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Tuesday, January 16,1996 Former USC student Scott Williams, reigns supreme as Miss Gay Florida i "The life o impersonato different things one. It's a rum actress, a politi celebrity, an en all these differei into one ball. It and very rewan USC stude MPKA BHAMBHANI Asst. Features Editor Often in college, students try to find that niche in their lives that will make them different, that will make them individuals, in the hopes of not getting strange reactions from their peers. uou sopnomore vlint bpires seems to have found that very niche as a performing drag queen at Metropolis, a local bar. "I started going out there, and I saw the drag queens, and they sparked something in me. I'm a theatre major anyway, so I like to perform and entertain people." However, Spires seems to reveal another motive. "I think it's fun in my ( mind if I could pull off being a woman." ] Spires has been performing at the bar since May 1995 and already holds the title of Mr. Red Ribbon 1996 at , Metropolis. Spires seems happy and ( relieved with the positive response from ( his audience at this stage in his drag , endeavor, especially in light of the j conservative area. ] "Columbia doesn't really take too , well to drag queens. They think ifs some , kind of sick something or another, so ( they warned me that I might not have any friends after it, but I don't know j what happened, because that's not the ] ROBERT WALTON The Gamecock also known as Martina Diamante, US of A 1995. fa female r is so many i ' wrappea into vay model, an leal activist, a itertainer; it's it things rolled 's very exciting iing." nt finds si way it worked." "I think there are people that have problems with it, but certainly that number is that perhaps are J considered taboo," said Robbie Bell jH freshman. "I'm J excited and anticipate seeing BWKj one of his shows." Spires' ^9 supporters have * done everything fl|Bp but dwindle. During every show, he offers something different - a ^9 9 different costume, 9 song or dance that has , , LEILANI EASTERUNQ Sp maintained and attracted fans s?Phomore Clint Sp who go cra2y with man? W',H? h? dr?* enthusiasm and a desire for an encore. ! "I didn't know that my shows would be as good as they were because I have ] been trying different things in Columbia El HE'). Wlfil w\ CHRIS DIXON Features Editor Female impersonation has historically been an underground form of entertainment, only brought to mainstream audiences by comedians trying to get a laugh. The genre, however, has increasingly become more accepted by society through the work of popular performers such as Ru Paul and Divine. This drag onslaught has hit USC. Scott Williams, a former USC student who served on Freshman Council, Student Government Senate and Residence Hall Association Senate, has worked as a female impersonator for one and a half years. Williams, who last attended USC in spring 1995 semester, said becoming a female impersonator was never one of his goals. Williams, whose stage name is Martina Diamante, won his first title, Miss Gay Florida US of A, on Feb. 18, 1995. Williams said tie entered Miss Gay Florida for the experience and to see what the national pageant system was like. He said he never expected to win. "Winning was the best feeling I've ever had in my entire life," he said. "So many people told me I wasn't going to win and I had no business going down there. I had people pull sponsorship from me at the last minute. I had only been doing female impersonation for seven months at that time, and most people who have been doing it for years and years have never won a title as big as Miss Florida. "When it was all over, I ended up winning the pageant by six points, and it was the biggest thrill of my life. It has to be the best thing that has happened to me because I'm doing a lot of things now that I never thought I'd ever be doing. "The life of a female impersonator is ucc i. ?1 J ou iiicuiy uiiierciiL tilings wrappeu into one. It's a runway model, an actress, a political activist, a celebrity, an entertainer, it's all these different things rolled into one ball. It's very exciting and very rewarding." Williams' other titles include Miss Gay New Hanover US of A1996, Miss Greater Florence 1996 and Mistress of Illusion 1996. He said his success is due in part to his diversity as a performer. iccess dal as far as the drag scene," Spires said. Spires does something different in his act every week. "In the past I was just doing things like Whitney Houston," Spires said. "I'djust come out. That's really generic. You're not really gonna get anywhere with that. You can see that whenever I there are girls out mean it's really I good job,but ecial To The Gamecock there's nothing . . .. there as far as Ire. it a gentle- somethingto as a man. catch your eye or something to take them over." Spires said he owes much of his progress to his "drag mother," Nicole Roberts. [C. EMI ijIAK V|A N "The thing that Fm most well-knowi for is that I play the violin sometime; during my performances," he said. "Mos female impersonators and drag queen; do lip-syncing. There are a few of us ou there who choose to use our real, God given talent to entertain people. "I know several foreign languages so I've lip-synced to opera. I've don< popular European songs. I try to be th< most well-rounded entertainer J can be so other than dancing and lip synching I try to do different things. I think peopL consider it a breath of fresh air." Quentin Johnson, a junior in thi College of Liberal Arts, has been friend with Williams for one and a half years Johnson, who has seen Williams perform and still to this day help me out." I A drag I mother normally I ? | fosters the I development of a I drag queen in a close Mend or an aquaintance. There are I different drag mothering styles in the scene. An attentive and concerned drag mother will motivate her "drag princess" (someonejust I beginning to try ___ drag) to take the dusti hollane time, effort and spires fully macfc creativity to not female counterpai only get a realistic look, but to develop a suitable persona. "You have to have a gimmic to really get anywhere. That's why when I did Annie Lennox, and I saw how people said he is larger than life on stage. "I was there the first time he die drag," he said. "From the first time,! thought it was wonderful. He's wonderful He's gotten a lot of awards, so how car you think anything bad about that?' Johnson said Williams looks like i woman, and his mannerisms are feminine both on stage and off. "When people find out he's a guy they are very surprised," he said. "H< doesn't look like a man in a dress, h( looks like a woman. Even when he's dressed like a boy, he's addressed as ma'am. It's pretty cool and astonishing to watch." Williams said he has always beer androgynous, which used to have 5 negative effect on his self-confidence "Most people have always though that I was a little girl," he said "Growing up, I wanted to be like the rest of th< other boys, and I wanted to be able t< play sports, so I thought it was a curse I literally thought I was cursed. I woulc get very depressed, and I didn't have very high self-esteem at all. "When I got to college, I began t( blossom, but I still wasn't quite happy There was something missing. I think when I started doing female impersonation, it was the key thai unlocked the door. Now, Fm the happiesl Fve ever been, and I feel beautiful. I car take my androgynous looks, I can take all of that pent-up energy and emotions that I felt in the Dast. and I can channel it into something positive." Williams said within the next sia months he plans to go on hormones tc make his body more feminine, which )bling in ( "She was the main person, as wel] as Brittany Brooks, who is my drag sister They really helped me out a lot, got me started | Ml mm ': * ^4 m wrajfc P i " V*v ... ,\\ . v g -? ?? t Williams lays out his make-up a average, ordinary guy into a crov 't s ? H y 'y a 3 I 1 [ i ry y y 3 H 3 ? : r 9 Williams puts the finishing tou l takes anywhere from fifteen to i t will increase the effectiveness of hi; r female impersonation. He does not ? however, have any desire to change hi! ) sex. "I think we are all born a certaii j way," he said. In my mind, I don't thinl , that God makes any mistakes. I thinl He made me the way I am for a reason , This might not be the reason that society thinks is the best thing for me, but Fv< never been a person to succumb to societa ; expectations. I truly believe that this . has to be why I was created the way thai . I was, and I am not ashamed of it." L Williams said he will move to Florid* in March and attend the University o Central Florida in Orlando in the fal | 1996. "As anyone who has lived in Soutl Carolina for any extended period of time | knows, we seem to be socially behinc the rest of the country," he said. "I grev irag at loc 1 responded to it, I tried to stick to it.' A T i i n Annie Lennox may seem to ne spires still developing persona, but thai specialty seems tc 1 enhance and I compliment the E show. "It's a I mental thing, too. I As far as Annie Lennox goes, you have to sit down I and think of what I she's like. It's I really easy to dc ^4 |M her as far as looks U^B because I guess 1 iaf*. favor her in ways. I I know I have sort ail^^ her nose, her I lips, like her top I lip, maybe a little fuller upside I down, and I ? Special To The Gamecock analyzed her face Hip in drag as his to mine. Her rt, Ashley. cheekbones are a little higher than mine, but for the most part, we have the same features as far as facial." Even though Spires has the motivation, desire, interest and ideas to 9 m, I SmFC *"' ~% y ^Hr 5r 1 .< ! '? Jgs HyppKw- ? I ROBERT WALTON The Gamecock is he prepares to transform from an rned beauty queen. Miiiif-fjifmiiii IBP Applying make-up is often an . important task that the drag mother i and/or sister may assist. Spires said the 1 first time he went shopping for his dress, he told the sales lady it was for his cousin. , Now he says it is much easier. He tells i them the truth, and so far they have all been amused but helpful. "Because I'm gay and I do drag does not mean that I can't be masculine, i Everyone has a definite masculine and 1 feminine side, you just have to know how to channel those parts. If you don't believe me just watch To Wong Foo.'" Spires would rather think of himself in the politically-correct term as a parttime gender illusionist named Ashley, who will be performing Thursday night at Metropolis. Admission is $3 for those > under 21 and $1 for those over 21. ROBERT WALTON The Gamecock ches on his make-up, which he said thirty minutes to put on. 3 up in Europe, and I've lived in other , places, so Fm very open-minded about 3 just about everything. Florida is like a melange of a lot of different things. There 1 are people from all over the country and c from all over the world. Its just so different i down there. "Tm more accepted in Florida for who j I am and what I do. The education down } there is better. I've been offered I scholarships to schools down there. The j weather is better. You can make a lot h . mnro mnnou rlnum fKoro fKon nn Kova uurn up *1V16. If s just something that I need to do. Ifs t not that I don't like South Carolina. I've f grown up here, Fve lived here for fifteen 1 years, and my family is from here. There are a lot of worse places you can live. I 1 know that I won't be happy if I have to ; be conscious all the time about what I'm I saying or what I'm doing." r al bar ' do the shows, he must still go through the labor of getting ready physically. "Make-up is what will make you look , like a woman or not. I've seen a lot of [ people that need help. People tell me all the time that I look very realistic, very feminine when Fm in drag."