It’s been 10 years since I first moved to Cape Town. That also means that it’s 10 years since my first MCQP! 2007 was first year in Cape Town. I had moved from Port Elizabeth to attend university in Cape Town. The year was 2007. I had discovered Diversity Studies at the University of Cape Town. The previous year, early 2006, I had just come from an exchange study in the United States. The semester abroad had opened me up to the world, literally. I wanted to more than what port Elizabeth could offer, so I set my eyes on the next best thing, Cape Town.
I had seen MCQP in gay magazines while I was living in Port Elizabeth. It seemed so far away. So when I moved to Cape Town, I had to experience it. now, of course, it feels like it’s every gay person’s right to passage to go to attend MCQP.
The people who experienced the first MCQP’s talk about how they current MCQP is just not the same. They complain that it is watered down. I can appreciate their complaints, but I have nothing to compare it to. For me, MCQP represents part of the liberties offered by post-apartheid freedoms. MCQP represents the freedom to express yourself, the freedom to be unapologetically queer, and the freedom to indulge in frivolity.
The theme the year I first attended MCQP was “Matric Dance.” The theme was poignant for me because although I had discarded much of the insecurities and loneliness of high school and my teenage years, there was a residue of those feelings. So the theme was almost a chance to do high school one more time, and this time I could do it on my own queer terms. It was even more amazing that MCQP was held at Cape Town High School that year. There was something liberating about that. This is why one must never underestimate the power of frivolity.
My best friend had moved to Cape Town that year as well. He did not attend MCQP, but he and his then-boyfriend helped me get dressed and with my make up. My friend’s boyfriend had mad makeup skills, I remember telling him that I think he could work at some television show doing make-up for stars.
I was doing my honours at the time and surviving on an honours bursary pieced with an internship here and there. My first year in Cape Town was tight financially, but it was also exhilarating. So my outfit was made from clothes I already had. With the look, I was going for “High School Bitch.” Anyone who knows me knows that I pray at the Grace Jones church. So I had to incorporate her in my look, but I was also aware that the theme was “Matric Dance” so my look needed a high school element. Naturally, I thought of Regina George from “Mean Girls.” So I went for a Grace Jones Regina George look. Whether I succeeded or not is beside the point.
I had the time of my life that night. I drank. I danced. I lived hard.
I have been to a number of MCQP’s since then. The magic of that first MCQP can never be created because you only have one first time. What I appreciate about that first time is that I never held back. I went for it with everything I’ve got. This remains my philosophy for MCQP and for any good party, one must take it seriously. It does help that I am a sucker for a good theme.
Sometimes I look at the pictures from that night and I think about how crazy and brave I was to just pack up and move to Cape Town. All alone in the big city. I was determined to have a big life, a great life. When I was living in Port Elizabeth, deep down I knew that the city had nothing more to offer me. I wanted to dazzle the world!
Here are some fun (and unedited) pictures from my first MCQP!
