Life's A Drag - At Best

Sometimes I think maybe I've become a little *too* emerged in gay culture. When I saw a flyer for a female opera performer at The Retro Bar last week, I automatically assumed it was a drag queen. When I figured out it wasn't, the general concensus was, "well, what's the point in that, then?!" Women dressed as women - pah, you can see that any day , you're not going to pay good money ...

So last night I indulged myself in my favourite drag fest, Wigstock The Movie - a celebration of life, liberty and the pursuit of big hair!

Wigstock is an annual drag event in New York City put together by Lady Bunny (see pic). The original shows used to be eight hours long, but it's now been cut back to two.

Alexis Arquette is our host in the movie. He looks AMAZING in a sheer white dress and long platinum wig. I love him intimidating a couple of straight construction workers who are clearly not too comfortable with what's going on.

I also love the old Italian guy they interview who doesn't see what the problem is, "There's people riding the subway getting mugged, getting robbed, getting killed ... and they're worrying about a coupla guys wearing dresses." The camera then pans down to the little ra-ra skirt the guy found in a skip and decided to wear for the day.

Some of the best performances in the movie are Lypsinka being bothered by a midget, and Leigh Bowery giving birth to a full size human, disguised as a baby. There's also excellent clips of Duelling Bankheads, Rupaul and Crystal Waters

A clip from the opening sequence sums it up best: "You feel so much more fabulous when you're in drag!"