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Behind the sce­nes of the queer beau­ty industry

The Philippines is a bona fide record hol­der in the realm of inter­na­ti­o­nal beau­ty page­ants, boas­ting no fewer than fifteen wins in com­pe­ti­ti­ons such as Miss Universe, Miss World, Miss Earth and Miss International. And beau­ty page­ants are serious busi­ness in the coun­try itself. In the city of Cebu, for example, the Queen Philippines con­test takes pla­ce eve­ry year, the lar­gest and most pres­ti­gious event of its kind for trans­gen­der women. In ​‘MISS’, dan­cer Joshua Serafin explo­res the poli­tics, cul­tu­re and prac­ti­ces behind the queer beau­ty industry.

Zooming in on the strict regimes and cho­re­o­grap­hies of the indu­stry, Serafin casts a cri­ti­cal eye on the codes of per­for­ma­ti­vi­ty typi­cal of the trans­gen­der beau­ty con­tests of the Philippines, ​‘whe­re queer­ness explo­des any fixed cate­go­ri­sa­ti­on of femi­ni­ni­ty and fan­ta­sy’. Serafin based this work on inter­views with a num­ber of regi­o­nal queens. In this way he unra­vels not only the mecha­nis­ms behind the­se con­tests but also the reli­gious and colo­ni­al influ­en­ces that can still be felt today.

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per­for­man­ce & cho­re­o­grap­hy: Joshua Serafin — dra­ma­tur­gy: Arco Renz & Kopano Maroga — artis­tic advi­ce: Rasa Alksnyte — sound design: Marc Appart — light design: Ryoya Fudetani — video trai­ler: Davide Belotti — pho­to­grap­her: Isaie Humblet — copro­duc­ti­on: Arts Centre Voo?uit, BIT Teatergarasjen & Taipei Performing Arts Center — resi­den­cies: Bellas Artes Projects Manila, Queer Zagreb, Zinnema & Beursschouwburg — spe­ci­al thanks to: Mercedes Zobel, Eisa Jocson, Russ Ligtas & Tang Fu Kuen — in copro­duc­ti­on with: LOD muziektheater