Since 1994, October has been celebrated as LGBTQ+ History Month to honor members of the LGBTQ+ community from the past, present and future.
The Starkville community and students at Mississippi State University have honored the month with LGBTQ+ centered events and training sessions for allies.
Fostering LGBTQ+ Advocacy, Resources and Environments (F.L.A.R.E) is a MSU student organization that has helped support LGBTQ+ identifying students.
The organization has worked with the Safe Zone Advisory Board by hosting an ally training event on Nov. 2 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Cameron Renfrow, media coordinator for F.L.A.R.E, said participation in safe zone trainings will give a perspective that a PowerPoint could not give.
She said the safe zone board asked members of F.L.A.R.E to participate in a panel to talk about their experiences.
“Having an actual person with experience, with these issues, helps a lot, so I think we are just kind of there for perspective and to be, like, ’This is a real issue that affects students,'” Renfrow said.
F.L.A.R.E is hosting an Express Yourself mixer Oct. 19 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Colvard Student Union.
Renfrow said anyone can go to F.L.A.R.E events, including LGBTQ+ students, allies or people wanting to learn about LGBTQ+ advocacy.
“I would say the biggest thing is showing up to the events that we host and stuff just to show that we have community support behind us,” Renfrow said.
Hayden Delacroy, a junior majoring in business, has performed as a local drag queen by the stage name of Trinity Devine.
On Oct. 29, Trinity Devine is performing at a drag show at the Cotton District Arts Festival from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Later that same night, she will perform in a Halloween-themed drag show at Rick’s Café.
Delacroy said performing in drag in Starkville has not been easy.
“We have the challenge of a college town, so it is harder to put on a show. I have talked to several different venues, and they keep coming back and are like, ’Starkville is not the type of place for that’,” Delacroy said.
With the drag shows that have been hosted at Rick’s Café and Dave’s Dark Horse Tavern, Delacroy said they have proven the nay-sayers wrong; Starkville is a place for drag.
“You just have to know how to engage with the people. This is one thing that both me and Starkville Pride really try to do with our shows,” Delacroy said.
Justin Tyler, a junior at the University of Mississippi, is a business owner who visits and performs drag in Starkville under the stage name Fendi Lafemme.
Fendi Lafemme is also performing at the Cotton District Arts festival. She will also host the Halloween-themed drag show at Rick’s Café and perform at Dave’s Drag Brunch: Halloween Edition.
Being a part of a small town LGBTQ+ community that is growing, Tyler said it has allowed him to see specific needs in his area.
“The community is ever-growing, so we need more and more people to be allies and to stand up for what is right because there are things that happen on a day-to-day basis, such as people losing their life just for being gay,” Tyler said.
Elijah Gilliland, a junior majoring in psychology, performs as a drag queen under the name of Kelly Klepto.
Gilliland said they describe themselves as an introvert. He said he found drag to be scary at first, but overtime, he realized drag allowed him to express himself in a way he never could before.
Gilliland said they came to MSU expecting to have to hide but soon realized no one paid much attention.
“I have not really had problems expressing myself here, and I have not gotten like backlash or anything for it. I have only gotten support,” Gilliland said.
Gilliland said LGBTQ+ people carry themselves cautiously because people’s non-verbal communication skills can speak louder than their words.
“I think a lot of people could do with a little bit of training in their non-verbal communication,” Gilliland said.
Tyler said that Starkville has definitely progressed in acceptance, but Starkville and other communities still need to grow.
“We all have more acceptability we need to find in each other because, at the end of the day, we are all created equal no matter our race or gender or however we identify,” Tyler said.

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Landon Scheel | The Reflector

MSU’s F.L.A.R.E is hosting a mixer on Oct. 19. Xen Gaerlan, a member of F.L.A.R.E, is pictured.