Drag queen Antoinette strutted down the stage in heeled boots, a blonde wig and a black lace dress. Suddenly, she dropped to the floor, one leg in the air, executing the “dip” move. As she hit the ground, some audience members yelled in flattery:

“Mother!”

The performance was in honor of Earth Day at the third annual “Mother Earth Drag Extravaganza.”

The prom-themed drag event at the Seymour Marine Discovery Center was hosted by the Lionel Cantú Queer Center on April 26, attracting over 250 students, faculty and community members. It set out to accomplish a variety of goals: to build queer community, advocate for environmental justice and support student drag queens.

“What happens to the Earth and to the environment impacts all of us,” said delfín w. bautista, the director of the Lionel Cantú Queer Resource Center. “[Drag] culture values not letting people be discarded, which extends to making sure our communities and the wider environment are also not to be discarded or neglected.” 

From a quiet outdoor patio to a lively dance floor, there were spaces that suited all kinds of activities. For those who wanted to take a step back from the main stage, they could paste pride-themed temporary tattoos to their skin or embellish their clothing with pronoun pins.

Stickers from a booth hosted by the Lavender Club, a club for LGBTQIA+ students and allies at UC Santa Cruz. 

Marine and plant life in the space intentionally complimented the event’s theme. Organizers invited attendees to roam the aquarium filled with anemones, starfish, eels, barnacles and jellyfish, and even to interact with them in a touch pool.

At 8 p.m., the headlining event began: the drag queen performances. 

On the main stage, overhead lights and music from two large speakers filled the room, illuminating performers as attendees watched in awe.

The show featured a wide range of performances, Miss California Golden Chantelle performed a rendition of Joni Mitchell’s song, “Big Yellow Taxi.” Zimina danced to Camila Cabello’s song, “She Loves Control.”

Five queens of Supernova Sync, a non-hierarchial, lip-sync collective, combined spoken word and whimsical dance to showcase how queerness is present not only in humans, but in nature.

“[The orchid] was my flower that I chose to represent my gender identity,” said Katelyn Wallis, a Supernova Sync member. “[The orchid] exposes itself as a very open flower. I want to be more open with myself, with the world, with my gender and sexuality, and with my fellow queer people.”

Florence Ives-Rence, a performer in the collective, spoke to how artistic performances and events serve as a form of resistance. 

“We are still oppressed as queer people. We’re facing a lot of attacks, especially trans people,” Ives-Rence said. “We need to show that we’re not going away, that we are here, and we deserve to be here.”

Lionel Cantú Queer Resource Center director delfin w. bautista holds a sign above their head during their drag performance. The sign reads: “Black, Brown, Disabled, Undocumented, Queer, Trans, Indigenous, Neurodivergent Lives Matter Now + Always.” 

In between each of the performances, emcee Mark Ramone Gardner celebrated queer histories of cultures, people and plants by acknowledging natural beings that have existed outside of gender binaries. Gardner also acknowledged the reality that queer and trans people face under the current administration.

“If you’re going to show up for the party, show up for the struggle,” Gardner said. “Life begins when the party ends.”

In Trump’s first 100 days in office, transgender women have been forced into men’s prisons and gender affirming care for trans youth has been defunded. In addition, his administration seeks to only recognize people as men or women. 

“The attacks on us are not new; they may have taken on different forms but attacks to dehumanize us and make us into second-class citizens have tragically existed in different ways over time,” bautista said. “Our lives, our pain, and our joy cannot be and will not be erased. We need to come together to slay joyfully and fiercely!”

Drag queen Miss California Golden Chantelle performs her rendition of “Big Yellow Taxi” by Joni Mitchell.

As the administration continues to confine queer and trans existence within the gender binary, drag offers a liberating alternative. For drag queen Zimin Cohen, self expression in drag has no boundaries. 

“Drag means freedom of expression, drag is American,” Cohen said. “It is American to have freedom, it is within the essence of that which is American to be able to express yourself how you want to express yourself. It’s sexual freedom. It is gender freedom. It’s freedom to build upon the human being that you are.”