{"id":348552,"date":"2025-11-01T18:37:27","date_gmt":"2025-11-01T18:37:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/348552\/"},"modified":"2025-11-01T18:37:27","modified_gmt":"2025-11-01T18:37:27","slug":"psu-hosts-arlington-drag-show-inspires-community-expression-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/348552\/","title":{"rendered":"PSU hosts Arlington drag show, inspires community expression | City"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Drag queen Emo Channel performs during the Progressive Student Union\u2019s Drac Show on Oct. 30 at Coffee Pop-Up Boutique. Emo Channel\u2019s first number was inspired by the musical \u201cMean Girls.\u201d<\/p>\n

Photo by Samarie Goffney<\/a><\/p>\n

For two hours on Thursday evening, a small coffee shop in Arlington\u2019s Lincoln Square became the center stage to a local drag show, bringing laughter and community amid political uncertainty.<\/p>\n

Attendees inside Coffee Pop-Up Boutique, a temporary safe haven, watched drag queens and kings take the floor with passion. Some performed musical numbers in striking, bright attire. Others put on solemn shows dressed in black and red. Some danced to music from \u201cAlvin and the Chipmunks.\u201d The crowd erupted all the same. <\/p>\n

The \u201cDrac Show,\u201d hosted by the Progressive Student Union, took place during what was formerly UTA\u2019s designated Pride Month. The event looked to send a message to state officials, amid legislative crackdowns and a UT System ban on drag shows, that the community \u201cwill not be so easily silenced.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Cyan Eastin, drag performer, 21, performs during the Progressive Student Union\u2019s Drac Show on Oct. 30 at Coffee Pop-Up Boutique. Cyan Eastin goes by Trance Masque as their drag name.<\/p>\n

Photo by Samarie Goffney<\/a><\/p>\n

In 2023, Gov. Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 17, barring Texas universities from most diversity, equity and inclusion practices \u2014 including providing LGBTQ+ resources. The bill put a full stop to UTA\u2019s typical October Pride celebrations. <\/p>\n

Seraphine Pecson, Progressive Student Union president, said these celebrations were important for UTA\u2019s LGBTQ+ community, especially younger students. The hole the ban left on campus sparked the idea for the Drac Show and similar events. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s not a task the Progressive Student Union is taking on alone. Last year, The Football Team: A Creative Collective held its own off-campus drag show, showcasing local performers at Ta\u00edpo, a restaurant in downtown Arlington. <\/p>\n

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Drag performer Dr. Guava Skipper performs as Alvin from \u201cAlvin and the Chipmunks\u201d during the Progressive Student Union\u2019s Drac Show on Oct. 30 at Coffee Pop-Up Boutique. Guava Skipper performed the song \u201cWitch Doctor\u201d from the movie.<\/p>\n

Photo by Samarie Goffney<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe thought it important to provide this space for those folks \u2014 a space that they can go to be themselves, just experience those same things that I, as a freshman, experienced, which helped me later on in my life,\u201d Pecson said. <\/p>\n

Thursday’s show echoed that sentiment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hope you have a little bit of fun tonight, because I know it’s not as fun out in the world,\u201d said Dr. Guava Skipper, drag queen and one of the event\u2019s hosts. <\/p>\n

Drag shows, at their heart, are about people being proud of who they are, Pecson said. They are impactful under the current social climate, which she said includes people wanting to keep drag out of the public eye. <\/p>\n

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Electrical engineering junior Libia Contreras introduces themselves for the costume contest during Progressive Student Union\u2019s Drac Show on Oct. 30 at Coffee Pop-Up Boutique. Contreras is the Progressive Student Union\u2019s treasurer.<\/p>\n

Photo by Samarie Goffney<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIt helps show people who are new to the community what they’re capable of,\u201d Pecson said. \u201cThat’s certainly what it did for me when I was younger.\u201d <\/p>\n

Photography senior Peyton Higgins said, being a member of the LGBT community herself, she loves attending events in Arlington that explore LGBT identity. It\u2019s also important for UTA students to have an outlet to express themselves because of the diversity of the campus, she said. <\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone should have the responsibility or the privilege to show their community and their traditions,\u201d Higgins said. <\/p>\n

Controversy around LGBTQ+ oriented events on campus didn\u2019t end with SB 17.<\/p>\n

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Drag performer Dr. Cordie O. Vascular performs during the Progressive Student Union\u2019s Drac Show on Oct. 30 at Coffee Pop-Up Boutique. Dr. Cardi O. Vascular performed two numbers.<\/p>\n

Photo by Samarie Goffney<\/a><\/p>\n

In March, the UT System banned its universities from sponsoring drag shows or hosting them in campus facilities. The announcement came after Tarrant County Judge Tim O\u2019Hare sent a letter to the Board of Regents urging them to end drag on campus. <\/p>\n

In the letter, O\u2019Hare, a UT Austin alumnus, wrote that UTA hosted an event that prominently featured a drag performer, and that drag shows reduce the perception of women to \u201cstereotypes and body parts.\u201d It\u2019s unclear what specific event he was referring to. <\/p>\n

For Pecson, actions like the UT System ban are why keeping these events available in public is important. She said it helps affirm the community\u2019s pride. <\/p>\n

\u201cFor people who feel afraid or intimidated to do this sort of thing, I want them to know that other folks in the community are always here to keep you safe,\u201d Pecson said. <\/p>\n

@PMalkomes<\/p>\n

news-editor.shorthorn@uta.edu<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Drag queen Emo Channel performs during the Progressive Student Union\u2019s Drac Show on Oct. 30 at Coffee Pop-Up…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":348553,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5138],"tags":[5229,2451,7371,7372,358,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-348552","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fort-worth","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-city","10":"tag-fort-worth","11":"tag-fortworth","12":"tag-texas","13":"tag-tx","14":"tag-united-states","15":"tag-united-states-of-america","16":"tag-unitedstates","17":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","18":"tag-us","19":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115475896786546169","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348552","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=348552"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348552\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/348553"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=348552"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=348552"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=348552"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}