Girls wearing carabiners, backwards-facing baseball caps, bandanas, all-thrifted outfits, and wired earbuds; holding matchas and tote bags; wearing Doc Martins and any and all kinds of jewelry; professing their love for Girl in Red, Reneé Rapp, and Tegan & Sara; all while being nonchalant in front of a crowd of adoring women: you could’ve found all of these last Thursday in front of Mellby lawn where the performative masc lesbian contest was being held.
Of course, I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to have so much fun dressing up and being a part of this contest. So, if you saw a person with a good handful of flowers, a film camera, nature books, a sketchbook, and a Chicago tote bag; wearing black baggy jeans, a 2023 Girl in Red concert t-shirt, a white bandana, and sunglasses; with a paintbrush in their ear and clips on their bag and their jeans filled with cute keychain plushes: that was me!
It was so exciting to see the amount of people who were competing in this contest, the variety of items people brought and their reasons for why they should win. It was truly an exciting and hilarious event to be a part of. The masc lesbian contest drew in a large crowd of spectators, cheering for everyone as each of us presented our case to win. Everyone who played up the stereotypes of a masc lesbian was really fun, and I couldn’t help but cheer them on. Even after picking a winner, it was so nice to talk to everyone and praise them and all of their items and outfits — it was just delightful to have fun and compliment each other!
It was truly an amazing social experience; I would love to participate again if there were ever another performative contest held someday in the future. There has to be a performative male contest in the future, and I would love to join in and be a part of the performance for joy and laughs all across the board.
