‘It can be boring here at times’: Drag show for the elderly to celebrate women

Many came out in drag to celebrate Women’s Day, but more had to be done to protect women, experts say.

Franco Bezuidenhout, aka Queen B and his husband, Jannie Bezuidenhout, organised the first of its kind drag queen show at the Van Rensburg retirement village and frail care centre for elderly people suffering from Alzheimer’s for Women’s Day.

Queen B and her drag sister, Denè Malrouché (Dean Sweeney), were both in the running for this year’s Mr and Miss Pretoria Pride title.

Queen B said life was evolving and so was drag.

“We show people drag is not taboo but to appreciate women. “It’s about taking their hands, day by day and step by step.

“We, as men, need to appreciate the women that raised us,” she said.

Her husband said they had decided to reach out to the Van Rensburg care centre because he had fond memories of visiting there as a child.

“When I attended Danville Primary School, we visited the centre for Granny and Grandfather Day to spend time with the elderly. They don’t do that any more,” he said.

Bezuidenhout said it broke his heart to think about the elderly people abandoned and forgotten in old age homes.

Malrouché said it was important to celebrate the women in our lives, even if it was in full-on drag.

“I am doing me, because I love what I am doing and I do what I love,” she said.

Ingrid Pienaar said she had never seen drag queens in real life, only on TV.

“They really made the day fun, because it can be boring here at times,” she said.

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Pienaar said Women’s Day was important to celebrate because women played a vital role in society.

“Not enough is being done for women or to protect them but, in general, we are okay,” she said.

Pienaar said Women’s Day was about women’s empowerment and that it was nice seeing men dress up in drag to celebrate women.

“If it wasn’t for women, the world would be a very chaotic place,” she said.

Van Rensburg care centre head of house Beatrice Mitchell said they have never had a performance by drag queens at the centre.

“This drag show will make a big difference in each elderly person’s life here because the music they used brought back many good memories for the elderly,” she said.

Mitchell said the music was good for the elderly because it was a form of stimulation.

“These Alzheimer patients are our pillars here, because they see life differently to us, because we forget to laugh and dance,” she said.

Public management and governance PhD candidate at North West University Thato Motswakae said Women’s Day was a special day that commemorates the 1956 march of almost 20 000 women to the Union Buildings in Pretoria to submit a petition against passing laws that wanted South Africans defined as black under the Population Registration Act to carry a pass book.

“It is very sad that in the contemporary period, women who assisted to remove apartheid are now embattled in a crisis to do away with the scourge of gender-based violence (GBV) when they should be enjoying the benefits of liberating our country,” she said.

Victimologist Prof Jaco Barkhuizen said there was a bitter-sweet taste around Women’s Day.

“Despite the government making strides and legislation against GBV, on the ground, and as statistics around rape and GBV show, we are still not turning the corner in this war,” he said.

Barkhuizen said more should be done.

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