Eureka: Drag! --- The Rest of the Story

In my post yesterday, I failed to mention Lee Brewster, the publisher of Drag magazine.

Lee was not only the publisher of Drag, he was a mover and shaker in our community.

In the early 1970s, he organized drag balls and began a mail-order business that catered to the needs of the community.

Mr. Lee's mail-order business became so popular that he expanded it to a brick and mortar boutique in Lower Manhattan known as "Lee's Mardi Gras Boutique," and it became the shopping epicenter for girls who came from all over the country to buy Lee's wares.

For many girls, visiting Lee's store gave them their first opportunity to buy shoes and clothing that fit, to purchase wigs and cosmetics without feeling self-conscious, and to discover that they were not alone.

Lee passed on in May 2000 and his obituary in The New York Times is worth reading.

I was aware of Lee's store, but I was too closeted to shop there during my trips to The City mainly because I was usually accompanied by a friend or relative, who did not know all about me.

 

      

Markus Kenzie, fashion model.

 

Wearing Pink Tartan (skirt).

Womanless Black & White Ball

On Saturday, Fool's Paradise hosted The Black & White Ball on Fire Island, NY. Photo galleries of this womanless extravaganza are online for your viewing enjoyment. (The photos below are four of my favorites.)

having a ball

As usual, click on the image to magnify it.

excellence in femulation (partie trois)

Originally, "drag balls" were formal dances sponsored by GLBT organizations (often a college or university GLBT group) in which the attendees crossdressed. Males wore evening gowns and females wore tuxedos or other formal or semi-formal wear.

Google "drag ball" and you will find a few examples.

Some time ago, I did just that and came across unique before and after photographs of drag ball attendees in normal wear and in drag ball wear. The photos were unique because it depicted a group of five males before and after they donned their gay apparel. (You can find a lot of before and after photos of individuals on the Internet, but almost never before and after photos of a group.)

Regrettably, I lost the information concerning who is depicted in the photo and where the drag ball took place. However, I do have the photos and am pleased to display them here and announce that the the Femulate Awards Committee has bestowed the coveted Excellence in Femulation Award upon this group of five unknown femulators.

(As always, click on the photo to magnify it.)

memories en femme

With nothing much on television last night that held my interest, I selected a DVD to watch instead: Saturday Night Live, season 2, disk number 8.

After watching a so-so SNL hosted by Buck Henry, I checked the extras on the DVD and noticed that it included the special SNL show that was broadcast from the Mardi Gras in New Orleans back in 1977. I saw that show when it was originally shown "live from New Orleans," but had not seen it since.

I was not interested in seeing it again because I recall that it was not very good. But then I recalled a very old memory from that show: a segment from a drag ball with Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams describing the event.

I fast-forwarded the DVD and watched the segment about the drag ball showing males in debutante drag being presented as debutantes are. Ms. Marshall sans Ms. Williams seemed very uncomfortable describing the action and admitted that she had not been told in advance what she would be seeing. She was also exhausted.

(You can read all about the SNL Mardi Gras show here. You can also read the transcripts and view photos from the drag ball segment here and here.)

This was just another one of my old memories en femme that I had forgotten about, but had an opportunity to revisit.