Gay Men Find Acceptance in The World of Child Pageants

Steve Zahn plays gay in Happy, Texas

 

-- Lyle Masaki from AfterElton.com

 

Radar Magazine has a piece on how gay men play a key role in child pageants — you know, the world that many people were shocked to discover after the death of JonBenét Ramsey and thanks to movies like Happy, Texas and Little Miss Sunshine. Flamboyant gay men are hard to miss in that world, appearing as coaches, judges, stylists and emcees.  While the most interesting aspect of the article is how it tries to see a positive side of the child pageant circuit, it also has plenty of interesting glimpses into a world most of us haven't examined closely.

 

The story that sticks with me is that of Ray Smith, who dropped out of high school and eventually found work at a Louisville gay bar where he imitated male celebrities along side a troop of female impersonators. Smith never performed in drag, but working with drag performers was a major influence on his work in child pageants. That's certainly an interesting parallel, as many drag performers play up an exaggerated idea of femininity much like what you can see in child pageants — those girls certainly aren't imitating their mothers who usually are dressed far more casually than their daughters.

Many of the gay men who work in the child pageant circuit come from a similar background as Smith. Their opportunities are often limited by a lack of education (and I can't help but wonder how many of them couldn't finish high school because they were being harassed by classmates for being gay while teachers and principles looked the other way), but in the child pageant circuit they found a world where they can be their flamboyant selves and thrive. Homophobia isn't an issue these men have to face in the child pageant circuit, as all most parents care about is that they're good at their jobs and that their daughters are treated well.

 

Little Miss Sunshine

 

However, due to the negative publicity surrounding child pageants after Ramsey's murder as well as documentaries about pagenats that aired on HBO and VH1, the child pageant circuit has gone into the closet. Pagent professionals have become media-shy, with one emcee telling Radar, "I'm tired of receiving hate mail." The events are often tightly-guarded and only people involved in the pageants are allowed to watch them.

Meanwhile, as a follow-up to the Radar article, a former child pageant participant sent an e-mail to Rich at FourFour (which has devoted lots of space to child pageant doc Living Dolls) about how that world influenced her view of gays:

 

"By the time I came to understand what "gay" was, it wasn't even an issue for me, other than the fact that these fabulous guys would never be interested in me in "that way."  A loss for me, but a gain to others ... I believe being exposed to diversity at an early age made me aware that not everyone was exactly alike, that being different is an asset not a liability, and people are just people no matter what.  I think if you'd ask other women that participated in pageants during their formative years, you'd find similar sentiments."

 

It's a pretty fascinating glimpse into a world I haven't considered very much. I still find the images from child pageants to be discomforting but the article got me to look at the world from a different perspective from the default "OMG! How shocking!" viewpoint. Any thoughts on the article or the topic in general?