Georgia Schrubbe

There are few places where the Eurythmics meet Lady Gaga, and Cher and Mary J. Blige perform side by side. Yet in the heart of downtown Charleston is one such place: the Pantheon, Charleston’s premier gay/lesbian bar.
   Tucked in an unobtrusive warehouse-like building on Ann Street is the club, home to the notorious Friday and Sunday evening drag shows.
   You might be asking yourself why a straight girl (or anyone for that matter) would want to go see men dressed as women lip-synching to old-school ‘80s pop and Top 40 Hits. The answer?
   Drag shows are a genre of entertainment unlike anything you have ever seen before. The queens look fabulous. They are larger than life, some with impossibly long and toned legs, others with bodacious curves and bulging biceps.
   Bedecked in bedazzled costumes, foot-long eyelashes and bigger stilettos than most girls would ever dare to wear, the drag queens dominate the stage and have a blast impersonating famous divas.
   The energy is infectious. I was clapping, cheering and wishing that I had a dollar bill to tuck into the drag queens’ ample cleavage (wondering the whole time if their boobs are implants or just really nifty bras).
   Mind-blowing and crazy as the drag show was, the real fun began after the ladies took their final bows.
  The dance floor filled with an adventurous and eclectic crew ready to improvise to the mashed-up beats of Lady Gaga, Britney Spears and Chris Brown.
   The dance floor at the Pantheon is a completely judgment-free zone. No one cares what kind of dancing you do, be it grinding, disco or, like one gray-haired man, an odd combination of riverdancing and krumping.
   As a straight girl at Pantheon, you feel safe. Sure, there are straight guys there, but there aren’t creepers twice your age trying to score your digits. You can go up to two guys having a Saturday Night Fever-like dance-off and be their judge. You can grab your friend and jump up on one of the huge speakers on the dance floor and show off your moves for the people sipping cosmos at the bar.
   The night I was there (yes, it was Super Bowl Sunday), a woman was there for her bachelorette party, and she was obviously having the time of her life.
   Ladies, don’t wait until you are about to get married to experience the Pantheon. Make a girls’ night out of it, or drag along a few guys to see who gets hit on more.
Though this might sound like it came straight from a self-help book, Pantheon is another world entirely, a place where you don’t have to be shy or stressed about meeting any expectations or impressing anyone.
   Just watch your step when you go the ladies’ room - you might be washing your hands next to a drag queen preparing for her big entrance or stripping off her eight pounds of makeup.

Luke Bernhard
Of all of the things to do after the Super Bowl, hitting a gay bar is about the last way a straight guy might think to ring in a New Orleans win.
Yet, after the Saints made history with their Super Bowl XLIV win, there was plenty of time to make it to Club Pantheon. Yeah, it seems awkward to most straight guys and maybe even some girls, but Club Pantheon is just like any other bar on a Sunday: it is slow because of the Monday goings-on, it features a “usual” crowd and, oh, it features a drag show.
Yes, a drag show, something that is kryptonite to the straight men of the College, yet synonymous with a good time to those in attendance; all things considered, it is worth a spectator’s peek. Imagine someone lip-synching your favorite ‘90s love ballad, except they are a man very convincingly dressed like a woman.
How is that not entertaining? Then ask yourself why you have a favorite ‘90s love ballad.
Guys, you will be completely out of your element. I was uncomfortable from the second I walked in until the first queen walked out. But as soon as you kick back and get ready to have a good time, you’ll realize that the only awkward moment is the one when you hold yourself back from having fun.
So I am here to encourage all the comfortable and uncomfortable guys alike to go out there and enjoy a drag show on a Friday or Sunday night. If you have never experienced it before, don’t knock it until you’ve tried it, gents.
And don’t make excuses; I did beforehand and regretted it. You need to roll in without any inhibitions, any guesses or any assumptions about what is going to happen. Just bring some tough skin and your imagination. Oh, and don’t forget some dollar bills; those girls don’t shake it for free.