While many people were glued to their televisions watching the Bruce Jenner interview, Columbia College Chicago LGBT Students, in coordination with the Office of LGBTQ Culture & Community, held its 11th annual event Gender Fusions.
Gender Fusions is an annual night of queer performances and community dialogue, spoken word, dance, song, drag and burlesque within a context of creative and critical thought.
This year's theme was "Gender Galaxy: An intergalactic exploration of identity, connection and multi-dimensional possibilities." The day begin with "Cosmic Quest: A small resource fair," which included LGBTQ short film screenings, photo booth, art and activism installations, HIV/STI testing from Howard Brown Health Center, and massage and reiki by SAGE Health Collective.
The next exploration led people through the "Milky Way Exposé," with various acts that included song, theater, dance, spoken word, performance art and drag by performers such as Jade Black Synagogue, Emily Hodshire, Brian Danzy, Zizi, Liz Zaroogian, Khloe Janel, Amanda Ye-Win Lim and Kerrivera Reymone with special performances by YEPP ( Youth Empowerment Performance Project ) ensemble members.
The main event of the evening was special guest speaker Geena Rocero, a model and transgender advocate who is also the founder of Gender Proud. While everyone watching the Bruce Jenner interview saw sound bites of Rocero's TED talk, the crowd was hearing her tell her inspiring story live and in living color.
As the crowd descended back to earth, it was treated to "Celestial Expressions," a fashion show featuring the luminous looks and gender expressions of Columbia College's Common Ground members.