Cheer, Dorothy, Cheer!
Encyclopedia
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
based in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
(United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
). The organization was founded by three gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
men in 2002 to promote diversity, raise HIV/AIDS awareness, and raise money for other non-profit organizations.
The performance group has grown to include six performers: Shayne, Carlos, Nate, David, Dennis and Marc. The group members perform in cheerleader costumes with each costume highlighted by one of the colors of the Rainbow Flag—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. The routines are highly choreographed numbers in the style of female competitive cheerleaders or dancelines, generally set to campy
Camp (style)
Camp is an aesthetic sensibility that regards something as appealing because of its taste and ironic value. The concept is closely related to kitsch, and things with camp appeal may also be described as being "cheesy"...
or iconically gay
Gay icon
A gay icon is a public figure who is embraced by many within :lesbian, :gay, :bisexual and :transgender communities...
musical numbers (such as Britney Spears
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
songs) and often interspersed with quotes from The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...
and other movies. The group frequently performs at gay
Gay pride parade
Pride parades for the LGBT community are events celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender culture. The events also at times serve as demonstrations for legal rights such as same-sex marriage...
and AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
related events in the upper Midwestern United States
Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest....
. A portion of funds raised at performances are donated to organizations "that promote gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
, lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
and transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
diversity as well as AIDS awareness" with a primary recipient being Park House, an HIV day-clinic.
While the men wear costumes styled after typical female cheerleader outfits (including miniskirt and pom-pon
Pom-pon
A pom-pon is a fluffy, decorative ball or tuft. Pom-pons may come in many colors, sizes, and varieties and are made from a wide array of materials, including wool, cotton, paper, plastic, and occasionally feathers....
s), they are not female impersonators or drag queen
Drag queen
A drag queen is a man who dresses, and usually acts, like a caricature woman often for the purpose of entertaining. There are many kinds of drag artists and they vary greatly, from professionals who have starred in films to people who just try it once. Drag queens also vary by class and culture and...
s. They make no effort to hide the fact that they are male (several wear goatee
Goatee
Goatee refers to a style of facial hair incorporating hair on a man’s chin. The exact nature of the style has varied according to time and culture.Traditionally, goatee refers solely to a beard formed by a tuft of hair on the chin...
s or other facial hair).
In addition to campy dance and musical performances referencing gay icon
Gay icon
A gay icon is a public figure who is embraced by many within :lesbian, :gay, :bisexual and :transgender communities...
s at events from Milwaukee's
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
Pridefest
PrideFest (Milwaukee)
PrideFest is an annual gay pride event held on the Henry Maier Festival Park grounds in Milwaukee on the second weekend of June. PrideFest celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2007, which was also a record-breaking attendance year with 27,467 tickets sold over three days.In 2010 Pridefest featured...
to the Twin Cities Pride Parade the troupe also hosts community events including emceeing trans
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
and genderqueer
Genderqueer
Genderqueer is a catch-all term for gender identities other than man and woman, thus outside of the gender binary and heteronormativity...
events, headlining the National Coming Out Week
National Coming Out Day
National Coming Out Day is an internationally observed civil awareness day celebrating individuals who publicly identify as bisexual, gay, lesbian, transgender—coming out regarding one's sexual orientation and/or gender identity being akin to a cultural rite of passage for LGBT people...
Annual Gender-Bender Drag Show at Minnesota State University
Minnesota State University, Mankato
Minnesota State University, Mankato is a public four-year university located in Mankato, Minnesota, a community of 53,000 located southwest of Minneapolis-St. Paul. As of Fall 2011, the student body is the third-largest in the state of Minnesota with over 15,000 students...
and the Minnesota Red Ribbon Ride AIDS fundraiser.
In 2007 Cheer, Dorothy, Cheer! registered as a non-profit organization and received a Lavender Pride Award for "bringing laughter and awareness about issues of HIV and diversity."
See also
- Gender benderGender benderGender bender is an informal term used to refer to a person who actively transgresses, or "bends," expected gender roles. Gender bending is sometimes a form of social activism undertaken in response to assumptions or over-generalisations about genders...
- QueerQueerQueer is an umbrella term for sexual minorities that are not heterosexual, heteronormative, or gender-binary. In the context of Western identity politics the term also acts as a label setting queer-identifying people apart from discourse, ideologies, and lifestyles that typify mainstream LGBT ...
- Righteously Outrageous Twirling CorpsRighteously Outrageous Twirling CorpsThe Righteously Outrageous Twirling Corps is a Chicago-based visual performance ensemble of gay male volunteers. The name is a play on the Reserve Officer Training Corps. The group appears at gay events in Chicago...
External links
- Cheer, Dorothy, Cheer! — official website
- Cheer, Dorthy, Cheer! videos on YouTube