Guys in disguise...

What is it with gay guys and drag queens? Growing up I had all the stereotypical media images of gay men in front of me, from gym bunnies dancing shirtless to dykes on bikes leading the pride parade to leather clones to, yes, drag queens. None of them ever really worked for me, and none ever felt like they represented me. Not bad things, just not me.

Yet with drag queens I can't help but admire their, uh, balls. They enthusiastically embrace the outsider in all of us, with a disco soundtrack and a flamboyant finger snap. As I have gotten older and more at peace with myself and the world, the art of drag has grown on me. Done well, it's entertaining as hell.

Tonight we saw a holdover from the Edmonton Fringe Festival, "Triple Platinum", the totally made up final farewell reunion tour of the Boyce sisters - Nancy, Nellie, and Gaye - from Dildo, Newfoundland. They sing, they bicker, they tell stories, they make faces, they one-up each other. Most of all they charm the pants off their audience. Forget theories from me or anyone else on why the appeal of drag queens... these guys were fun and talented and entertaining, who cares why.

Towards the end of the show, the "youngest" sister, Gaye Boyce comes off stage to chat and flirt with the audience - with a guy name Luke, then Luigi, then... me! I knew she was looking at me, knew she was headed my way, knew my face would be crimson. So I smiled and turned red and played along. This was a first for me, a 6'4" drag queen sprawled across my lap asking if I like taller women with tattoos and prison records - uh, sure, tattoos are good, not sure about the prison thing or the woman thing. Having no real choice I totally let go and enjoyed it. The performers were so fantastic I was believing them as their characters. And smiling.

Ladies, this "tour" was a smash, so when is the reunion tour? And in the meantime, when is RuPaul's Drag Race coming back on the air? That show looks like fun!