Lansing resident Robbie Ramon, who goes by stage name “Cicily,” left, talks with Tyler Cooper, stage name “Sabin,” before their performances for the Project DRAGway show Wednesday in Phillips Hall. The drag show was put on to boost awareness of the LGBT community.
Makeup, lipstick, pantyhose and women’s undergarments cover his masculine frame, but Matt Watters said people shouldn’t feel threatened by his appearance.
“It’s a little uncomfortable being 6-foot-4 and putting on 5-inch stilettos, but people should realize we’re not freaks, we just do it for fun,” said Watters, who began performing in drag shows 10 months ago.
Watters was one of many performers to participate in Project DRAGway, an event aimed at raising awareness for the LGBT community on campus.
Held in the Phillips Hall basement, Wednesday’s event raised more than $200 from the roughly 150 people in attendance.
Dressed in glitzy women’s attire and wigs, they danced and sang while accepting donations in their hands, down their shirts or in their mouths from audience members to benefit the Lansing Area AIDS Network.
“As a college student, you need to step out of your comfort zone. This is an event that can entertain them and make them aware of what’s around them,” said Phillips Hall resident mentor Chris Lopez, a studio art junior who created the event in order to serve the needs of LGBT students on his floor and in the MSU community.
Dietetics sophomore Kathryn Lawson, though not a member of the LGBT community, came to the event for a fun night.
“It’s a fun way to show people that not everyone in the LGBT community fits a certain stereotype,” Lawson said.
Support student media! Please consider donating to The State News and help fund the future of journalism.
