout this week in the spring, in order to raise awareness regarding issues within the LGBTQ Community that are not often discussed (mental health, stigma, LGBTQ history).”

The symposium began on Monday, March 4 with various events like discussions about LGBTQ+ expression in the digital age, talks highlighting Ellen DeGeneres’s coming out story, rock painting night and body art to encourage expression in the LGBTQ+ community.

Even though this year’s symposium is over, the Gender and Sexuality Center still has various events lined up that highlights allies and resources for LGBTQ+ community, and celebrates what it stands for.