drag queen shows r
more, ‘Oh God, you know, do
you want to do this?’ Hut, yeah. I
do.”
Because Closet Hall will be
Michael’s first performance, he
won’t go it alone, he says. He’ll
have a sponsor who is an estab
lished drag oueen and former
Miss Gay Nebraska who will help
him prepare.
Michael refers to his sponsor
as a female.
“She’s going to help me set up
my whole look," he says. “It’s a
man. I just say ‘she’ because it’s a
drag queen.”
Michael says he’ll continue to
perform if he likes it. After Closet
'Ball, Michael could dance in local
drag queen shows and maybe
enter the Miss Gay Nebraska and
Miss Gay America pageants.
Drag-queen performing is big
business, Michael says. In Us
Vegas, billboards are lit up with
names of drag-ouecn performers.
Competition between drag
queens is sometimes fierce, he
says. But Michael thinks he has
an edge over local performers.
Michael is thin — one charac
teristic that sets him apart from
most drag queens in tne Midwest,
he says. He strips off his panty
hose, replacing them with lube
socks and pulls on a pair of blue
jeans that til naturally around his
150-pound frame.
“There’s ^ lot of drag queens
that are larger than me. But
they’re good They use the
padding and give themselves the
curves that they need.”
Michael toys with the buckle
of a purse as ne talks. He picks
up a blue bra and fidgets with
the clasp.
Michael says he’s at ease about
wearing women’s clothes.
“Did I ever dress up in my
mom’s clothes? Yes."
- ft
Vve gone to buy ciga
rettes and have had guys
say, ‘Hey, baby, ’ and stuff
like that. Michael
drag performer
--99 ~
Hut if his mother had known,
he says, she might not have liked
it.
Michael’s mother still doesn’t
know he wants to be a drag
queen. She knows Michael wears
women’s clothes, but, he says,
she isn’t as comfortable with his
lifestyle as he is.
“Every lime we go shopping
she’ll go, ‘Did you guys go out
and buy some more horrible
clothes?’. . . . She doesn’t care for
the way I dress.
“My mother is a character.
Sometimes she is completely
accepting of everything and
sometimes she is asking a million
questions," he says.
She has asked why he has to
be so feminine, he savs as he
pulls on his black leather Harley
Davidson bools.
“1 just told her it’s a part of
me,” he says. “It’s the way I like
to dress. It’s the way I like to
present myself. Who likes to*,
blend in with everybody else?"
“It’s all jusflike freedom of
expression."
But for now, Michael says his
freedom to dress up is restricted
to the night — a lime when he
doesn’t have to explain himself to
co-workers and relatives who
don’t know about his lifestyle*
“If everybody just accepted
people and people got along, we
wouldn’t have all the bullshit that
we do in the world today.”
How to stay cool
when it's over 200.
If your cholesterol level rises above 200, see your doctor. You could be at risk for heart
disease. Especially if you also smoke, are overweight, or have high blood pressure.
Your doctor can show you ways to reduce your Your cholesterol level: A number lo lively
cholesterol level and your risk for heart problems. ▲
So be aware of your cholesterol level. Then you fa American Heart
can keep your cool W Association
For information call (402)346-0771._V Nebraska Attiliate
Menu variety for __
M 1 • treating the
2 Medium ~ ^
service for
g^ • 1 quick stops
Specialty
Pizzas - $11.99
Every Sunday Night!
Carryout Only Every Sunday
Just show your student I.D. card any Sunday night from 5pm
until closing and we’ll give you two medium Specialty Pizzas
for only $11.99! It’s the best deal around, and more proof that
w& really take care of the student body. i
Offer expires May 18,1992.
Please present your student I.O. when ordering Not valid in combination with any
other Pizza Hut® otter. Valid only tor Carryout at the participating Pizza Hut®
restaurant and carryout/delivery units in greater Omaha. Lincoln and Kearney!
'
w ‘ TT■■
