Billy Cavallo resurrected his winning Lady Gaga impersonation from last year’s Drag Show for a second year, this time nixing his caution tape outfit and slipping into a pair of girls jeans and a V-neck belly shirt. With about 300 eyes on him, the sophomore “just danced” to the beat of his own drum, embracing his differences, because he was “born this way.”
Officially out by his senior year of high school, the Travers 6 CA has become a strong proponent for LGBT rights and societal change during his college career. Though he did not win the Drag Show this year, he helped organize and participate in the co-sponsored Travers Hall and Prism event. Additionally, he is currently working with a small group to found a new frat for progressive men, Delta Llamda Phi.
“If you want society to change, you have to open society up to change,” says Cavallo.
He believes that the Drag Show was a good way to open people’s minds about what a drag show truly is. Many people associate drag with homosexuality when in fact everyone can choose to do drag. He says that there is much confusion regarding the differences between drag queens, transgender people and transvestites. Transgender individuals may physically be one gender but mentally be the other. Transvestites can be heterosexuals or homosexuals. They are simply people who choose to dress as the other sex, not necessarily having the desire to actually be the opposite sex. Drag queens cross-dress purely for entertainment purposes. As Cavallo says, “Everyone does drag.”
The show raised $300. The proceeds went to the Rainbow Room, an LGBT section of Planned Parenthood that houses LGBT teens who have been kicked out of their homes with no money in their pockets.
In donating this money, the participants of the show can try to make life a little better for less fortunate LGBT individuals.
All family and friends react differently when a family member comes out. Unlike the teens at the Rainbow Room, Cavallo had a relatively positive experience in coming out.
Cavallo, who comes from a highly conservative area of New Jersey, was surprised to encounter little trouble when revealing his sexuality to his family and friends.
However, it is not to say that Cavallo has not encountered some form of negativity when it comes to his sexual orientation. This past spring break, Billy and his boyfriend of eight months, Santiago, were walking hand in hand in the Baltimore Inner Harbor. A group of teenagers passed the two. One of the teens yelled “faggots” to Cavallo and his boyfriend.
Luckily, situations like this do not happen that often to Cavallo, who finds that “TCNJ is [an] open, gay friendly” environment. His college experience thus far can best be described as “phenomenal.” He lets himself have a good time, taking life a day at a time. He says that his boyfriend has taught him a lot about himself, especially how to fall in love again. School-wise, he credits his participation in ResLife for maturing him. It has given him a better grasp on his priorities and has brought him down to earth.
In the fall, Cavallo will be returning to Travers for a third consecutive year, this time as the Travers 8 CA. Additionally, come fall, Cavallo hopes that Delta Llamda Phi will arrive at TCNJ. Presently, the frat for gay, bisexual and progressive men is still in its early stages. He says, “My goal for the frat is for it to be a place for all sexualities to enjoy a frat experience without having the internal fear of being judged or ridiculed.”
You can find Cavallo out of his Gaga attire at the Library Café, sipping caramel macchiatos, socializing, and sometimes doing work. He looks forward to the future and always lets himself be a “resource for others [by] using [his] own experiences to help others.”