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Excursion 2, by Caitlyn Caniglia


For my second Queer Excursion I chose to stay on Regis Campus and go to the Drag Show. The Drag Show was on November 15 and was ran by QSA (Queer Student Alliance). The show included 8 students some new to the drag show scene and some who had done it in years past. The show itself was really really new to me as I had never been to a drag show before. The first three people were new to the drag community but were very comfortable in the environment they were brought into and could see that they were trying to show their most authentic self. The last drag queens and kings had previously done it before, and you could for sure tell this wasn't their first time. The drag kings and queens were confident within the space that was created for them, even with the 150 people there. After the performances were done there was a discussion forum about the show. When asked why they did drag most answered that it was something to test their boundaries while some had send it was to expose them to a new community they had not been a part of. The drag performers seemed like they wanted a new experience along with being a better ally to the community. The drag show itself was an amazing experience and being able to hear from the people who did preform really created a great open dialogue. Not only did the performers feel comfortable in the drag show environment but everyone in the crowd felt it as a safe space. During the discourse after the show, the commentary from the crowd itself was enlightening. The fact that people felt safe in a communal university space really gave me a sense of pride. The Archdiocese had previously sent a letter to the university in which it stated that it did not want the university to go forward with the drag show at all. This did not stop the Regis community from continuing on with the show though. Creating this safe space for LGBTQIA+ community is something that I felt was important enough for the university to maintain. The only previous experience I had with drag shows was RuPaul’s drag race, so to see this in real life was an amazing experience. I want to continue on with this experience and would be interested in following up and seeing if theres anywhere else in the community that I can continue this involvement.

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