Last Friday in the Corporate Area, Miss USA, was crowned Miss World. These contestants however were not of the Yendi Phillipps variety. Far from your typical beauties, these competitors were all men - drag queens to be exact.

Despite Jamaica's huge reputation of being a homophobic society, 12 men were able to strut their stuff as they competed in the fourth annual staging of the event, which, to put it mildly, was an eye-popping experience for THE STAR news team.

Though the idea might seem comical, it was clearly no joke to the organisers. So recognised and well planned was the event that the winner received $75,000 towards his tertiary education and several other prizes.

Security chat

THE STAR team arrived at the venue at about 12:30 a.m. and at first glance, the event seemed to be lacking excitement as the only signs of life were a few security officers having a chat. The three-story building, with huge glass windows at the front, was however a sign that this was no 'fly-by-night' event.

An eight-man security team made certain that no cameras or videotaping devices entered the premises.

"Yu nuh have nuh gun nor nuh knife pon yuh? Yu nuh have nuh camera nor no video camera? Gimmi a search then nuh," one security guard ordered.

After paying the $2,000 entry, the team timidly made its way inside the venue. The early patrons, who numbered about 15, were predominately young men who converged at different sections of the house, having drinks, cigarettes and 'spliffs'.

THE STAR also observed some of the contestants rushing about making the final preparations. Perhaps the most striking indicator that this wasn't your average event was the obvious absence of women. Save the bartender and a woman who accompanied the selectors, members of the audience were all males.

Apart from this, everything seemed perfectly normal. Until, that is, two 'hotties' visited the bar. The two were sporting tight, low-cut jeans which exposed much of their 'assets', long hair, bleached faces and thin shaved eyebrows. They attracted quite a lot of attention as they made their way over. Their 'dainty' appearance, however, was betrayed by their deep voices.


As time progressed, more men arrived, looking around and then greeting other men with whom they were obviously already acquainted.


The selectors at first played mostly disco selections, but the beat later changed to hip-hop and R&B selections and so did the movements. The men began 'wining and grinding' on each other. On one occassion while Jah Rule and Ashanti's Always on Time, pumped through the speakers, three of the men were apparently so touched by the words that they came together for a 'group hug' while reciting the words.


Many of the supporters were dressed to impress and had they been seen on the street, could have easily been mistaken for women. Bleached faces, mini-skirts, handbags and even high heels were the look. From super-tight jeans and tops, to 'girly' slippers and visible thongs, these men were on a mission to be seen.


There were however the men who chose to dress more conservatively. Jeans, sneakers, and T-shirts were enough for those who preferred to stand in the shadows. They stayed, for most part, with their backs against the walls.


After a wait of about an hour and a half, the pageant began. One of the hosts, himself a drag queen, took to the stage and began making preliminary introductions to an audience which had grown from 15 to at about 70.


Fully dressed for the part of beauty pageant contestant, the 'drags' strutted their stuff. Contestants wore daring bikinis, thongs, each with their penises bulging, evening wear and sports wear, all to the delight of supporters, who had converged a floor below, some of which were also in 'drag'.


During each segment, the efforts of the contestants were well received.While the men displayed their feminine looks, the crowd clapped, whistled, and even shouted sexual advances.


"You look good girl, come gimme a kiss," one man shouted while "Miss Jamaica" took to the stage showing off 'her' sports wear. Upon leaving the stage, the same man shouted; "I'm all yours baby, come let me get a piece a that." "Miss Jamaica" went on to finish third.


The contestants also provided entertainment in between segments by rendering performances. Most chose to entertain through song, with one contestant lip synching Alicia Keys' No One. This particular item had most of the audience gyrating on each other.


When THE STAR left the venue at about 4:15 a.m., the party was far from over as patrons were still strolling in and THE STAR heard that an after-party was being anticipated. At that point, at least 130 men, and four women were now inside the house which is seemingly the chosen venue for such events.