Cross-dressed to kill

Published on December 14, 2007

The pageant is a little bit like an extended drag show, but less professional and with more spontaneous performances.

When imagining a beauty pageant, among the first images that come up are probably leggy ladies with big smiles, dramatic hairdos, ladylike walks, and a burning desire to be the one who wins a diamond tiara and jewelled sceptre. The same goes with the Miss ACDC Pageant, which is being held tomorrow night but with a slight difference - all the contestants are men.

It's neither a male beauty pageant nor a transsexual beauty queen contest. Miss ACDC Pageant is a contest for transvestites, in which the contestants have to be male and dress up as women to partake in the competition. Whether gay, straight or bisexual, any man is welcome to join. Strangely enough, many of the contestants are totally straight but just happen to look great in women's clothes and makeup.

The fun thing about the pageant is that the contestants are not expected to be beautiful. Miss ACDC, which stands for Alternative Creature's Devoted Creation, is intended to be a joyous occasion. First of all contestants have to put on their "national costumes" in which they have to use all their imagination and creativity, depending on which country they choose to represent. One of last year's contestants discarded the traditional frilly red flamenco dress and put on a shiny, green sleek outfit, with two massive tentacles which swayed above the head. The audience burst into a big round of laughter and applause to welcome Miss Spanish (Fly) to the contest.

After the field gets whittled down to 10 finalists, each lucky guy to enter the next round has to put on a smashing show to impress the judges and win the crowd. This is the highlight of the event where each of them has to show off their performing skills. This part of the pageant is a little bit like an extended drag show, but with less professional and more spontaneous performers. The audience gets to vote for Miss Popular at this point.

One of the most amusing moments is when the finalists are asked to answer a tricky question. Compared to the questions asked of contestants in other pageants, Miss ACDC Pageant features questions that can be described as crafty or even a bit cruel. In previous years, the finalists were asked to give an answer that was a poem, and had to give alliterated names to 10 kittens. Though most parts of the pageant will be translated to English, the quiz time is only in Thai.

Winners from this pageant gain no prize or money. And there's no commitment to the Miss ACDC title afterwards. The judges, mostly self-invited and non-paid, are local celebrities including actress Lalita "Mew" Panyopas, supermodel Metinee Kingpayom and model/ makeup artist Orn-napa Krissadee.

Held by an ad hoc organiser every year since 2001, the first year saw only Thai contestants. But as the word travelled, more and more foreign cross-dressers journeyed to Bangkok for this competition. Last year a Singaporean dude was named second runner-up. This year there will be a few ladyboys from China and Europe dressed to kill.

Miss ACDC Pageant carries on a mission as a fund raiser. Every year it contributes at least Bt100,000 to charity organisations including orphanages, schools, and foundations for underprivileged children. This year's proceed would benefit Border Soldiers guard schools.

The Bt1,000 tickets normally sell out fast. Make sure you get to the venue early to get good seats.

The seventh Miss ACDC Pageant contest takes place at 6pm tomorrow at Bangkok Hall, Suan Lum Night Bazaar (MRT: Lumpini). Tickets are Bt1,000, Bt700 and Bt500 and are available at the door. For more information, call (02) 662 0164-5 or visit www.missacdc.com.

Manta Klangboonkrong