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After an on-stage costume change, Pop Peterson, stage name Shavaughn, dances and lip sings to "S&M" by Rihanna during the drag show Jan. 23. 

LGBT Center aims create a safe space for Athens community with a drag show at Jackie O's

The LGBT center is hosting a drag show to break out of Baker Center and break the gender binary in a safe space uptown.

The LGBT Center will host an off-campus drag show to create a safe space Uptown for LGBT students and community members.

“This will be off-campus, and so hopefully an invitation for the folks of the community to participate rather than just on-campus folks,” delfin bautista, the director of the LGBT Center, said.

The drag show will be different from the International Drag Show that was held a few weeks ago because it will hopefully encourage people who are not connected to the university to participate, bautista, who uses they/them pronouns and the lowercase spelling of their name, said. They added that community members were welcome to come to the International Drag Show, but the off-campus show will hopefully be more accessible for people of the community since it is in a public space.

“We don’t have many opportunities to be silly and to be silly as a community,” bautista said. “It’ll be fun to just sing and dance and get ready for the end of the semester that is quickly approaching.”

There is a $5 suggested door donation, and the proceeds will go toward the LGBT Center taking students to MBLGTACC, the Midwest Bisexual Lesbian Gay Transgender Ally College Conference, bautista said. However, they added if people are unable to donate, they will not be turned away from the event.

Leah Yodzis, project’s coordinator at the LGBT Center, said there will be about six performers at the event.

“They’re all going to perform a song or two, dance sing whatever they chose to do,” Yodzis said. “It should be fun.”

Stefan Koob, the education coordinator of the LGBT Center, said there will be some graduate performers, but they will be mostly undergraduates. He said the drag show is a good event for anyone to see what a drag show is and to display a different way of expressing gender.

“I don’t know what everyone’s experience level is,” Koob, a sophomore studying restaurants, hotels and tourism, said. “But I know some people are like ‘I’ll try it.’ It’s just a mix of ‘I’m a pro’ and ‘I’m an amateur.’ ”

Yodzis said she and Koob will be emceeing the event.

“Me and Stefan are going to try to throw in some jokes and stuff,” Yodzis said. “We’re going to have a dating game in between the performances so it’s just a good time.”

The drag show will be held at Jackie O’s Pub & Brewery because the establishment has a history of being supportive of not only the LGBT Center, but the LGBT community as a whole, bautista said.

“Right now there are folks who feel like (the LGBT Center) is it, that this is the only safe space they have, and so to restrict folks to Baker (Center) is problematic,” bautista said. ”So for two hours, three hours, folks will have an opportunity to feel safe in the community because we don’t have any LGBT safe spaces out on Court Street, and so it’s an opportunity to make a space intentionally LGBT inclusive.”

Having a drag show in a community space poses potential risks and the possibility of more attention, but bautista said many individuals are open to that risk to have a good night.

“I’m grateful that we have a center. There are universities that don’t have this, but we’re in a closet,” bautista said. “We’re tired of being back here, and so for a couple hours, we’re going to be front and center, and that’s exciting, nerve wracking, but exciting at the same time.”

— Rachel Hartwick contributed to this report.

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