Drag as Political Protest in America

Items

• ONE Magazine Vol 2 No 3 (1954 March)
  March issue of ONE Magazine, a publication dedicated to discussing issues of gay communities and gay rights. ONE Magazine was published from 1953 to 1967. The publication also discusses issues of the homophile movement, which pre-dated other activists movement during and after Stonewall. In this issue, several articles discuss gay rights movements, and narrative pieces on gay life. There are also illustrations through the issue depicting gay individuals.
• Bill Beardemphl and Johnny DeLeon at Home
  Photograph of Bill Beardemphl (1926-2002) with his partner Johnny DeLeon at home. Bill Beardemphl was the founder of the Society for Individual Rights, a prominent homophile organization. He made signifigant coontributions to the LGBQT+ rights movement, and continued to do work outside of the SIR as journalist and chef.
• Bert Errol in Formal Wear
  Photograph of female impersonator Bert Errol. She wears a floor length gown, covered in different rhinestone embellishments. On her wrist and neck are different gemstone jewelry items. Errol also wears a feather boa around her shoulders, and a large hat with feather detailing on top. She stands in a ballroom in front of a piano.
• Group Photograph of Finocchio’s Club Performers
  Photograph of performers at Finocchio’s female impersonation club. There are a total of seven drag queens and two drag queens in the photograph. They stand on a black and white checkered floor against a plain black background.
• America’s Most Unusual Night Club Finocchio’s
  A program advertising Finocchio’s, a historic nightclub in San Francisco. Within the program are pages dedicated to different drag performers at the clubs. Each queen gets a separate biography on their background and history of performance. The back of the program provides information on Finocchio’s and the kind of entertainment they provide.
• Expected the Unexpected with “Mister” Carroll Wallace
  Poster advertising female impersonator Caroll Wallace. The poster includes many different quotes reviewing Wallace’s show, describing the different comedic and performance elements she utilizes. Her show is described as funny and inventive. Two large images of Carroll Wallace are on the top left and bottom right corner.
• Female Impersonators: Chicago night club features make-believe ladies as entertainers.
  News article from 1948 advertising a Chicago Nightclub. The article provides images of the drag queens performing, and promotes their show as a new popular entertainment spot. Joe’s DeLuxe Club was an entertainment venue in Chicago that featured female impersonation performances.
• 1981 Gay Parade Police Hassle
  The video shows individuals celebrating at the 1981 San Francisco Pride Parade. People are seen dancing, wearing outfits, waving fans and watching the parade. Some police are physically aggressive with spectators, pushing them back into the crowd and advancing on them. More police officers appear at the line of viewers and disperse groups watching.
• Gay Community news: November 13, 1976. Vol. 4 No. 20
  The Gay Community News was a newspaper made by lesbians and gays who were looking for a better way to communcate with their local gay community. In this issue, David Holland writes about famous drag queen Divine. Holland details her beginnings as a drag queen and some of the projects and performances she has participated in. Holland interviews Divine, and details her opinions and perspective on drag and what she’d like to do next. The issue features different images of Divine in different greenrooms getting ready for shows, and a photograph of her in her full drag persona.
• Drag Magazine, Vol. 2 No. 6
  A periodical containing photos, excerpts, and advertisements aimed towards the queer community. Many pages contain photos of different drag queens, performances and other events. The pages are printed in black and white, with a combination of printed photos and drawn illustrations. Additionally, there are sections dedicated to the advancements of different activist groups.
• Pages 18 and 19 from SIRlebrity Capades of 1965 Program
  Pages from a program for an event held by the Society for Individual Rights (SIR) in 1965. On the left page, there is an advertisement for an upcoming pageant for Miss Universe. A simple drawing in pencil outlines a performer in a floor length gown with boa in hand. On the right, there is an image of one of the featured performers of the night, J.J Van Dyck. A brief description captions the photo, listing her accolades. J.J Van Dyck is a drag performer, as she is referred to as “he” throughout the program.
• “I Am A Boy” Button
  Button reading “I am a Boy” made by Glade Nightclub in Honolulu, Hawaii. The background of the button is pink, and has the location of the nightclub underneath the main text. Buttons like these would be worn to avoid arrest for appearing like you were attempting to be taken as a female. While this button was specific to the Glade Nightclub in Honolulu, other drag queens would utilize similar signifiers to avoid arrest.
• Cross-Dresser’s Retreat
  August 1986
• Female Impersonator Faces Prosecution
  A news article about a female impersonator marrying another man in Texas. Marriage between two men was illegal in the state of Texas, and both parties could have been sent to prison for two to five years. The article describes how the couple committed a false swearing by providing a fake surname. Same sex marriage was not legal and therefore the marriage between the two parties was null.
• Miss Corpus Christi America, Miss Corpus Christi Metroplex, Miss Texas Riviera pageants
  Miss Corpus Christi America, 1992, Victor Lopez and Rudy Cardona Photograph Collection, MS476, Box 1, Folder 1. Photograph of eight drag queens at a pageant in Texas. The five queens in the back row of the photograph each wear a crown, and three of the queens wear sashes. In the front row of the photograph, the queen in the middle wears both a crown and a sash. The pageant was produced by Texas Crown Productions as part of the Miss Gay Texas American pageant, and is the oldest pageant system for female impersonators in Texas.
• RuPaul at March on Washington
  A photograph of drag queen RuPaul at the March on Washington. She wears a red and white striped unitard, with white star breast cups and underwear. The March on Washington was a political rally for LGBTQ+ rights demanding legislation to prevent discrimination against lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender individuals.
• The Transgenderist
  Joseph L. Norton Papers, Box 6, Folder 4, Council 82, Security and Law Enforcement Employees, American Federation of State, County, Municipal Employees Records, 1968-1989. A newsletter from The Transgenderist, a New York support group for transgender and gender non-conforming individuals. The newsletter discusses different community outreach efforts hosted by the group over the past month, and promotes upcoming events. A separate section outlines the goals and missions of the Transgenderist’s Independence Club as an inclusive space for those exploring gender expression and orientation. The final section describes past information that has been in newsletters, and a brief description of crossdressing, transexuality and what a “transgenderist” is.
• Homophobic Poster from Beardemphl collection
  Collection of writings detailing the expansion of Gay Rights across the United States. Clips of articles and postings from Time Magazine and a leaflet distributed at high schools are compiled onto the left side of the poster. Some offer support of gay rights while others critique the demands and concerns of different LGBTQ+ activist groups. The right side of the poster rejects the demands for equal rights, and opposes the passing of Measures A and B in San Jose that would offer more protection to LGBTQ+ individuals. The final page provides opposing facts to the demands of activist groups, and how the city would be impacted through the passage of laws outlined in Measures A and B.
• Houston Gay Pride Parade
  Houston Gay Pride parade, 1992, Victor Lopez and Rudy Cardona Photograph Collection, MS476, Box 1, Folder 9. Image of Drag Queens on a float at the 1992 Houston Gay Pride parade. This is the 14th annual pride parade held in Houston for members and allies of the LGBT community. 9 individuals stand on the float, waving towards the audience. The float is constructed mainly with a black, reflective materials and has different gold and silver embellishments. The individuals on the float wore various different types of outfits and costumes.
• How Far Can A Girl Go, When She Really Is A Man?
  An interview with female impersonator Mister Jean Barrios. He discusses his concerns with the current female impersonation community. The interview was posted in the Nevada State Journal on January 18th of 1934.
• Walter Hart Scrapbook
  This scrapbook details the life and career of female impersonator Walter Hart. Hart was a prominent performer at Finnochio's Nightclub in San Francisco from the 1930s to the 1950s. In his scrapbook, he includes photographs, pictures of Hart in costume, signed headshots and newspaper clippings from Hart's career.
• From the Queens Liberation Front, Vol. 1, No. 1
  Queens Liberation Front newsletter containing information on the mission, rights and values of the organization. The issue establishes the Queens Liberation Front as an organization working for the rights of Drag Queens.