ABSTRACT
In 1987, a Filipino gay man named Exotica was crowned Miss Fire Island. The Miss Fire Island beauty contest is an annual drag event on Fire Island (located off the coast of Long Island and considered to be the premier gay summer mecca in America.) It was interesting to note that a considerable number of the contestants who were not Caucasian were Filipinos. Furthermore, Exotica was not the first Filipino recipient of the crown, another Filipino was crowned earlier in the seventies. In 1992, a Filipino gay and lesbian group called Kambal sa Lusog marched in two separate parades in New York City, during Gay Pride Day and Philippine Independence Day. These iconic events suggest the strong presence of Filipinos in the American gay scene, particularly in New York City.
