Dressing in Drag to Aid Transgender Community

by Alexandra Gonclaves de Oliveira

Derek Jones ’11 was dressed in drag from head-to-toe. He raided a friend’s closet earlier in the evening, and he emerged with a purple wig, black leggings paired with a multi-colored striped skirt, and high heels.

“Walking in heels is hard, and bras feel weird,” Jones said.

Thursday was not an ordinary night for Jones who joined fellow students at the second annual Drag Ball hosted by Allied in Pride in the Marvin Center. The Trans Education and Action (TEA) subcommittee of Allied in Pride organized the ball to raise awareness about the transgender community.

“It’s fun because everyone sees you in a different way.” Jones said, who felt eager to paraticipate when friends said he was crazy and outgoing to dress in drag.

Known last year as the Glitter Ball, the Mardi-Gras themed evening raise money for the Whiteman-Walker Clinic, a medical facility that provide services for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals in the District. Kaden Trifilio ’11, a member of TEA, said the clinic is an essential part of the D.C. community, and the subcommittee wanted to support it.

“It’s a fun event to bring the GW community together,” Trifilio said.

Eight professional drag performers kicked off the show, as five queens and three kings strutted their stuff and interacted with the delighted crowd.

Among the drag performers was writer and performer Bill Pietrucha, also known as Ann C. Michaels. Pietrucha stars in Capitol Cabaret, which he co-writes and performs in and outside of the D.C. area.

Pietrucha has performed as a drag queen for decades including in Berlin in the time before the Berlin Wall came down. He said he has been acting since high school, so drag performing shows were a “logical progression.”

Previously, he had impersonated celebrities, such as Carol Channing, Joan Rivers, Bob Dylan, and Willie Nelson. Pietrucha’s current impersonation is Anne Coulter, hence the name Ann C. Michaels.

“I have been stopped for autographs… by people thinking that it was the real Ann Coulter,” he said.

Members of TEA have been working closely with the university to increase transgender accessibility on campus. Trifilio said GW has included gay and lesbians in its anti-discrimination policy, but transgender students deal with different issues on a daily basis that are not protected by the university.

Trifilio said the main problem that TEA is currently addressing is housing options and public restroom accommodations for the transgender community on campus. Currently, there is a transgender housing option called the Escaping Gender LLC, a living and learning cohort option where a group of transgender students can opt to live together.

As a member of the LLC this year, Trifilio is sharing a home with four other transgender students, and felt pleased with the option. However, the option is currently not available for incoming freshmen.

“It’s a long leap to ask everyone to understand or be comfortable,’ said Trifilio.

As the university continues to recognition these issues in the transgender community, Trifilio said that Allied in Pride could engage the community, with initiatives like the Drag Ball, to make the first steps for further integration at GW.

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