OU’S LGBT Center and The Athena Cinema will be screening a short documentary about The Rubi Girls followed by a live performance and a Q&A session at the Athena Cinema this Friday.
Drag is coming back to Athens in the form of The Rubi Girls.
A short documentary about the drag group The Rubi Girls will screen at The Athena Cinema on Friday following a live performance by the group and a Q&A session for members of the audience.
The Rubi Girls is a drag troupe that has been performing since the 1980s and whose members are mostly male-identified from Dayton, Ohio, according to delfin bautista, the director of the LGBT Center.
“At its very basic definition, (drag) is a performance or expression of hyper masculinity (or) hyper femininity,” bautista, who uses they/them pronouns and the lowercase spelling of their name, said.
The short documentary covers the experiences of The Rubi Girls, giving the audience information about who the members are and their stories of coming out as members of the LGBT community.
Different variations of drag include drag queens (where men portray women), drag kings (where women portray men) and a lesser-known third category titled “gender f--ked” where the performer’s gender is ambiguous, bautista said.
“Often times, we don’t get to connect with the person behind the make-up when it comes to drag performers,” they said.
The Q&A session with The Rubi Girls after the live performance personalizes the experience as it allows the audience to get to know the person “behind all the make-up, mascara and lipstick, who they are and what inspired them to do drag,” they said.
“Yes there is their stage persona, but is their stage persona different from who they are?” bautista said. “What are the connections between who they are and their stage personas?”
Alexandra Kamody, the director of the Athena Cinema, said the Athena Cinema has been planning “special events that include Q&As, guest directors, speakers … adding more (to the experience) than just coming to watch a movie passively.”
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“I had heard about the Rubi Girls, and they sounded like a really fun, great group … and I thought (inviting them over to perform) might be interesting,” Kamody said.
Oliver Stone, a junior studying English and psychology, said throughout the years, drag has taken many different forms and has meant many different things to different people.
“Drag was a way in which queer people were able to express themselves in a way that was safe,” Stone said.
Some people may think negatively of drag as an activity because it “seems different or foreign,” and they don’t understand it, Kamody said.
“I think events like this help to invite people to give a little taste about what (drag) is about and how fun it can be,” Kamody said.
While it is important to discuss serious problems related to the LGBT community, bautista said the event is meant to be a night to relax and have fun.
“It’s midway through the semester, (and) people are stressed out,” bautista said. “On a Friday night, let’s laugh and have a good time.”
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