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
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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