Outing Whiteness: A Feminist/Lesbian Project

Abstract

On their way to perform in the Miss Make Believe Contest-a benefit for a neighboring theatre-two of the WOW Cafe's Five Lesbian Brothers, Maureen Angelos and Peg Healey, talk about what to do for the talent section of the contest. Three of the troupe's performers bowed out at the last minute leaving Angelos and Healey without a repertoire to draw on; there are no duets in this quintet. They decide to do something related to the film Basic Instinct, since it had recently opened in New York and debates were raging in the press and on the street over Sharon Stone's portrayal of an ostensibly lesbian character. Later, as the emcee introduces two of the Five Lesbian Brothers, Angelos and Healey walk slowly and purposefully on stage. Drawing deeply and excessively on lit cigarettes hanging from the corners of their mouths, they drop a block of ice on the stage, reach in their back pockets for ice picks, and throw themselves on the block, ravaging it. As the ice is decimated, smoke billowing, wave upon wave of squeals and laughter rise and fall as the metaphoric potential is realized and drained from the image.