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November 19, 2002
rupaul and the prisoner of kazakstan
Tokien pointed to the cassette case with a long, polished fingernail. ìWho is that?î he asked in Russian, referring to the androgyne with the massive gerri curls on the tape cover.
ìThatís RuPaul. He is a man,î I answered. Tokienís almond-shaped eyes widened in surprise. Transvestites were unheard of in Kazakstan, although I suspected Tokien had more than enough potential for dragdom. He was a lithe and graceful classical dance instructor in the small mill town, famed to have been the Soviet Unionís largest metallurgical production facility. Today the factories are obsolete and empty. Thereís nothing much to do there anymore, and teens fill their time shooting up cheap local heroin with shared family needles and ogling the new Daewoo stereos they will never afford but could some day steal. Widowed babuska pensioners stuggled to get by, often only with the potatoes grown at their summer dachas.
My RuPaul cassette was one of the few things that kept me in Peace Corps for as long as I was. On particularly cold and grey days, I would liven things up by putting in Supermodel of the World, especially the title track, Supermodel. The phrase ìYou better WORK, bitch!î had special meaning to me, and often was the only thing goading me to work in the morning. I didnít want to be there, I needed to be living elsewhere at that time. So the music took me where I needed to be, for only a few minutes.
Every so often I would travel by bus from my coal mining city to the nearby metallurgical town to visit the other volunteers. Most of them were English teachers in the public school system. Joel and Petra had met Tokien in their school. He was a refreshing change from the usual dour Kazak student or faculty member. Creative, and good in his craft, he was best described as fey. His swish was so wide that even Joel and Petraís gaydar shot to red alert status. They knew I had few companions or other gays to relate to, so they made a point of inviting him to their party.
With the advance notice I packed my gay disco compilations and favorite RuPaul album for the trip, thinking Tokien would relate to the music. I should have known that he had received no exposure to such things. The RuPaul tape was a total shock to him.
ìThis man is famous in America?î he asked in surprise.
ìYes, fairly so,î I replied in Russian. ìHeís had two hits so far.î I could see Tokien was about to ask for the cassette. In Kazakstan, loaning something to a friend meant that you basically gave it up. Nothing ever came back to you. However, I could always get another Supermodel of the World cassette, or even upgrade to CD. Tokien may never have an opportunity to be one.
ìDo you want to borrow it?î I asked Token. Speechless and glowing with glee, he accepted my sole source of sanity with graciousness. I never saw the cassette again, but Iím sure it went to a good cause. Perhaps today thereís a drag cabaret in some small Kazak mill town where an almond-eyed drag queen with massive gerri curls encourages the metalworkers with the shout out, ìYou better WORK!î
Posted by jimbo at November 19, 2002 9:43 AM
Comments
You're a good person Jimbo.
:)
Posted by: Rob at November 19, 2002 1:34 PM