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By Misty Severi
The words “I’m a gummy bear, oh yes I’m a gummy bear! I’m a yummy, chummy, funny, lucky gummy bear” could be heard from the steps of the Martin Luther King building as a drag queen danced her way around a crowd of students.
Drag queens have been members of the LGBTQ community for over 100 years and now Riverside City College has brought the growing community to the campus.
The Gender and Sexualities Awareness club featured the animated performers during its 6th annual Drag show Nov. 17 on the steps of the MLK building.
GSA member and safety coordinator of the event Asher Jones was pleased with the turnout.
“I think it was good,” Jones said. “Having the community and other clubs come out and stand in solidarity made it feel more welcoming and safe on campus.”
Drag queens are men who wear feminine clothing and typically act overly feminine. While drag queens are commonly associated with gay men, a man does not have to be gay in order to be a drag queen.
Anita Rose, a drag queen who hosted the event, wore a pair of pajamas and half a teddy bear mask on one side of her face. The other side showcased dramatic makeup that drag queens are famously known for. Her brown wig was pulled into a pair of pigtails as she danced for an audience of about 30 college students.
Next was Angelique VaGorgeous, who wore a long black dress that matched her short black hair. The audience cheered in delight as VaGorgeous moved around the steps and catcalls were made from the crowd.
Palm Springs native Anna Rexia finished the individual performances in her white one legged leotard before Rose brought them all out to do a final number.
“I just passed my one year mark, so I’m the baby of the group,” Rexia said. “I love it, I’ve been dancing and doing musical theater since I was seven, so this is my chance to be by myself.”
Rose entertained the audience during brief pauses between performances by asking the audience to clap when they heard their sexuality mentioned in song.
The tune “If You’re Happy And You Know It” was re-worded to include the various sexual preferences of the audience. One example of the re-wording was “If you’re straight and you know it clap your hands.”
The GSA and LGBTQ community at RCC continues to grow as more students become aware of the community’s presence on campus.
Students like Andrew Calvillo are happy to finally have a place where they fit in.
“I’m a gay student here at RCC,” Calvillo said. “It’s nice to see the way that culture has changed so that students like me have a place to fit in.”
The GSA meets on Thursdays from 12:50-1:50 p.m. in Quad 103.
