Miss AIDS Awareness 2014

For as long as I've known them, Dan and Shaunna Rai have been synonymous with Miss AIDS Awareness.  Given the fact that the pageant hadn't been held in three years, for various reasons, I, more or less expected Shaunna Rai to carry on the title, indefinitely.

However, after a three year break, the pageant was held again this year.  It was hosted at Paradym (the former Club 313), presented by Envy Chanel's alter ego, and the NH Task Force.  

Chantel Chanel

Tatoola Tess Tosterone

I've taken a long time to write about the pageant, because there was a lot of things that I needed time to process, and think about how to best sum it up.  I was involved in creating the poster for the Pageant, which became a task all in and of itself.  For a donated piece of artwork, I put far more work into it than I have ever put into my paid work, due to multiple change requests.  (That however, I won't get into, because it'll just make me mad about it again.)  I got the poster out as quickly as I could, once I had the information, and had made all the changes to it.  Unfortunately, for the fundraising part of it, the poster wasn't distributed in enough time for there to be a particularly large audience.  

Countess Morticia

Competitors couldn't register online, or early.  Registration happened about an hour before the show.  Sadly, there were only four entrants. For a title that helps fund raise for what is still known as a primarily "Gay Disease," I would have thought that there would have been more interest in helping out with the fight to find a cure.  (But, maybe I'm in the minority, because I want to spread awareness about this kind of thing?)  Scarrlett Cuntyfierce Couture, Tatoola Tess Tosterone, the Countess Morticia, and Chantel Chanel were the contestants, and former title holders, Miss E,on, Shaunna Rai and Porcia J. Chanel all performed, and the whole thing was hosted by Violencia Exclamation Point.

There was a lot of down time, during the personal interviews, to which I was not privy, so I ended up sitting alone, drinking, waiting for the show itself to start.  The show began, and I was impressed.  I was a little sad that Mercadies Chanel wasn't able to host, due to illness, but I was quite impressed with Violencia.  

Scarrlett Cuntyfierce Couture

The things that stood out the most for me, for the night, were: Dueling Chers with the Newspaper wigs, Honey Boo-Boo's entry into the "Gown Competition", the Disney's Pocahontas montage act, and the fact that all of the contestants, when asked why they would be the best pick for Miss AIDS Awareness, they all kind of skirted giving an actual answer.

Going into the night, knowing a little bit of history, I was not surprised that a couple of the entrants brought people with them to tip, given that tips make up part of the points that you earn overall, and can actually change the final outcome.  E,on won the crown over Shaunna Rai, one year, by one point, because E,on brought in more tips.

Tatoola's "Rose's Turn"

I went into the night, rooting for Tatoola, because we're friends.  But, I know that Tatoola is less into the performing than she is the dressing up.  And, the audience was less than receptive of her.  Although, I thought that she was great.  I loved her "Rose's Turn" performance.

Scarrlett took the show.  The minute that she came out and started doing the medley of Pocahontas songs, I was pretty sure that she had it in the bag.  I love the theatricality of drag, and given that she had backup dancers to perform the parts of John Smith and Powhatan...I may have had to pick my jaw up off the floor.  I agreed with the judging, that Scarrlett deserved the crown.

The Passing of the Crown

Overall, it was a great night.  After the show, I found out some things that made me really sad.  There is so much information that needs to still be redistributed over and over to the gay community about HIV/AIDS.  While it may have just been nerves, none of the contestants could answer how you get the disease, and one contestant actually said that there is a cure for it.  Now, I get that we're not living in the 80's and 90's, when the majority of the gay community actually knew someone who had, or had died from AIDS.  But, there is so much information out there about how it's transmitted, that you would hope that someone would at least know that it's passed through bodily fluids, and not just liquids.  Yes, people still live healthy, productive lives, on a cocktail of meds, once they contract the disease, but that is, by no means a cure.  

I can only hope that Scarrlett will help bring awareness to the younger generation of the community, that while it's not a death sentence anymore, it's still far from being cured, and that the best things to do are get tested, talk about it often, and use protection.  Because, I know that Shaunna, in spite of giving up the crown, will still be doing as much as she can for education and fundraising.