The Pride Society Presents: Goresbrook Drag Show

Written by Leah Oake

Thumbnail & Banner Photos by Leah Oake

Societies are known for creating low-pressure, fun events that unite the student body, though some societies take a step further and push boundaries of society's expectations. The Pride Society held a Drag Show in the Gorsebrook Lounge during November, and it was a huge success! Not only did they have a great turnout, but they had amazing performers! The Pride Society brought drag to the SMU campus, allowing people who have never seen one of the electric and undeniably funny shows to experience one. In addition, the team gave drag performers a place to expand and perform their craft. I could write a whole article on drag queens and the vastly different array of queens there are out there in the world, but that’s for another day. 

The Pride Society, by allowing LGBTQIA+ voices to be heard and celebrated on campus, helps to create more inclusion in the world despite the horrible backlash the community gets. I strongly urge you to read Lou Smith’s article about the recent protests and counter-protests to be fully informed on how you can help support the LGBTQIA+ community and fight back against the cruelty. I interviewed Co-Vice Presidents Spencer Vallis and Jay Rudolph to ask them for their thoughts on the event and their hopes for it. In addition, I interviewed one of the incredible drag performers, Cookie Cunningham, for their thoughts on the event and on the importance of drag in a university setting. I previously interviewed Spencer regarding his visions and hopes for society. This event has shown that he, Jay, and the rest of their executive team have accomplished those intended goals. 

Leah: What do you think are the benefits of on-campus access to drag shows for a group of university students?

Spencer: I believe having an event like this is incredibly important because drag performers are at the forefront of a lot of queer liberation movements. Celebrating this queer art form allows us to provide a space for students who may not otherwise have it. 

Leah: How does celebrating drag performers and giving them a place to perform reflect on the Pride Society?

Jo: Forming a society that is queer-inclusive is important to celebrate this amazing art form that allows people to be creative and expressive with their gender identity. I think it’s important to know where queer history comes from. A lot of our roots come from drag performers or drag people of colour, and that is why we can exist as we are today.  

The Pride Society has a unique role to play compared to other societies. Unlike an academic or interest-based society, the Pride Society is here to create a safe space for queer individuals. Countless people experience discrimination from friends or family when they come out as queer. When entering a new space, such as a university, it is essential to have a safe and supportive place after a vulnerable and traumatic experience of coming out and being met with little support.

Leah: What was the process of organising an event like this like? 

Spencer: It was incredibly rewarding to get in touch with local community members, organisers, and advocates. As well as to get them in touch with campus and to bring their craft here for students who may not normally see them is incredibly important for inclusivity. It was also rewarding for us to bring this art form to campus, given the rise of discriminatory sentiments that are being spread across the country, and get people in touch with the importance of events like this.  

Leah: What do you hope people will take away from this event?

Spencer: I think that people will leave relishing in queer joy and seeing how beautiful this kind of art form is in a space like this. And we can allow people to feel authentically themselves and see others celebrating their queer identities. 

I attended this event and can tell you that it was a hit! The room echoed with laughter, hollers, cheers, and all-around joy. People of all identities and backgrounds came together to support these incredibly talented performers. Drag performers thrive on cheer and applause, and though the crowd was very shy at first, the room was electric by the end! Before the show, I spoke with Cookie Cunninghman – the icon themselves – to chat about their thoughts on the Pride Society, hopes, and ideas of drag. (If you have not seen Cookie Cunningham perform, find out about their next performance and attend it! Trust me, you will not regret it.)

Leah: What do you think are the benefits of performing to a group of university students?

Cookie: They get to see drag if they definitely haven’t before! I remember when I went to Dal, I was like, where’s the gay? But I think now, in this day and  age, getting to be that person provides them some experience with what drag is instead of TikTok people trying to be like, “Oh my god, drag is so dangerous,” when it’s actually just us putting on a show. It’s dramatic theatre! 

Leah: Do you think performing for a group of university students has the ability to open up more doors for drag performers and ideas of inclusivity?

Cookie: Absolutely! Having drag shows, you can have so many people perform, like people of colour. There are so many things that can come with drag. It definitely opens up opportunities, and universities should be seeking performers. 

Cookie makes some incredible points. One, quick peek online makes it easy for uneducated and unfiltered opinions to be shared without any acknowledgment of the damage they can do. Ideas of hate and danger surrounding the art of drag stems from the rise of anti-trans agendas. Drag is like theatre, people take on a role or persona, either close or very far from their own, and entertain people. It is simple! Drag is supposed to be fun and joyful, not something that people use as ammo to hurt trans, non-binary, gender fluid, and other LGBTQIA+ individuals. On-campus access to drag performers is needed, not only to help performers, but also to educate students.  

Leah: What does drag mean to you?

Cookie: The ability to play on these constructs of gender that society has forged. People talk about these fixed ideas of gender but no baby – we made them! If you think about all of those cartoon shows that have animals as the main stars, those animals didn’t make that, we did! A society built that. 

Drag is a perfect way to allow gender to be explored, like Cookie says. Gender performativity appears a lot in drag and outside of it, but Cookie casts aside these fixed ideas of femininity and masculinity and makes their own idea of gender that is beautiful. If, as a society. we don’t take cartoons seriously, why do we accept fixed concepts of gender? 

Leah: How does hosting a drag show reflect on the pride of society? 

Cookie: It shows that they and the school actually want to work with the Pride community, not just sit there and say, “we do the little things.” It shows they are opening the school up to more diverse experiences and that the university is actually being an inclusive place and not just a pamphlet. 

Leah: What do you hope to take away from tonight?

Cookie: Besides the dollars? Hahaha! Just having a good time. I’ve lived here all my life, I’m a resident of Nova Scotia, born and raised. So, getting to be a queer representation – black queer representation – in society and this community feels good. 

What a wonderful conversation with Cookie! Not only did they put on an incredibly fun show, but they also acknowledged the efforts and impact the SMU Pride Society has on the campus. Giving performers like Cookie a place to relish in adoration of queerness is incredible. It   reveals the reputation that the SMU Pride Society wishes to uphold- one that highlights accomplishments outside of student society expectations.  Huge props and kudos to the exec team for putting this together!

Below is a list of the performers from the event! Please give them a follow and try to catch them at one of their next performances! They are all incredible at what they do. (P.S: Steph Peaks is trying to get on Drag Race, but they need 5000 followers. Let’s help them out!)

Cookie Cunningham — @teo_ferguson

Cookie Cunningham's drag is an equation of prince + black dynamite + Jojo’s bizarre adventures!

Sin — @sindoesdrag

Sin’s drag is inspired by her lesbian identity and all of the complex and frantic yearning that can come with women-loving women. Running her passion and sometimes off-putting angst through 60s lounge acts, 80s glam and prog rock, and modern hyper pop and hard bass tech, she intended to leave you ready to do anything but settle. 

Steph Peaks — @stephpeaks

Steph describes her drag as the perfect blend of sensual and stupid. Usually sporting a costume made fully by Steph herself, she aims to command the audience’s attention with a couple of rhinestones and a whole lot of hair whipping and pointing.

Anna Mona-Pia —- @anna.monapia

Anna Mona-Pia (they/she) is a triple threat performer/producer with the goal of creating a more inclusive and diverse drag community.