Spectrum, the University’s gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender association, is hosting Sashay for UA, a student drag show, followed by an after party at the Brick House on Saturday.
The two events are fundraisers for the West Alabama AIDS Outreach (WAAO). Sashay for UA will begin at 7 p.m. in the Ferguson Center theater and admission is $5. Following the show, a prom-themed date auction with a Lady Gaga feel will also raise money for WAAO at 10 p.m. at the Brick House.
Six student drag queens and kings and two student musicians will perform along with two professional drag queens from Mystic Krew of the Druids. There will also be a raffle for energy drinks in honor of finals week and free food.
Spectrum president Jazz Franklin said traditional drag involves a person in an exaggerated opposite gender role lip syncing and performing to a song. The extravagant performance aims to get the crowd into the spirit and draw viewers into the experience.
“Drag culture can break barriers,” Franklin said. “It doesn’t have anything to do with sexuality. We forget people do this every day, like when women go out in T-shirts and jeans. It highlights that people are different.”
“Noah Johnson will perform Beatles songs and Emily Richie will cover Lady Gaga,” Franklin added. “If the music doesn’t get you, the drag will, and if the drag doesn’t get you the music will. There is something for everyone.”
Huey Rudder, a freshman majoring in chemical engineering, is one of the six drag performers. “I’m performing ‘F— You’ by Lily Allen. I’m going to look like a little sorority girl in my sundress, neon tights and wedges,” said Rudder, whose stage name is Saphyr Flame.
“It’s fun, I get to do something maybe Huey wouldn’t do but Saphyr would,” Rudder said. “Don’t judge it until you see it.”
Franklin said the fundraiser and Spectrum are trying to cater to people outside of the LGBT community. They have invited other student organizations and the Women’s Resource Center and want the general population to come out and see what they do.
“We want to show student groups can interact with the community, and we do want to promote community and university relations,” Franklin said.
Franklin also said that not only is it a way to have fun and dance, but it is also a way to educate about the stigma that follows those affected with HIV and AIDS.
Spectrum, which has been at the University since 1982, wants to reach out to different groups on campus. Joshua Burford, one advisor to Spectrum, said next year the group wants to reach out to other minority groups on campus and to smaller LGBT groups on other campuses in the state and across the Southeast.
“Spectrum gives GLBT students a sense of community,” Rudder said. “A lot of times you don’t get a sense of community in high school or small towns. It’s the first step in seeing how you fit in with the community and what your role is.”
UA’s prominent GLBT group will host a drag show to raise money for West Alabama Aids Outreach May 1, all while trying to reach out to other campus groups.
