The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, January 16, 1996, Page 9, Image 9
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."