Double Wolf Dare Week

During high school, each of the three high schools in my town had a charity week. As a part of the Edmond Santa Fe high school, I was a part of Double Wolf Dare Week. The week consisted of various events such as assemblies the entire week, food nights at local restaurants, and daring our ugly men to raise money through the school clubs. For two particular events, the school was able to reformat their expectations of the boys in the each grade. Just as Miss USA is able to compete in a pageant, boys were allowed to sign up for the Mr. DWDW pageant and also participate in the Boy band competition between each grade level. My high school's own version of Mr. Cougar in Dude You're a Fag gender representation flips the gender roles during this week compared to Mr. Cougar's ideal representation. Mr. DWDW had a few different aspects. The boys had categories like Miss USA, such as swimwear, formal wear, a question asked by the host (a member of student council) and a talent section. The boys would make humorous debuts on the platform in the gymnasium while alumni would vote for the winner. Boys would still savor some social convections provided by the school and gentlemanly conduct like presenting roses to judges or representatives from the charities during formal wear or making sure no indecency was taking place during swimwear. Some of the most entertaining swimwear spectacle would have been my sophomore year in 2009. Christian Pearson, a senior, came onto the stage as a mermaid. The feminine reference in such an obvious display of humor made it more acceptable to show this feminine display. It also did not hurt that Christian was a member of the school that was respected through various clubs like Cross Country and Band. When Christian later hosted the event the next year in a formal dress, this was not questioned. It was seen as funny and part of the presentation. However if he were to really wear a dress to formal it would have been more of a surprise. For this event he was able to change the rules of gender and not be questioned for the changes in others' perceptions.

Another event would be our boy band competition during the date auction. Boy bands consist of various members of boys from each grade level. This usually is around 4-6 boys per grade. The boys mash together various "hit" songs throughout the year and arrange a choreographed "strip tease" to perform for the students. The boys don't actually get fully undressed but go to about a bra and shorts. Seeing boys dance in representations of bee costumes when Black and Yellow is playing is one of the best parts of my senior year's boy band. The boys are able to represent other genders during this time like copying Bring It On references and mimicking Katy Perry's California Gurlz. They are able to change their gender to fit their performance and be cheered for their creativity.