ATTENTION TEENAGE FREAKSHOWS! TELL ME YOUR WILDEST STORIES FOR POSSIBLE PUBLICATION!

I’m looking for tragic teenage homos and radical weirdos between the ages of 13 and 19, whatever your scene: Are you a drag queen, drag king, cross-dresser, gender-bender, glitter queen, hairy fairy, techno trannie, fag hag, flaming ‘mo, extreme style rebel, mondo-Goth, glamour ghoul, Harijuku/anime babe or just a sad gay boi living in a mean Red State? – tell me about it. I want to hear the scariest/saddest/most fabulous/and/or most tragic thing about your life on the edge. Tell me about the problems you face, the drama your lifestyle provokes, and how you cope with the haters.

Have you been ridiculed, harassed, or even attacked for the way you dress or behave? Or maybe you’ve triumphed over your school bullies – turned the tables on them, and beaten THEM up? Are you more popular IN a dress than out? Do people enjoy your looks and cheer when you walk past? Or do they throw tater tots in your wig?

Do you have a same-sex boyfriend or girlfriend on the DL? Or are you both Out-Loud-&-Proud? How do people react when they see you together holding hands or making googly eyes? Did you go to the prom? In a gown and tiara? Were you nominated for prom queen? Or asked to leave?

Tell me your coming-out story… about the first time you got up in drag… or the first time you were “OUT” in public…. Was it to school? At the mall? To a party? What was the reaction? What about when your parents discovered your secret? Were there tears and fights? Were you kicked out? Or did they just roll their eyes and go back to reading the paper? How has your style evolved since then? Who or what inspires your look?

Keep it relatively short: 2-5 paragraphs – or about as long as THIS. No more than a page. Make it punchy and to the point. Describe your crazy-ass life and your craziest looks as best you can, and include pictures. OH, PLEASE SEND PICTURES! You can sign off on it anonymously, or print your name in a spinning, size 72 glitter-font that plays “I Am What I Am” when you open it—just be sure to include an email address , so I can follow up with any questions or comments.

Send all mail to [email protected] It’s a special address created just for this project. Whatever you do, don’t send them here or to my Myspace account. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, PLEASE, NOT THERE! As you might have noticed, letters sent there don’t get answered very quickly. It’s my secret shame.

For the record, this is all still in the planning stages, and there’s no money involved. It’s a vanity project – its sole purpose is to look good on your coffee table and immortalize your blazing youth.

SO BRING IT ON! YAY! I can’t wait to hear from you!

xxxx JAMES ST JAMES

(REMEMBER: DON’T SEND STORIES HERE! SEND TO [email protected])