Drag me up

Ah, the power of drag: for mockery; hyperbole; self-decoration; liberation; reveloution; sexy playfulness; and, not least, the triumphant, never-gets-old celebration of general human fabulosity. It is here. It is queer. Get used to it. Better: Get good at it—which, come to think of it, takes some practice. Drag is a craft. Before you can start turning heads and inspiring shouts of “Get a load of that getup!” from fellow revelers and reactionary stone-agers alike, you must master some basics. How to coordinate colors, patterns and fabrics? How best to accentuate the body and reinvent it? How to accessorize—or in some cases, to not accessorize?

Is an assumption that the glamour comes naturally just part of society’s unfair expectations? You see a fully realized Priscilla or a Hedwig and think, “Why don’t they ever teach us this in school?” Well, um, he-LLO. There’s only the Drag 101: How to Look Absolutely Fabulous! workshop this Friday from 1 to 2 p.m. in the DeCarli room at UC Davis’ Memorial Union. Jason P. Shark, of the Sacramento Kings of Drag, and Nikki Lincoln, 2003’s Miss Davis is Burning, offer expert tutelage.

It’s part of UC Davis’ ongoing Pride Week, which includes sundry levelheaded presentations and round-table discussions about gender roles, homophobia, social codes, political power systems, and legal issues of domestic partnerships, as well as the inaugural Davis Feminist Film Festival. Serious, essential stuff. Hence, it’s important to remember the true joys of total fabulousity. And to prepare for the Davis is Burning gender-bending extravaganza at 8 p.m. at the Veterans’ Memorial Center. Its $7 general admission, incidentally, is a buck cheaper if you’re in drag. For more information, visit http://lgbtcenter.ucdavis.edu or call (530) 752-2452.