MISS LEZ PAGEANT
Describing the Miss Lez event (formerly Miss L.E.S.) as a "pageant" isn't quite right-it's more of a one-room parade for lesbians and those who love them. The show departs its Lower East Side roots this year due in part to gentrification and the dispersal of the women of New York. "It's great to have the gay kids all over the place," one entertainer remarks, "but I miss the old days, where if you walked on a certain block, you knew that you were in an area where you'd find other folks like yourself, or who accepted you for being...well, yourself. I long for the days of community being based on a physical location, rather than on the computer. But hey, the young kids love that Myspace." But the show must go on. So, in the larger confines of the Knitting Factory in Tribeca, seven contestants will compete in the areas of platform, swimsuit, gown, interview and talent. These divisions will be liberally interpreted, to say the least. Expect a "no-rules" show that challenges not only pageant cliches but also conventional wisdom on what it is to be lesbian. Judges this year include burlesquers the Wau-Wau Sisters and the World Famous *BOB*, Michael Musto, Johanna Fatemen of Le Tigre, drag editrix Linda Simpson and director/writer/producer Rose Troche.