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What Price Fame?
Ice skaters receive roses from their audiences, but great performances in these shows are rewarded with dollars. However, it would take several hundred to offset the costs performers like Andrea Dubois incur. According to Devita Drake, Miss Gay Central Illinois 1996, competing porfessionally could allow one to earn $50,000 to $60,000, but much of that would be eaten up by costumes and travel. At present, none of the entertainers of Midwest Illusion and Review compete professionally, so their Chester Street performances truly are a labor of love

Words by Anna Barnes,
from the photo essay "The Illusion of Gender: A Labor of Love"
appearing in the February 28th issue of The Octopus, used with permission.