Bisexual, Gay, Lesdian, Straight Alliance (BGLSA) members and allies packed PT’s 1109 and anxiously awaited the famous drag queen Patti O’Furniture to announce the start of the Ms. Gaymecock pageant Friday.
It was time for USC’s BGLSA names two performers as the year’s Mr. and Ms. Gaymecock in its annual fundraiser.
As president of BGLSA, Devon Sherrell was proud to organize the event to showcase talented students.
“This is really a talent, and it’s something that people have to work really hard for,” Sherrell said.
Even though Ms. Gaymecock is a competition, the night was more like a party, where attendees danced to the hits and colorful lights flashed in celebration of the right to be whoever they want to be.
O’Furniture’s charismatic and self-confident image helped contestants and aspiring drag kings and queens accept themselves for whoever they were.
“Remember, labels are only for boxes in little kindergarten classrooms,” O’Furniture said.
O’Furniture feels close to the USC BGLSA, considering she was the advisor of the University of South Carolina’s chapter 16 years ago.
With the original stage name Crystal Stone, O'Furniture's close friend Tabitha inspired her to put a goofy twist on her given name, Pat. And thus, Patti O'Furniture was born.
After each contestant was introduced, they were asked a question from the "wig of questions," then took center stage to perform.
Besides being crowned the fiercest drag king and queen in Columbia, there is another prize at stake: confirmed performance spots in the biggest drag show in South Carolina, The Birdcage.
Crowd favorites Roc Ardour and Ebony Would were crowned 2014 Mr. and Ms. Gaymecock. This coming spring, The Birdcage will feature the 2014 winner in a group performance with past winners of Ms. Gaymecock.
“This is the single most important thing I can do for my community,” Would said. “Drag queens are role models, entertainers, and they challenge social stigmas."
Whether they strutted in head to toe glitter, with a serpent sock puppet or with leaves woven in their hair, each contestant left every move they had on the stage.
“Drag is a uniquely LGBT art form that everybody can appreciate,” he said.