"Rhythm is a Dancer" ended, and so did the lights and mirror ball rotation. The stage became dark and instrumental music reminiscent of the theme music of "The Lucy Show" played through the loud speakers. As if on cue, the dance floor emptied and butches, fems, bottoms, tops and versatiles ( who were really bottoms but lied and said they were switch-hitters to preserve a semblance masculinity) filled the tables to become the audience for "Cherry Fontaine's Monthly Talent Night". The show was open to anyone, and any type of talent was welcome -- not just lip synching men in wigs, but most of the show participants were drag queens who hoped to be booked at regular shows where they'd be paid a fee for their feminine efforts. Tonight, they only performed for tips except for Cherry Fontaine. She was paid 50.00 and two pair of sheer-to-the-waist panty hose for her role as show director.............and three drink tickets that she gave away or sold at a discount because she didn't drink. (( After mulitple years of bartending, she'd learned to detest the taste of liquor and its effects )). Of course, all performers received tips ( or not ) from the audience, but onlookers were not obligated to tip.................and the only tips that some hopeful impersonators received were boos and shouts of "Get off the stage" and "You suck".....and if the queen was an absolute train wreck, she was tipped in hurled ice cubes, sucked lemon wedges ( that had previously garnished a cocktail) and wadded bevnaps......(..and once I witnessed a tomatoe between the eyes -- and it made her right lash go crooked, too -- tossed from an ex lover...but that's another story..Of course, he was escorted out of the bar, but he was a hero for months.....).
While some of the participants in the show were seasoned drag queens who just wanted to make a little extra cash through tips because some audience members could be quite generous -- depending on their level of intoxication, other performers were novice female impersonators who were basically getting their feet wet in the world of drag. On rare occasion, a star was born, but most of the time First Timers could be witnessed selling their drag -- wigs, jewelry, cosmetics and clothes -- to the experienced queens at greatly reduced rates following the show ( and they could be heard swearing that they'd never humiliate themselves publicly again in a wig, and most of the time, the people who had witnessed their atrocities were over-joyed to hear it ).
After all, if it was easy being a drag queen, every gay man with theatrical inclinations would do it if simply for the cash and nothing else because if a queen was good, she could rake in the cash..It was very possible to make a few hundred dollars with only three or four drag numbers, and while it was possible, it didn't happen often, and it certainly didn't happen to everyone who painted his face and walked with a swoosh...... The good ones made it look simple; the bad ones only made the good ones look better and demonstrated to the gay world that it wasn't nearly as easy as it looked. There was a talent in creating the illusion; some people had it, and some did not. If a queen was gifted enough to combine lip-sync, theatre, character creation, beauty, self-confidence and rhythm, he could be a star. If not, he'd be ridiculed and taunted for years about his few minutes on stage when he grasped for stardom, but was flushed from the stage..............And, drag queens weren't usually highly sought after sex partners in the gay world. Many gays eschewed drag queens after those queens exited the stage, but they were lauded when they performed. Queens who were feminine when they were out of drag were especially reviled, which never made sense to me. I chalked it up to many "Men" being uncomfortable with their own femininity -- even gay men hated to admit that they had any sort of feminine in them...even when they bent over. Many gays couldn't understand the theatrical part of drag, and they were probably just uneducated and ignorant and couldn't understand that the sit-coms and dramas that they watched on the T.V were only actors portraying a character,too. Certainly, there were those bisexual men who wanted chicks with dicks, but they were a minority..and most drag queens would never consider doing the frantic tumble in drag, but some were known to slit a hole in the crotch of their panty hose and go at it -- but they were the butt of drag and regarded like the sluts in high school who laid the football team...................
Yes, the gay world has its social echelons, just like the straight world. It was a true wonder to find a drag queen who was not only a pretty boy, but was also a pretty girl. For some reason, ugly boys made beautiful drag queens...and gorgeous men were simply dogs as women...but every now and then...the two united...and they were celebrities more out of awe than anything else....and the other drag queens envied them.........................and.................... a jealous drag queen is dangerous and cruel.
While some of the participants in the show were seasoned drag queens who just wanted to make a little extra cash through tips because some audience members could be quite generous -- depending on their level of intoxication, other performers were novice female impersonators who were basically getting their feet wet in the world of drag. On rare occasion, a star was born, but most of the time First Timers could be witnessed selling their drag -- wigs, jewelry, cosmetics and clothes -- to the experienced queens at greatly reduced rates following the show ( and they could be heard swearing that they'd never humiliate themselves publicly again in a wig, and most of the time, the people who had witnessed their atrocities were over-joyed to hear it ).
After all, if it was easy being a drag queen, every gay man with theatrical inclinations would do it if simply for the cash and nothing else because if a queen was good, she could rake in the cash..It was very possible to make a few hundred dollars with only three or four drag numbers, and while it was possible, it didn't happen often, and it certainly didn't happen to everyone who painted his face and walked with a swoosh...... The good ones made it look simple; the bad ones only made the good ones look better and demonstrated to the gay world that it wasn't nearly as easy as it looked. There was a talent in creating the illusion; some people had it, and some did not. If a queen was gifted enough to combine lip-sync, theatre, character creation, beauty, self-confidence and rhythm, he could be a star. If not, he'd be ridiculed and taunted for years about his few minutes on stage when he grasped for stardom, but was flushed from the stage..............And, drag queens weren't usually highly sought after sex partners in the gay world. Many gays eschewed drag queens after those queens exited the stage, but they were lauded when they performed. Queens who were feminine when they were out of drag were especially reviled, which never made sense to me. I chalked it up to many "Men" being uncomfortable with their own femininity -- even gay men hated to admit that they had any sort of feminine in them...even when they bent over. Many gays couldn't understand the theatrical part of drag, and they were probably just uneducated and ignorant and couldn't understand that the sit-coms and dramas that they watched on the T.V were only actors portraying a character,too. Certainly, there were those bisexual men who wanted chicks with dicks, but they were a minority..and most drag queens would never consider doing the frantic tumble in drag, but some were known to slit a hole in the crotch of their panty hose and go at it -- but they were the butt of drag and regarded like the sluts in high school who laid the football team...................
Yes, the gay world has its social echelons, just like the straight world. It was a true wonder to find a drag queen who was not only a pretty boy, but was also a pretty girl. For some reason, ugly boys made beautiful drag queens...and gorgeous men were simply dogs as women...but every now and then...the two united...and they were celebrities more out of awe than anything else....and the other drag queens envied them.........................and.................... a jealous drag queen is dangerous and cruel.
No comments:
Post a Comment