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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 3, 2004)
december 3. 2004 » JllSt Mechanics ■ th a t f i x ! everything^ ¡In clu din g! Drag on, ladies Queer youth learn the ropes from some seasoned pros by M eg D aly ven before the music starts, a buzz is in the air. The crowd of mostly 20-something queers adorned in a colorful riot of drag and dress sit cross-legged facing the stage, ready to hoot and cheer. It’s like talent night at Genderfuck Academy, and the students are primed for sexy, subversive fun. A sing-songy electrónica tune starts up, and out pops 17-year-old drag queen Jerick “Jinkx” Hoffer and his cohort, Etienne Lilja, costumed as punk-rock versions of Raggedy Ann and Andy. Hoffer manipulates Lilja to the lyrics of the Dresden Dolls’ “Coin-Operated Boy.” Meant to be sung by a girl, one lyric goes: “Coin-operated boy/he may not be real experi enced with girls/but 1 know he feels like a boy should feel/isn’t that the point.” W ith Hoffer lip-synching, though, the song takes on a titil lating queer subtext. Hoffer and Lilja were just a few of the under-20 performers at September’s “Back to School with Johnny Mozzarella and Friends,” a benefit for the Sexual Minority Youth Resource Center at the all-ages club Nocturnal. Moz zarella, aka Maryanne Cassera, is one of the members of the drag king troupe DK PDX who volunteered last spring at SM YRC to present a series of drag workshops. The workshops were spearheaded by DK PDXers Simon LeBongo (Christa Orth), Tommy Torpedo (Ali Cotterill) and Randy Bush (Angie Nunes). A total of 12 young peo ple of various genders and sexual orientations participated in the six-week workshop. They practiced dance moves, learned how to put on facial hair and honed their political and cre ative messages. “Outreach is part of our mission,” says Orth of the 1 -year-old performance troupe. “Drag offers youth a way to explore gender identi ties...and express their social and political attitudes.” Cassera and Orth say the mentorships that grew out of the workshop were far-reaching. Not only were they able to advise the youth on perfonnance technique, they had a positive impact in their personal lives as well. One young performer who has benefited from the drag kings’ influence is Rachel Haynes-Brown. The 19-year-old lesbian will be attending Portland Community College this fall to work on her high schtxd completion— partly at Cassera’s urging. Haynes-Brown devel oped her character Tyrone D’Lux through the DK PDX workshop. * Before Haynes-Brown hx>k the workshop, though, she knew she was interested in doing drag. She was inspired by a photo of Cassera on the cover of Just Out. “I wanted to make people feel the way I felt when I lcxiked at that picture,” she says. Haynes-Brown is often mistaken for a boy. She says doing drag gives her a way of “cele brating being androgynous.” At the Nocturnal show, she got her chance to celebrate with her mentor. She and Cassera performed Journey’s “Any Way You Want It” with Tyrone dressed as a businessman while Johnny strutted a sports star kxtk, as if to say, “I can be any kind of man you need.” Madison High senior Sara Thornburgh says she likes doing drag because “I can be myself, and people will appreciate it.” The 17-year-old queer found a wealth of self-confidence and fun when she ttxtk the DK PDX workshop. Like Haynes-Brown, Thornburgh says she grew up often being mis E taken for a boy. So when it comes to drag, she says, “I’ve been doing this forever.” W hat she hadn’t been doing, though, is stage performance. She performs now as Cole Minor, who she describes as both “cocky” and “mellow.” “Cole is confident with women and accepts everyone for who they are,” she says. Thornburgh recently teamed with Hoffer to put on a drag show to raise money for the SM YRC bowling league. She says she wants to do drag for the rest of her life. “W e’re bending all the rules,” she says, “and I think that’s great.” Meanwhile, Hoffer sees a life beyond drag. W hile the Grant High junior did not partici pate in the DK PDX workshop, he has per- fonned with the troupe several times. “W hen I’m dressed up like a chick, I don’t have to worry about what people think of me,” says Hoffer. “I don’t do traditional drag. 1 dress more like a punk girl." Hoffer was recently voted “Diva of the U ni verse” at the all-ages queer club Escape, where he has been perfonning for several months. However, he says he is shooting for an even bigger universe: to be a professional actor or a rock star. “Drag is not my whole life,” says Hoffer. Similarly, he adds, “Being gay doesn’t define everything about me.” His mother and aunt are supportive of his drag performances, and they hope to see him someday perform at Darcelle’s so they can stuff dollars in his waistband. I c o n young sM IN T R O D U C IN G IA U R 6 N H O G R C O V E R IN G oo Pearl Rmii r Co Artwork for your floors PD X Automotive Is a certified Eco-Logical Business. (5 0 3 ) 2 8 2 -3 3 1 5 A U T O M O T I V E M«<h*nics With A Conscience M-F 9-6, Sat 10-4, Sun 11-3 4818 N. Interstate Ave. (503) 282-5102 pearlrugcompany@aol.com Come visi* us in N. Portland right off ihe AM «ooroved reoeir shoo Z Oregon certMed 0£O repair t»c#nr CwMad Machan«» Gerard Liliie • 5934 N.EL Halsey Do you want to TALK ABOUT how to STAY HEALTHY and protect your partners from HIV? . Rachel Haynes-Brown (aka Tyrone D'Lux) practices her moves Hoffer sees drag as “the ultimate icon” of queer resistance and a way to poke fun at stereotypes. “Some of my numbers mock what bugs me about women,” he says. “Some nrux:k drag queens.” Like his SM YRC comrades, Hoffer has dis covered that busting through gender barriers is just plain fun. Why should all the pretty clothes be for women, he asks. “Most of my drag,” he says, tilting his head playfully, “is out of jealousy.” jH The Washington County Pride Project will present the P ride U nited P arty , a queer youth arts festival o f workshops and performances including DK PDX, from 2 to 9 p.m . Jan . 15 at the Arts & Communication Magnet Academy, 11375 S.W. Center St. in Beaverton. Monday - Friday, 9-5 or by appointment. Includes 6 confidential sessions with incentives if eligible. out
