Earlier in The Power Issue, we took a look at Claude Cahun: the French Surrealist who employed masquerading as a means of challenging prescriptive heteronormativity. While Cahun imprinted her message on her body, 27-year old performance artist Adrian L. Acosta has chosen a different route: he’s created an entirely different character to challenge social, political and gender conventions: Amnesia Sparkles.

While the idea of drag as power certainly doesn't break new theoretical ground, what's most interesting about the case of Adrian aka Amnesia is the fine line between resistance and repression in his work. You see, Amnesia acts not only as a mean for Adrian to challenge dominant ideology, but also as a tool for him to challenge his own misgivings.

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Are Iraqi insurgents not only stealing our sense of security — but the gay culture as well? Recent reports that suicide bombers and others involved in attacks on American forces aren't just making use of roadside bombs, but of drag. Men dressing as women has long been considered too taboo even for men willing to blow themselves up in the name of Allah, as many Muslims fear the practice would bring innocent women too close to the battle lines. But now it seems to be a growing tactic to avoid suspicion by American soldiers, since it's usually only men who are searched and considered likely suspects. The above MSNBC clip aired this morning.

Trannyshack, the legendary drag party from San Francisco, is coming to New York City for one night only on Thursday June 8th. A screening of the film Filthy Gorgeous: The Trannyshack Story will be followed by a NYC Trannyshack show featuring the talents of Scissor Sister Ana Matronic, Juanita More!, Sherry Vine, and of course Trannyshack’s founder Heklina. Heckles recently caught up with our Editor-At-Large Bradford Shellhammer to discuss the New York show, the film, and who she dreams of rimming.

What do you have in store for us New Yorkers at your upcoming show?
Well, it'll be an assortment of Trannyshack alumni past and present, focusing more of course on ex-Trannyshackers who've moved to NYC and also some NYC names who played at the club.

Who'll be performing with you?
Darcy Drollinger is helping me to promote and host the show, Sherry Vine will be appearing, Ana Matronic (doing a possible duet with Jake Shears), Juanita More!, Renttecca, Electro the Pop and Lock King, Vinsantos, Faux Pas, Tai Chi, Christy Love, Miss Trannyshack 2005 Coco Canal, and more.....

Tell me about the movie. How did it come about? What can we expect?
Over the course of the past ten years that Trannyshack has been going on for, umpteen hundred people have attempted to do films on the club, but no one has stuck it out and actually finished one until now! Sean Mullins and Deena Davenport spent an exhausting year (2002) documenting every show and interviewing almost everyone associated with Trannyshack, and I have to say it's pretty comprehensive-they've done an amazing job.

You're legendary in San Francisco for rimming audience members onstage. Who in the world do you most want to rim?
Oh God, where to begin? I would love to rim Clive Owens, Paul Walker, Hugh Jackman, Brad Pitt, that guy who starred in the remake of the Amityville Horror, Chris Meloni, Ryan Gossling, almost every Jewish and Italian guy in NYC, any member of any NFL team, any man in a sailor suit, um.....OK, I'll stop now.

After the jump Heklina tells us if she is flithier than Lady Bunny.

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A promo cd for the new Jimmy James single just landed on our desk and we’ve been prancing around and doing runway since we popped it in our computer. The track is called “Fashionista” and it's way camp gay house. But it totally works since Jimmy has the pipes. The song ends with a fashion rap, similar to Madonna’s Hollywood screen legends homage in “Vogue.”

Jimmy name-drops every major designer. Our favorite line: “Imitation of Christ. Beauty has a price.” That may be so, but this record is priceless.

If you’re unfamiliar with James you need to get acquainted. The bitch can belt out every icon’s voice: Monroe, Streisand, and Garland. The single must be hot from the presses as both Jimmy’s and Made Records’ websites have no information on the track.

Jimmy James [Official Site]

Many of The Gays are obsessed with hair: highlight, product, and styles. And many of The Gays have a deep appreciation for comic books: the hulking heroes, the chiseled bodies, and the secret life storylines.

Thanks to the dear Chris over at Uffish, we’ve stumbled upon the The 2006 MySpace Legion Of Extraordinary Stupid Hair Super Heroes! We can’t stop laughing. Bad hair and comic books: A big gay dream come true!

The 2006 MySpace Legion Of Extraordinary Stupid Hair Super Heroes! [Demonbaby]

It’s a shame that Camp 101, Queerty’s favorite line of cards, hears from many gay shops across the country that their line of cards are “tired, passé, been done.” That makes us mad. Nothing says “I Love You,” “Congratulations,” or “Happy Birthday” like the Club Kids.

Camp 101 sells those goofy, gay shop cards with garish fonts and overdone drag queens. And we have newfound respect for them. We’re so done giving out overly stylized greeting cards. Tackiness and bad taste is a lost art form. Watch Female Trouble and get back to us.

The best thing about Camp 101 card is their documentation of early 90s NYC nightlife. After all they sell gorgeous black and white blank note cards featuring Michael Alig, funny cards featuring Lady Bunny and Mona Foot, many, many years ago, and a few with Heatherette’s Richie Rich before he started hanging out with Paris Hilton.

Order a few sets and give them to your friends who have a deep appreciation for the heyday of the NYC club world and those who embrace, and not shun, camp.

Camp 101 [Camp 101]

Lady Bunny is a drag legend, a NYC nightlife fixture, and one funny comedian. Recently Bunny caught up with Bradford Shellhammer to discuss her new DVD, Star Jones, and the perfect boyfriend. FYI, It's not that safe for work.

Hi Bunny. What made you decide to blog?
Well, the first reason was to keep people engaged with Ladybunny.net. No matter how fantastic your site is, ain't nobody gonna come back if you don't update it. Since I need a web designer to make major changes, the blog is a do-it-yourself way to keep my site current with everything from comments on current affairs to my schedule of appearances.

Before I had a blog, I forwarded sick shit to friends constantly. Now I just post it. Luckily, now fans of the blog send sick shit to me! And the launching of my website coincided with George Bush's reign of terror. Actually seeing the second World Trade Center (don't ask me what I was doing up at that hour!) shook me up, but instead of asking, "What do we do?" I thought, "What have we done to deserve this?". Bush's decision to retaliate against Iraq, a country with no WMDs and no connections with the perpetrators of 9/11, sparked my interest in politics--which mainly consists of slamming this administration. There's a lot of humor crap on my blog, too, but I've gotten a great response for the political rants. Which is fairly surprising, since most gays aren't very political these days. Face it, the ACT UP days, when getting involved was even seen as trendy/hot, are long gone. I wish there were more gays interested in things like rising HIV infections, but the tone of most gay rags is very shallow and hunk-oriented. Enjoy the hunks! Masturbate over them. But balance the hunks with issues, especially if they're issues like AIDS, which are killing us!

Name you favorite drag queen and why?
Dame Edna. She is so demented! And she's hetero! I actually like her out-of-drag characters just as much as her drag. She's a class A kook and has really taken it to a huge scale with TV specials, Broadway shows, Vanity Fair articles, etc. And when she met Joan Rivers she told her "You look fantastic. Please don't ever consider plastic surgery!"

The Pam Anderson Roast. What was that night like?
I had a blast hanging out with the celebs. Hell, with Tommy Lee next to me and Dennis Rod-man behind me, I was surrounded by about two feet of dick! Call me a sick freak, but I've always dreamt of one in each end! So it was hard for me to concentrate on the lines--the lines that Courtney was shoving up my nose! KIDDING! And I got to meet my idol, Charo! But ultimately, it was disappointing since they cut most of my lines. I had submitted jokes, which Comedy Central deemed too filthy. So they basically wrote me a script, which wasn't that funny, and I knew it. A few of the jokes they provided for me were about Comedy Central comedians who I had never heard of like Adam Carolla. And then they went on to let everyone else tell really filthy jokes! But all in all, it was better to be on it briefly than not at all--it was the highest Nielsen rated special in years. And it was a pretty fucking hilarious show! Pam was a great sport, and they really let Bea Arthur have it.

After the jump Bunny tells us her nastiest joke.

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Downtown legend Sherry Vine has recently returned to New York to begin work on Theater Couture's new show. Fresh from her Bar d'O reunion performance with Joey Arias and Raven-O, she caught up with Bradford Shellhammer to chat about resolutions, reunions, and Steven King.

How were your holidays?
My holidays were great, just eating and sleeping and playing games with my parents in Florida. It was just the 3 of us this year but really fun and relaxing!

Where are you living these days?
I had been working a lot in Germany with Joey Arias and the things I wanted to do creatively weren't happening in NYC so I decided, "Go where they want you bitch!" So I moved to Berlin for 4 years. They have a great cabaret scene there that's part of their culture and I loved it and performed all over Europe. But then NYC was calling me back and I am very happy to be back home.

You reunited with Joey Arias and Raven-O recently at Indochine. How was the show?
Oh my god, I can honestly say that the Bar d'O Reunion with Joey and Raven was the show of the year! It was completely sold out and we tore the roof off and had a blast! Hopefully, we'll make it an annual holiday event.

When will the three of you get together again?
Well those 2 whores are in Vegas now so I think the next possible reunion will be Christmas in NYC or jail in Vegas.

After the jump Sherry tells us her New Year's resolutions.

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The coming of the New Year means many things: new resolutions, New Year’s Eve parties, and new calendars. We are calendar junkies around here and are very well aware that every celebrity, every artist, and every shop has a calendar to peddle these days. We’ve found the best, though.

Trannyshack is San Francisco’s legendary drag show. If you’ve never been, we’re sorry. It makes drag pageants and shows in other cities look G-rated. The Trannyshack girls are nasty. It’s the club that launched the Scissor Sisters and its stage has been home to every drag queen you can think of and all the ones too bad to remember.

Heklina is a Queerty friend and the creator of Trannyshack. And now that the Trannyshack 2006 calendar has been released we’re thrilled to be able to reminisce each day we look up at these beautiful girls.

Trannyshack Calendar [Jimmy Loveless]
Trannyshack [Heklina]

We pride ourselves on being the place to go for homemade movies to Madonna songs. Remember him? Sadly it has been taken down. And don’t forget this one either.

Luckily we have found the mother of all “Hung Up" videos. We don’t know who this trannie is, but there is one thing we do know. She is fucking fantastic. Thanks Tom.

Time Gous By con Loli [Google Video]
Madonna: Hung Up [iFilm]

You know we love The Straights as we illustrated in yesterday’s So Gay! list. You know whom we love more than straights? Drag queens and transgender folks. And they were everywhere this year. The top five moments in drag and trannies from 2005 is below.

5. Heatherette/Zaldy. Drag chic was all the rage in 2005 thanks to Richie Rich, Traver Raines, and Zaldy. Zaldy, a onetime runway model in drag, helped Gwen Stefani launch the LAMB line at Fashion Week. Heatherette and tranny-muse Amanda Lepore, brought club-kid fashion to the pages of People and the local Nordstrom making it OK to show your inner freak in the Midwest.

4. RuPaul. Thanks to Jonno, RuPaul started blogging way before blogging was cool. This year Ru continued that project but also got her hands in the dirty porn business, directing for Michael Lucas. But it was her doll line that really caught our eye. Finally, a doll for little gay boys! Perfect for teaching Barbie how to walk the runway.

3. Paris is Burning. More than a decade and a half since its theatrical release Jennie Livingston's classic film finally saw the light of day on DVD in 2005. Giving a face to the Harlem ball scene of the 1980s, the film has kept its power intact. Heartbreaking and empowering, it remains a must see for any gay person, fabulous or not.

2. Transamerica. Desperate Housewife Felicity Huffman plays a transsexual and receives a Golden Globe nod. The gays are all hailing Brokeback Mountain as the must-see gay film of the year. However, this little film deserves just as much attention. And Oscar may just take notice.

Our #1 drag queen of 2005 after the break!

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On the second to the last day of the Queerty sponsored Bid 2 Beat AIDS auction we are highlighting some clothing that could make you a celebrity look alike drag queen.

We know you belt out “We Belong Together” while lathering up in the shower. Why not slip into this signed Mariah shirt and take it to the next level. We know some of you have a J-Lo booty. Don’t worry, we got you. Try on this signed Jennifer Lopez tracksuit. We think it’s your color.

And for all the Imeldas who read Queerty, we have shoes for you too. A pair of Carlos Santana signed heels complete any look. Buying shoes and raising money for LIFEbeat in one easy transaction? Charity never looked so good.