Pageant hosted by drag queen at Oak Lawn gay bar spurs controversy
Dallas News (http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/DN-misstexas_22met.ART.State.Edition1.4a6e8f0.html)
By SCOTT FARWELL
11/22/2008
Cassie Nova is resplendent in red.
Her figure is flattered by an almost-there hemline. Heels, three-inch. Hair, teased. Makeup, porcelain doll smooth.
As co-host of a preliminary Miss Texas pageant held Sunday night in Dallas, Ms. Nova was all woman, except for one thing – she's a man.Therein lies the problem. That and the pageant venue: a gay bar.
"I didn't know a drag queen was going to have that prominent of a role," said Jean Magness, executive director of the Miss Texas Organization, who watched over the Miss Oak Cliff/Miss Oak Lawn Area pageant at the Oak Lawn lounge The Rose Room. "The question was Cassie's involvement. Was it appropriate? For me and other board members present, that was a major concern."
What an absurd controversy. As the story points out, gay men are good enough to do these pageant women's hair and makeup and clothing but gods forbid a drag queen (or trans-woman? wasn't sure from they story) might host the event! It's not as though drag queens don't have their own magnificent history of pageantry. People can just be so silly...