Small Alabama town accidentally hires black drag queens to dance in Christmas parade

[kpete]

Residents in the small town of Semmes, Alabama were surprised when one of the acts in the annual Christmas parade was a group of black drag queens known as “The Prancing Elite.”

The captain of the troupe, Kentrell Collins, said he believed the offer had been made in good faith, and that the representative for the Friends of Semmes to whom he spoke knew who she was hiring.

“I said we’re all over 21 and we’re guys. She was so excited. She was like I didn’t know they had any groups like that in Mobile,” Collins told Fox 10 News.


The reaction of local residents to the troupe’s performance was overwhelmingly negative.

VIDEO & MORE:
http://www.fox10tv.com/news/local/mobile-county/male-dance-group-sparks-controversy-at-parade
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/12/22/small-alabama-town-accidentally-hires-black-drag-queens-to-dance-in-christmas-parade/

[fleur-de-lisa]

1. Love it! F*ck the haters!

"Since news of the incident at the parade hit social media last night, the group has booked events for New Year’s Eve and Mardi Gras."

[spanone]

2. k&r...

[MineralMan]

3. One mom they interviewed was "shocked."

They didn't ask her 10 year old daughter what she thought of the "Prancing Elite," though. I wonder what she would have said. These dancers were fully clothed and did nothing offensive, as far as I could see in the video. I can't, for the life of me, see any reason to object to their being in this parade, frankly.

[newcriminal]

30. My thoughts exactly

[warrant46]

35. The duck dynasty Mom using her children as a shield to hide her prejudice is appalling.

The barely concealed racism emanating from her pie hole sadly unsurprisingly common in this cesspool of bigotry.

[Zorra]

4. Well, things do seem to be getting better. At least the overwhelming negative response didn't

include any lynchings, whereas, only 32 short years ago...the last lynching

Discovery Channel premieres a documentary tonight with Ted Koppel about three Americans whose lives were profoundly affected by white supremacist terrorism. The most recent incident: a 1981 lynching in Mobile, Alabama in which a 19-year-old black man was killed by two members of the Ku Klux Klan. Here's the thing that really amazes me, looking at the details on this program tonight: Barack Obama, the first black presidential candidate nominated by a major American political party, is almost exactly the same age as that young man killed in that "last lynching." They were born some months apart. The point being: our nation's bad old days weren't all that long ago -- if we can even say they're past tense at all. Trailer above, and snip from the program description:

This year, however, each [victim of racial violence profiled in this program] was directly involved in naming Senator Barack Obama as the Democratic Party’s nominee for president. "Barack Obama's nomination doesn't mean the end of racism any more than Sarah Palin's nomination signals the end of sexism or gender bias in America. But what giant steps forward! The Last Lynching offers a look at how far we've come on the racial front, and how recent some of the worst days of racial violence really were," explained Koppel.

Koppel and his team of producers take viewers into the lives of these three: Congressman Robert Filner who, as an 18-year-old Freedom Rider, was thrown into Mississippi’s Parchman Prison; Florida schoolteacher Lizzie Jenkins who recalls tales of her grandfather watching the lynching of five African Americans in 1916; and Congressman Artur Davis who as a law student worked to hold the Ku Klux Klan accountable for "The Last Lynching," which took place in Mobile, Ala., in 1981.

http://boingboing.net/2008/10/13/the-last-lynching-te.html

[Laughing Mirror]

5. And they were certainly the best act in the parade

which would have made them even more shocking to the fine residents of Semmes.

[jberryhill]

6. Completely Awesome

[pacalo]

7. The irony continues with the ad on the rawstory page...

"Tell A&E to stop silencing Christians" -- with the picture of the Duck Dynasty guy.

[progressoid]

8. Oh my

[Vashta Nerada]

9. Awesome! Fuck the haters!

[xchrom]

10. one small town at a time -- dancing Drag Queens will take over the world

[valerief]

12. Nothing more fun than dancing drag queens!

[secondwind]

16. woot woot!!!

[valerief]

11. I'm glad the haters didn't physically abuse the dancers. nt

[Liberal_in_LA]

20. they look strong and muscular, more so than typical drag artists

[Behind the Aegis]

22. And, unlike drag performers....

...they don't wear wigs, nor tuck, nor have stage names, nor wear women's accoutrements. They aren't drag performers, they are a dance troupe.

[Liberal_in_LA]

37. agreed. i watched a few of their performances on youtube

They are trained dancers

[pipi_k]

13. I hate it...

that a couple of those guys look better than I do!


PS...funny as hell

[Behind the Aegis]

14. They are a fun bunch, but they are NOT drag queens.

I met them several times in NOLA. I am glad they are OK, it could have turned really ugly, really quick.

[Android3.14]

15. Not drag queens?

Are you saying they are only men who dress up in women's clothes for the purposes of entertainment, as opposed to drag queens? Oh wait...

[Behind the Aegis]

17. They don't dress up in women's clothes.

They dress up in dance unitards, like the picture shows. They are not drag queens as a troupe, though one does preform in drag, but not during the dance troupe numbers.

[Rex]

18. I was wondering about that, I didn't think the picture was accurate to

the article labeling them as drag queens. Unitards are standard wear for dance troupes.

[Behind the Aegis]

19. Well, I know one of them does do drag, but that isn't how.

Unitards, even 'dolled up' ones like the ones in the pic, are not the makings of a drag queen. Note they are not wearing full-on make-up, no wig, and no tucking. They are just an all-male gay dance troupe. I must say, their red outfits are much nicer. I think I have a pic of them somewhere, I have to look. The really short one...he is a fucking HOOT! Do NOT have liquid in your mouth if he starts talking to you!

[Rex]

21. Yes I noticed no wigs or makeup.

I will remember that, a sense of humor is priceless! I can listen to someone joke for hours until my cheeks start to hurt from chronic laughter.

I love watching people dance and the performing arts. I would kill to be in that kind of shape! Well not literally, but to be really good you have to be in athletically fit condition imo.

I won't say how long it has been since I've been in any kind of shape but pear.

[Behind the Aegis]

24. They have a red set, which includes pants and muscle t-shirts.

That, of course, wouldn't be classified as "women's clothes." They are being labeled "drag queens" because they are gay and wear "outlandish" outfits.

They are in great shape. I was talking to my partner and we remember the tall, lanky one doing a kick over his head and holding it...in SKINNY JEANS. How he didn't split his pants or destroy his nads is a mystery! You really would like their performance. They mix a variety of dances from modern, to ballet, to step. They put on a really good show.

As for the pear shape, yeah, I feel ya. I used to be rail thin, but at 44 years of age, my body doesn't burn fat like it used to do. I think I am going to buy an elliptical; I am tired of looking like a webble-wobble.

[Rex]

25. 42 here.

Was at one time IN shape like those gentleman. I have no excuse, my boss has a full station weight machine and it is at my disposal anytime I want to use it.

I find my will to exercise has diminished after 40. I need to make it a New Years resolution to start using it or at least exercise like I did just 10 years ago.

[Behind the Aegis]

26. Good luck to us both!

May we get back into hot dancer shape...maybe start our own troupe!

[Rex]

27. Oh yes you know it!

Hell you know it if I can get back into THAT kinda shape and you can too we are doing something! If nothing else some group selfies! I don't care were you live I'll show up for that! Of course tasteful selfies, all above board.

[Android3.14]

31. Those unitards are defintitely women's attire

I think I can speak from growing up in rural Texas, combined with years of sitting with my wife and watching Project Runway. Only a woman or a drag queen would wear that.

[Behind the Aegis]

32. Well, I can speak as someone who is intimately aquainted with the drag world...

..they AIN'T drag queens!

No wig, no stage name, no female accoutrements, and no tucking, you can be sure they are NOT drag queens. I have worked with overtly feminine male acts (not drag), drag queens, and female impersonators (not really considered drag queens either). So, you might want to reconsider your definition as one that may be mired in prejudice, and consider the one from someone who has worked with actual drag queens, as well as the performers mentioned in the OP...they AIN'T drag queens.

[Android3.14]

34. Mired in prejudice? Perhaps

I'm of an age where that is possible. However, the definitions I'm seeing from merriam webster, Britannica and OED mention nothing about wigs, stage names, accouterments and tucking. When I delivered pizzas in college, there were several gay men who worked at the same place, and we would go to a local bar after work called The Round Up, which had a night for drag queens. I never noticed "tucking" going on.
The definitions revolve around wearing women's clothing for the purpose of entertainment. Perhaps there is a spectrum, as there are in so many aspects of life, of not a drag queen to super duper drag queen.
I'll certainly agree that a man who wears women's clothing, has a stage name, wears female accouterments (stuffed bra? I'm not real sure what female accouterments means) and tucks his junk is definitely a drag queen. But those costumes from the Prancing guys (drawing attention to the chest and v-shape pf the groin) are definitely not a man's leotard.

[Behind the Aegis]

41. 2 things

First, I owe you apology. I used "prejudice" when I should have used "biased." Though 'prejudice' could fit, it is a loaded word and it didn't convey what I was trying to say. That's what I get for having multiple windows open (I was reading some pretty anti-Semitic shit and getting madder by the minute, then I wrote the reply to you). I was also a bit peeved because I have been involved in the drag community for over 20 years, not that you would know this, but having someone who has had casual experience with that community tell me what it is and isn't was insulting, but you can't be held responsible for information you didn't have.

Second, you pretty much distinguished why the "Prancing Elites" are not drag queens. While their clothes are not masculine (in that pic, at least; as I said in other posts, they have a variety of costumes, including pants and t-shirts), their act is not reliant on their dressing in that manner. Their talent is dancing. A drag queen is known for dressing as a woman, with all the trimmings, and preforming as a woman. While they may be able to dance and sing (though usually lip sync), the overall concept is that they look like a woman. The PE are all about the dancing; the outfits, outlandish as they may be, are nothing more than dressing. If it were reverse, drag queens they would be.

Anyway, have a happy holiday season.

[Android3.14]

42. Happy Holidays to you as well

We all go with what we know or what we can learn. Peace out.

[redwitch]

23. Quite possibly my favorite DU thread headline of all time.

Thank you!

[nomorenomore08]

28. Good to see the non-bigots kicking ass in the comments (on the Fox site)!

[toby jo]

29. Umm, don't care if it's gonna be called drag or what, it's just so fuckin FUNNY.

[Initech]

33. Ha ha ha!!! Love it!!!!

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

36. Guess you didn't do your homework Bubba

[MadrasT]

38. Love the horrified mother in the news clip

WON'T SOMEBODY THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!1!!11

Oh the HORROR!!!!1!



I love this so much.

[Kurovski]

39. Lucy Van Pelt would not care for this, either.

There can only be ONE Christmas queen!

K&R

[Quantess]

40. That's great,

it truly is.