By Nadine Brown, Guardian Staff Reporter

nadine@nasguard.com

In Las Vegas and other cities in the United States and around the world, being a "Drag Queen" is a metaphor for making big bucks as an entertainer. Here in the Bahamas and the Caribbean at large, "Drag Queen" is merely a label that conjures up scary images for many parents.

However, a few intrepid souls have decided to fight the ingrained stereotypes and drag (no pun intended) Bahamians kicking and screaming into the twenty- first century where ipods, mp3, internet and drag queens form a part of the everyday vernacular.

There have been several competitions in which drag queens have battled for titles here in the Bahamas. These have normally been held in nightclubs, after hours, for gay people to attend and are not usually promoted to the public. However the latest one- Ms Drag Queen Bahamas - is being promoted to become more regularised and is held within the time slot that the more conventional pageants occur and in the same types of venues. The promoter advertises the event as a new form of entertainment based on the Las Vegas model.

According to the organiser of the Ms Drag Queen Bahamas, the competition mirrors the conventional pageantry system closely. The pageant's criteria hinges on limits which include weight, and age. The winner of the pageant is sent to the international competition, where he gets to compete with other female impersonators. As a newcomer, the contestant enters the Ms Duval Newcomer International pageant.

There is also the Ms Duval Plus size pageant for the plus sized and many others, where female impersonators can strut their stuff. "There is a market for this type of entertainment in the Bahamas," says the organiser.

He says this is based on the percentage of individuals that attended the last pageant. Only twenty per cent of those that attended were gay, the other eighty were heterosexuals.

The show was held under the theme "Something Bahamian" categories of the competition included, Introduction, Creative Androsia, Something Bahamian (costume), swimsuit, talent and evening gown.

Talent and costume are major parts of a drag queen's life, as he has to be able to convince the onlooker that he is a female, says transsexual, Alexis Braxton Royal, who lives as a female but was born male. She stated that they want it to be known that being a drag queen is not based on sex, because some people have the drag life but it is only a job.

What may not be widely known is that in many cases, drag queens are not homo-sexuals but rather, heterosexual men who are living out their fetish of dressing like women or merely doing it as a form of entertainment to earn money.

In fact according to the organiser of Mr Drag Bahamas, one of the contestants in the pageant this year was in fact heterosexual. "The drag queen has a lot to gain," says the organiser of the pageant. He is automatically thrust on the international scene and will be hired by the various clubs et cetera, in the US and else where to provide entertainment.

He admits that so far, this type of entertainment while a cross section of Bahamians have embraced the competition for what it is, others may not understand that it is merely another form of entertainment geared towards tourists and any other open minded individual.

The Miss Drag queen winner this year goes by the name of "Tempest Allure." In an interview with the 18-year-old Tempest, he stated that drag queens are men who want to get exposure just like everyone else. He stated that he likes pageants, competing and winning.

"We want to show everyone that we are all alike under the skin." Tempest says that he is very comfortable with who he is and although his family is not necessarily supportive of what he does, they love him.