Drag queens showcase Hawaiian gender-fluid heritage

(24 Jun 2023)
FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: 4441347
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Las Vegas - 20 June 2023
1. A Mahu performer dances
2. Multiple performers on stage under confetti.
ANNOTATION: A drag show named ‘Mahu Magic’ was held to celebrate the culture in a modern context.
++PARTIALLY COVERED++
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, Mahu community leader.
“Tonight's a little bit different from our usual pageant. It's a little bit different from other drag shows, because this one has a very specific purpose. It is meant to reinstate the rightful place that mahu has between kane and wahine (man and woman)."
4. Performers on stage with glowing flowers
5. A performer dances in front of crowd
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, Mahu community leader.
“Mahu is a rough parallel to the understanding of LGBTQIA, but not an exacting equivalent.”
++FULLY COVERED++
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, Mahu community leader.
“Our place in our society is contingent upon the way we see the world. But because we are under the auspices of the United States, its governance, American bipartisan politics driven by American economics, it really does place our living in a in a very conflicted environment.
8. Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu on stage
9. Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu getting makeup put on
10. Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu getting cloths tied on
11. Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu walking to stage
12. Leikia Williams getting makeup on
ANNOTATION: Leikia Williams helped organize the event and has been practicing drag for over 30 years.
13. Leikia Williams performing on stage
++PARTIALLY COVERED++
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Leikia Williams, performer and organizer:
“"When they come here and they did this show, it makes you feel like you're at home. It makes the audience feel like they're at home. Especially the audience that live here in the mainland. I know they miss this. I'm bringing this here to them. It just made them smile."
15. Leikia Williams on stage with another performer
16. SOUNDBITE (English) Leikia Williams, performer and organizer
“They know the Mahu culture is very strong and it's very much alive.”
17. Performers prep backstage
18. SOUNDBITE (English) Leikia Williams, performer and organizer
“And to be here in front of our fellow audience and to be here in front of them and to perform for them, you know that they have the love for for their for their mahu wahine.”
19. Leikia Williams and Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu stand by the stage
20. Leikia Williams performing on stage
21. All performers on stage after the final performance
STORYLINE:
The concept of gender-fluidity -- or “mahu” -- has existed in Hawaii for hundreds of years and is the hallmark of a culture that allows space between the concepts of male and female.
Now, as anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric inflames the country, Native Hawaiians are reminding modern generations of the respected place gender-fluidity holds in their culture while also making a foray into the national conversation about transgender rights.
To raise awareness, Native Hawaiian drag queens performed in Las Vegas on Tuesday in a show called “Mahu Magic.”
The drag show came on the sidelines of a Native Hawaiian convention and coincided with Pride month.
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[@harutoakatigerkaito2186]

So wonderful and a beautiful show of our planet's technicolor diversity!

[@stevo1977]

😂🤢

[@harutoakatigerkaito2186]

Why be unkind?

[@akp2sexc_]

Bro shut up people can be who they want...people can choose who they wana be...how would you feel like of we made fun of you for being who you are?...you wouldn't like it so stop

[@Spacecadet499]

It was in their culture before your lineage existed you’re disgusting