Martha Graham Cracker Cabaret

The Gender and Women's Studies program hosted the Martha Graham Cracker Cabaret last Friday, January 16 to a packed, sold-out crowd. Below is an account from GWS student Kendall Connolly about the event and how the experience pushed her to think about larger gender issues in the community.

"On the 16^th of January, Villanova University had the privilege of sharing their “catholic heritage” with Martha Graham Cracker. Her cabaret attracted a mixed audience of all genders and all ages of Villanovans to a tiny theatre in Gary Hall. Anxious to see the “guts and glamour of a Martha Graham Cracker Cabaret,” many audience members opted to stand for the duration of the two-hour show as not to miss it. Fortunately for those standing, the show lived up to its name. Not only was the cabaret highly entertaining and hysterical, but Martha Graham Cracker brought up issues that the audience was longing to hear about.

            Graham Cracker recalled an instance where she encountered the phrase “use thy freedom well.” She then demonstrated what this quote meant to her by telling the audience about the time her and her band visited Poland. In the middle of a crowded theatre and dressed head to toe in drag, Graham Cracker shouted “where my gay and lesbian brothers and sisters at?” She called this a “cultural boo boo” because no one in the room responded. Later, she found out that one man in the theatre had to leave because he could not reveal his true identity. She announced to the audience “use thy freedom well” because some people don’t have such freedoms. With this story, Graham Cracker demonstrated that gay men and women in America have certain freedoms that gay individuals in other cultures do not. The lesson was that members of LGBTQ are finally starting to earn the freedoms they rightfully deserve, and as such, must not take those freedoms lightly. Graham Cracker is a living example of not taking her freedoms for granted because she expressed herself and owns her identity while simultaneously informing others to do the same.

            With the story of her visit to Poland, Graham Cracker touched on a large topic currently facing LGBTQ individuals internationally. For homosexual individuals residing in Poland, there are many less freedoms and rights available to them. For example, there is no recognition of same-sex relationships with regards to family rights. As such, they are not permitted to be married or to adopt children. Even with the few laws that protected homosexual individuals, it is clear that there is still discrimination present. However, the question still remains: if Poland has limited rights for gay and lesbian people, and nonexistent rights for those of nonbinary genders, what does that mean for transculture? While many cultures are already resistant to excepting homosexual individuals into their culture, they are less so inclined to accepting transgender people. Clear, the transcommunity is lumped together with the homosexual community, however, they are very different and while people may accept same sex relationships, the idea of gender transformations is very alien to us. Poland and many other countries must now deal with the rights of the transcommunity.

            Based on the lack of transgender rights and small amount of gay-lesbian rights, I do not think it is an overstep to say that gay-lesbian rights acts as a stepping stone to transgender right. It appears that the transcommunity depends on the gay-lesbian community to make their dreams a reality. It is admirable that these two communities have combined together to change culture, however, this has led to an interdependence in their shared community. This is not a bad thing, but it is noteworthy that their community relies on one another regardless of how different their identities are."