By Jenna Purcell
City on a Hill Press Reporter

For any UC Santa Cruz student savvy in all things fabulous, the annual Queer Fashion Show (QFS) is infamous for raising queer awareness while singing, dancing, stripping and strutting all the way. While glitter and lingerie once again adorned the runway, the directors and performers hoped to tackle serious issues facing the queer community with this year’s whimsical theme, “Come Out and Play.”

“The theme is sort of a play on the phrase ‘coming out’ because it’s heard so often in the community,” said Avital Wolf-Prusan, one of the show’s directors. “It’s not so much about physical playing as it is coming out and playing with who you are, and QFS has always been a safe place to do that.”

The show’s theme was brought to life by an array of pieces ranging from stand-up comedy and clowning to hardcore hip-hop and, of course, student-designed fashion. This year’s show featured three different designers who played with the themes of fetish, the symbolic Japanese days of the week, and boredom. The gay mélange was led by two “aggressively awkward” emcees donning plaid and bottlecap specs while striving to create a dance routine worthy of this year’s repertoire.

One of these pieces, performed by Zachary Forcum and Jonathan Tristan, utilized the show’s lascivious reputation to address the emotional aftermath of sexual relations within the gay community. The piece, titled “Not Enough,” depicted the “strictly sexual” relationship between two men, eventually resulting in a realization that sex is not enough for a fulfilling relationship.

“I was starting to get really disturbed by all the men on campus, and around the world really, that just want to have sexual relationships,” said Forcum, who choreographed the piece. “I know there are a lot of men on campus, in California, and around the world who go out just looking for sex because having anything deeper is not accepted.”

A first-time QFS participant, Forcum hesitated at first to perform in the notorious venue, but said he was pleased with his decision.

“I’m really glad this piece was in QFS because it shows a different side of sex,” Forcum said. “I think QFS has so much going for it, and I hope this piece encourages people to explore what sex is. I think we need to talk about sex. It’s important to show sex not just for sex’s sake, but for how it relates to us in multifaceted ways.”

Fellow performer Bradley Tomy also felt addressing sex was an important part of the show’s responsibility to the community.

“Sexuality is an integral part of [the show], and of being part of that community,” Tomy said. “To be queer is to be a sexual person. You can’t be queer and proud of it without knowing yourself sexually.”

While cast discussions after intense late-night rehearsals effortlessly conjured up such revelations, relaying them to the audience could be a challenge. According to audience member Kayt Ahnberg, it seems the show was successful.

“I felt the sex in the show was effective in saying that these are the pairings that happen behind closed doors,” Ahnberg said. “It’s here, it’s on stage, and it’s OK.”

Wolf-Prusan shared this opinion, and hoped to encourage intelligent conversation about sex with the skits that were chosen.

“The pieces we included were more than just sex onstage,” Wolf-Prusan said. “They’re about relationships and intimacy. There’s sex in the pieces, but that’s not the main point. That’s not what the audience takes away.”

One of these pieces, titled “Karma Sutra,” featured artful sex onstage, presenting different sexual positions performed by dancers in unisex costumes who switched partners and positions like clockwork. Ahnberg said she was particularly affected by the piece’s blatant use of sex as well as the message she took away from it.

“At first I thought ‘Karma Sutra’ was really shocking because it put sexuality in such an interesting place,” Ahnberg said. “But I thought it talked about gender and sexuality in a very nondiscriminate sort of way. It was just people having sex with people. It placed a lot of emphasis on acceptance. It went past the aesthetic aspects of sex and took on larger themes concerning gender and relationships.”

Despite the heavy issues that the pieces alluded to, Ahnberg left with a satisfied smile and an extra skip in her step.

“I walked away with a very celebratory message,” Ahnberg said. “You should be happy and proud of who you are and never look at it as a burden. Live it, express it, love it.”

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